Vijayanagar edict found at Kandavara

An inscription of emperor Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagar Empire has been discovered at Kandavara near Kundapur of Udupi district. Prof T. Murugeshi, associate professor in Ancient History and Archaeology, MSRS College, whom the temple authorities invited to study the inscription, said, "The epigraph was originally built into the sanctum sanctorum of Ulluru Kartikeya temple of Kandavara, but while renovating the temple, the inscription was brought out and installed in the outer premises of the temple."

The edict was originally built into sanctum sanctorum of Ulluru Kartikeya temple 
[Credit: Bangalore Mirror]

"The thirty-line inscription is written on a rectangular stone slab in Kannada. Each line begins with a zero. Generally, Vijayanagar inscriptions began with an invocation, but this inscription began with a simple word Swasthishri (May it be well). It dates back to the Saka year but the engraved date is worn-out badly. However, Samvatsara is mentioned as Sukla and Magha masa. Sukla corresponds to January 1509 AD, the intended date of the inscription. This date corresponds to the first year of the Krishnadevaraya's reign," Prof Murugeshi explained.

He goes on to add that when emperor Krishnadevara-ya ruled Vijayanagar, Malla-ppa Odeya was in-charge of Barakuru Rajya. At the instan-ce of Krishnadevaraya, some grants were given for the worship of god Kartika of Skanda-pura in the month of Kartika, ie December. Basavarasa Ode-ya, a former governor, had given some grants to Amruta-padi. He might have been an officer in-charge of the royal treasury of Kandavara. Annu Udupa was a temple trustee as mentioned in the record. Towards the end, an invocation of lord Ganesha and lord Shiva is found in the record.

Ulluru Kartikeya temple is one of the earliest temples of coastal Karnataka. The presiding deity of the temple is as old as eighth century AD. That the temple was supported by the Vijayanagar rulers is testified by the eight inscriptions of the Vijayanagar Empire already reported by Dr P. N. Narasimha Murthy. The present inscription is the second such of Krishnadevaraya.

Madhava Adiga and Subra-ya Udupa of the temple and Dr B. Venkataramana Udupa of Kandavara have helped in studying the inscription.

Source: Bangalore Mirror [July 03, 2015]