Oldest Sanskrit stone inscription in South India is from Telangana's Phanigiri
10th July 2022 A similar inscription was found at Chebrolu in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh last year, which was then believed to be the oldest one.
HYDERABAD: In a new development, epigraphists have confirmed that stone inscription excavated in Phanigiri, an ancient Buddhist site in Tirumalagiri mandal of Suryapet district, is the oldest Sanskrit inscription written in Brahmi script found in southern India.
A fragment of the inscription on a white marble stone was among the artifacts found during a series of excavations done at Phanigiri between 2003 and 2006. Recently, Dr K Munirathnam Reddy, Director (Epigraphy), Archaeological Survey of India, decoded the inscription and explained that Telangana now attains prominence as the State to have South India’s oldest Sanskrit inscription.
A similar inscription was found at Chebrolu in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh last year, which was then believed to be the oldest one. That inscription was issued by the 28th Satavahana ruler Vijaya, who had ruled the empire in the 3rd century AD.
The fragment of stone discovered in Phanigiri where only three lines can be seen, records the reign of Sivasri Satakarni, the 25th ruler of the Satavahana dynasty, and also describes him as the son of Vasishthiputra Pulumavi II.
“Though the exact period of his rule is debatable, it has been established that Sivasri ruled before Vijaya. The Phanigiri inscription must have been issued decades before the Chebrolu inscription,” observes historian and epigraphist Dr Surya Kumar.
Sanskrit emerged in Hala period Interestingly, though no Sanskrit inscription was found from the period before that in the south, there were inferences drawn by archaeologists from inscriptions of the time, that ‘Sanskritisation’ had happened during the rule of Hala, the 17th king of Satavahana dynasty in the 1st century AD.
THREE-LINE INSCRIPTION The fragment of stone discovered in Phanigiri where only three lines can be seen, records the reign of Sivasri Satakarni, the 25th ruler of the Satavahana dynasty, and also describes him as the son of Vasishthiputra Pulumavi II
Earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India found in A.P.
R. KRISHNA KUMAR DECEMBER 25, 2019
Saptamatrika cult evidence dates back to 207 A.D. in Satavahana king Vijaya’s era
In a significant find, the Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India has discovered the earliest epigraphic evidence so far for the Saptamatrika cult. It is also the earliest Sanskrit inscription to have been discovered in South India as on date.
Saptamatrikas are a group of seven female deities worshipped in Hinduism as personifying the energy of their respective consorts. The inscription is in Sanskrit and in Brahmi characters and was issued by Satavahana king Vijaya in 207 A.D.
Dr. K. Muniratnam, Director, Epigraphy branch, ASI, Mysuru told The Hindu that it was discovered in Chebrolu village in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh earlier this month.
The inscription came to light when some local villagers informed the authorities of the presence of a pillar with some engravings when they were restoring and repairing the local Bheemeshwara temple.
The inscription was first copied and studied and it transpired that it records the construction of a prasada (temple), a mandapa and consecration of images on the southern side of the temple by a person named Kartika for the merit of the king at the temple of Bhagavathi (Goddess) Saktimatruka (Saptamatrika) at Tambrape; Tambrape being the ancient name of Chebrolou, said Dr. Muniratnam. He said there are references of Saptamatrika worship in the early Kadamba copper plates and the early Chalukyas and Eastern Chalukya copper plates. But the new discovery predates them by almost 200 years.
The verification of all the available records proved that the Chebrolu inscription of Satavahana king Vijaya issued in his 5th regnal year – 207 A.D. — is also the earliest datable Sanskrit inscription from South India so far, said Dr. Muniratnam.
So far the Nagarjunakonda inscription of Ikshavaku king Ehavala Chantamula issued in his 11th regnal year corresponding to the 4th century A.D. was considered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India, he added.
The place also yielded another inscription which is in Prakrit language and of Brahmi characters and belongs to the 1st century A.D. This is the earliest epigraphic reference to Mutts and records the gift of a cloister mandapa and chaitya to the bhavatho (Lord) of the Gadasa Mutt by a person hailing from Tabaava, according to Dr. Muniratnam.
Calling for conservation and preservation of the pillar given its historical importance, he pointed out that there were many such ancient monuments and structures across the country that lacked protection but could contain treasure trove of information.
