Śarīra Reliquary

A śarīra reliquary was recovered from a three-story stone pagoda at Beopgwangsa Temple in Sangeup-ri in Singwang-myeon of Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province. It was stolen in 1968 but was eventually recovered. Along with it were found a talc tureen with the characters “佛頂尊勝陀羅尼”(불정존승다라니) written in black ink, a bronze jar, and talc memorial stones for the pagoda that record the details of the pagoda construction and repair. There are two memorial stones: one with the year names “Taehwa 2 (828)” and “Hoechang 6 (846),” corresponding to the Unified Silla Period, and the other with the year names “Ganghui 37 (1698)” and “Geongnyung 12 (1747),” corresponding to the Joseon Period.
The memorial dating from the Unified Silla Period records that the pagoda that was originally built by the monks Hyangjosa and Wonjongni in 828 (the second year of King Heungdeok’s reign) and was moved in 846 (the eighth year of King Munseong’s reign). In 828, the patron was King Seongdeok, or Kim Gyungjeong (? ~ 836), the father of King Sinmu who ascended the throne in 839. Kim was posthumously conferred the title of “Daewang,” or the “Great King,” after his son became king. The Joseon memorial indicates that the repairs of the pagoda took place in 1698 (twenty-fourth year of King Sukjong) and 1747 (twenty-third year of King Yeongjo’s reign).