curses

[Arlo Griffiths]

Dear colleagues,
One of my students at the University of Indonesia is writing her MA thesis on the topic of curse-formulae in ancient Indonesian inscriptions, against the background of similar formulae observed elsewhere in Southeast Asian as well as in Indian epigraphy.
I have been surprised at how little the usual epigraphical handbooks (Sircar, Sivaramamurti, Salomon) say about curses/imprecations, especially if one is interested in vernacular expressions besides the formulae in Sanskrit. A keyword search 'curse/'imprecation' in other Indological handbooks (e.g. Kane's History of Dharmasāstra) also does not yield much.
Dr. Emmanuel Francis has kindly supplied to me pdfs of a paper by N. Karashima ('New imprecations in Tamil Inscriptions and Jāti Formation'), a few pages from the Introduction of K.V. Ramesh, Indian Epigraphy Vol. I (1984), and a few pages from A. Krishnan's 'Literature and Epigraphy of Tamil Nadu' (1998). This is all very helpful.
My student is interested in the Sanskrit/vernacular distinction, in the question whether curse-formulae occur by themselves or paired with benedictions, in the particular elements of threat used in curse formulae (different kinds of hells, types of corporeal punishment or acts of bestiality the sinner will undergo, dangerous animals he will encounter, classifications of types of sins assimilated to the sin of disturbing a land-donation, etc.), and in interpretations of the function of these formulae in land-grants (or arguments that might help her to formulate her own interpretations).
May I ask whether anybody can help me obtain further secondary literature and/or (collections of) specific curse formulae, especially those expressed in vernacular languages, to address the themes outlined above? Many thanks in advance.
Best wishes,
Arlo Griffiths(EFEO/Jakarta)