6th International Symposium Oriental Studies

101 The 6 th International Symposium on Oriental Ancient Documents Studies Rudolf Yanson Curses and Prayers in the Burmese Dedicatory Inscriptions The structure of the Old Burmese inscriptions (the 12–15 th cc.) can be called standard. Usually they start with the description of the intentions of the donor, this is followed by enumeration of donations, which, in turn, is followed by a curse or a prayer, sometimes a mixture of both. At first, the final part of the inscriptions was very laconic, but gradually became spacious and diverse. Many concepts of Brahmanic cosmology are widely intertwined to describe the purgatories expecting the sinners. Interestingly, the final part of the inscriptions performed by women sounds more like a prayer, whereas the ones performed by men contain mostly curses. Several prayers are of a high literary standard, which makes it tempting to analyze them as pieces of literature. Key words: Burmese, dedicatory inscription, Brahmanic cosmology, curse, prayer.