Many thanks to Michael Witzel, Alessandro Battistini, Manu
Francis, Balogh Dániel, and Jean Michel Delire for their speedy
and informed replies to my query.
As I suspected, the phrase is a string of numbers (bhūtasaṃkhyā).
One can find more details in Salomon, 1998, Indian Epigraphy
(p173) and Kielhorn, "The Epoch of the Newar Era", Indian
Antiquary 17. For the specific words used in
bhūtasaṃkhyā-s, see Bühler's Indian Paleography (pp.84-86) or
Kale's History of Dharmaśāstra vol. 5.1 (pp. 701-703). See also a
blog by Péter Szántó
(http://tibetica.blogspot.hu/2008/02/bhtasakhy.html).
There were a few different suggestions on how to resolve the
reading and the digits, but 952 is the consensus vote:
khacara = nine planets = 9
śara = kāma's five arrows = 5
yaṇa = ??
I have not seen this manuscript in person. The contents are a
portion of the Mahāvastu, Senart 2.397.8-3.90.10. I have no
expertise in Nepalese manuscripts and am a novice Newari script
reader, but I would lean towards the earlier date of 952. That
one seems more likely purely from a philological standpoint. And
even if the yaṇa digit ends up changing, it would not change the
date very much as the last digit. If anyone has any thoughts on
the reading or handwriting, please do let us know.
In manuscript E 1160/3 of the National Archives of Nepal (Nepal
German Manuscript Project)--also cataloged by the Asha Saphu Kuti
as 5229--the following colophon is given at the end of the text:
nepālavarṣe yaṇaśarakhacare vidyānandena likhitaṃ hi śubhaṃ bhūyāt
||
Does anyone know what "yaṇaśarakhacare" designates?
Attached is a photo of the folio (if it goes through).