Indian Antiquary Vol 22

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 39

JANUARY, 1893.)
MISCELLANEA.
27
ideas of bakra become that it is even supposed Kalyani Inscriptions, (1476 A.D.) is Tigumpanathat there is a whole class of spirits of that name gara, and not Trikumbha', or Tikumbhao, as of whom Sakra-mang (Indra) is chief, but never he says, following the modern (false ?) Palicism until now we fancy has that worthy figured as of the Burmese literati, who always write Tikumthe Buddhist Recording Angel. Truly, mutato bha and Tikumbhachøtt. Whether Digôn or nomine de te fabulae narrantur.
Dagon is a Burmese derivative from a Paļi form In connection with Sakrá it may be noted the
Tigumpa or Digumpa, or whether the latter are well-known Burmese sankran is obviously
false Palicisms for the Burmese word is not yet derived from the Sanskrit Sankrantil, meaning
certain: but the presuinption would be in favour the passage of the sun from one sign to another.
of the latter hypothesis. We then have to fall It may be predicated with equal certainly that both
back on Digon or Dagon as an indigenous or words were introduced by the Brahmans at the
borrowed word. king's court.
Now the modern Anglo-Indian word dagoba, BERNARD HOUGHTON, C. S.
formerly also dhagope, dagop and dbagob, is
no doubt derived ultimately from the Past A NOTE ON THE NAME SHWE-DAGON.
(and ? Prakritio) dhatugabbha = Skr. dhatuThe name Shw-Dagon has always been a
garbha, which in modern Sinhalese is dagaba. stumbling-block to antiquaries. It is now It means a receptacle for Buddhist relics, but, spelt Takun and pronounced Dagon. But literally, an inner chamber for deposits (autov, in the last and earlier centuries it was evidently cella). Yule says that to derive dagon from also pronounced Digon, for Yule, Hobson- the same source as dagoba is mere guess-work. Jobson, 6.0. Dagón, quotes Pinto, 1546, to this There is, however, more in favour of this deri. effect, and the word is always Digon in Flouest'a vation than of any other yet produced, so far account of his travels in 1786. It is always
as I know. Thus, we have dagaba, Sinhalese, Digon (except once: "Digone capitale del Pegà," admittedly from dhdtugabbha, and as far back as p. 149) in Quirini's Vita di Monsignor G. M. the 16th century we have a persistent word Percoto, 1781: and it is Digon in a map by An- tigumpa or digumpa (=dagón, digón) in Burma tonio Zultae e figli, Venezia, 1785.
with the same meaning. Until a clear derivation Yule further quotes Gasparo Balbi, 1585, for
is made out, it is, therefore, not unsafe to say Dogon, and Fitch, 1587, for Dogonne. Dogon
that dagon represents some mediæval Indian albo occurs in eight of Van der Aa's maps in my
current form of dhatugabbha. This view is suppossession dated 1720 : and Dougon in French
ported by a word gompa, used in the Himalayas mape, dated 1705, 1710, 1720 and 1764. The
about Sikkim for a Buddhist shrine, which looks modern pronunciation of the word was used
prima facie like the remains of some such words in 1755, for Yule quotes the Oriental Repertory
as gabbha, the latter half of the compound both for Dagon and Dagoon. Symes, Embassy
dhdtugabbha.
The derivation of Dagon from a Talaing to Ava, 1803 (pp. 18, 23) has Dagon. Crawfurd,
word Takkun, and the legend' attached there. 1829, Embassy to Ava (pp. 346, 347) calls it Dagong. There is further a curious word
to, may be safely discarded as folk-etymology,
and the derivation from tikumbha or trikumToodegon in one of Mortier's maps, 1740.
bha is even more open to the charge of In the På808 daung Inscription, 1774 A.D., the
guess-work, though accepted by Yule, who shrine is called, in Pali, Digumpacháti, so that follows Forchhammer blindly, as final. For, in the Burmese Dagon (=Digôn) = the PAļi Digumpa, the first place, either form is a doubtful reading The form Digôn would be a legitimate equivalent from the Kalyani Inscriptions; in the next place in the vernacular for Digumpa. Pace Forchham. neither Trikumbha-nagara in Sanskrit nor mer, Notes on the Early Eist. and Geog. of British Tikumbha-nagara in P&ļi would mean Three' Burma, No. 1, the name of Rangoon, or more hill City, as Forobbammer, loc. cit., says, kumbha correctly of the town round the Shwê-Dagôn being in no sense a hill,' which is kita ; and in Pagoda, then newly restored and enlarged, in the the third place, there are not (pace Foroh hammer)
(But see my note Vol. XXI. p. 188 ante, on this word.] • Yale, Hobson-Jobson, s.v. Dagon. British Burma ED.
Gasetteer, 8.0. Shwedagón. . It is curious to note how in some parts of the 24ta the * The form Tikum[bba)dagars is comparable with Brahman is made to play the part of the modern 'villain," KALAN [bbs pabbataohitiys in the Kalyani Inscriptions, whilst at the same time he is always resorted to for pur where bha has been clearly interpolated. I understand poses of divination and state-craft.
that there are other instances of such insertions of bha in Taung Pao, Vol. I. Les Français en Birmanie an the " PAli " writinge of the Talaings. XVIIIe siècle, parim.