15th century inscription found in Byndoor

PTI, Jun 13, 2022, 9:45 AM IST

Udupi: A stone inscription belonging to the 15th century Vijayanagara empire was found in the Nandanavana village of Byndoor taluk in the Udupi district.

Shruthesh Acharya, director of St Aloysius College studied the inscription under the guidance of retired teacher K Sridhar Bhat and Prof S A Krishnaiah, director of Oriental Archives Research Centre, Udupi, a release here said.

The inscription was found on land owned by Sanjeeva Prabhu and is inscribed in Kana stone. The inscription which is 5 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide has 38 lines in Kannada.

On either side of the Vamana idol on the top end, conch, chakra, sun, and moon are carved. It has a headline, ‘Swasti Sri Ganadhipataye Namah’ and the date is mentioned as 1442 Varthamana Pramadhi Samvatsarada Shravana Shuddha 15 Budhawara which means August 21, 1519 AD.

The dateline on the stone inscription clearly states that this belonged to the times of Tuluva King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara empire. During the period, the Barakoora state was ruled by Vijyappa Odeya, son of Ratnappa Odeya.

The inscription is a prayer for the long life and prosperity of ruler Vijayappa Odeya. The inscription had also received a donation from Keshava Upadhyaya, son of Eshana Upadhyaya of Angirasa Gothra, the release said.