A new study of the Kubyaukgyi (Myazedi) inscription

Abstract

This paper is a new analysis of the 'Rosetta Stone' for the decipherment of the extinct Pyu language once spoken in what is now Upper Burma. The two pillars collectively known as the Kubyaukgyi (a.k.a. Myazedi) inscription from c. 1112 CE have two copies of the same text in four languages: Old Burmese, Old Mon, Pali, and Pyu. I present a critical edition of the text based on newly taken photographs using RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging) technology. I provide English glosses and translations of all versions of the text. I also include notes on the phonology and syntax of the Pyu text and a glossary of all words in the Pyu text including their equivalents in the other three languages of the inscription. Unlike previous Western scholarship on the Kubyaukgyi, this paper incorporates the findings of earlier Japanese studies of the Kubyaukgyi inscription. It also takes into account recent developments in Mon and Pyu language studies.