This is the doctrine of Buddha.
IX.
Interpretation of the Tibetan Inscription on a Bhotian Banner taken in Assam.
The following is the description of this trophy:—
It is a bit of plank, mounted on a staff, painted red, with an image of Buddha on one side and a Tibetan inscription on the other. The Demangiri Rajah always had it carried before him with great solemnity and under the special charge of a large guard of honour, who, however, in the affair of Subang-Kotta ran away without it, and it fell into our hands. A copy of the inscription was forwarded to Csoma for translation. With the exception of the salutation at the beginning and the conclusion and a few terms in the middle, the whole is in the Tibetan language. The purport of it was to obtain the favour and protection of several inferior divinities for the person and family for whom the ceremony had been performed and this magic emblem set up.
It may be that this flagstaff was carried before the Tibetan [[194]]chief in his march and so used as an ensign in war; but it is more probable that it may have belonged originally to the house-top or terrace of the Prince of Bhotan; because the houses of great personages in that country are generally decorated with such ensigns of victory.
The inscription, as already mentioned, is an invocation to several deities, and concludes thus: “Ye all! look on this emblem of Hu, the regent or governor (by whom, namely, it was set up). Ye divine principal Rakshákas, rulers of the world, I beseech you, that you will make this patron, the bestower of charitable gifts, obtain the fruit of his work and actions, who is very faithful to the doctrine of Shakya. May he, with his household and family, prosper more and more, and abound in life, fortune, honour, wealth—like the increasing face of the moon.”
The text is given in the original with a literal translation.