A Hoysala inscription has been found on the outside ‘prakara’ of a Shiva temple at Cheluvanahalli village in Arsikere taluk of Hassan district, according to T. Murugeshi, retired Associate Professor in Ancient History and Archaeology, MSRS College, Shirva of Udupi district.
The inscription is of five lines and it is written in Kannada with the script of 13th century characters.
The upper panel has the depiction of a lingam, and on the right is a man seated facing the lingam. On the left is seen a standing cow. The five lines are found below this panel, he said in a release on Friday.
“The inscription states that on the subhanu savat vaishaka bahula brahavara, a person named Kacheya Nayaka, probably a local chief, donated a donation for the merit of a bhantara. Bhantara is a corrupt form of bhatara. Mostly he was a Shaiva pontiff shown sitting before the lingam in the panel. The given details of the date corresponds to April 6, Thursday, 1,223 A.D. and the writing style also matches with the 13th century Hoysala script,” the release said.
Arsikere was the heartland of the Hoysala empire and known for large number of Hoysala inscriptions and monuments. The Shiva temple of Cheluvanahalli was a Hoysala temple and is now completely renovated, he said.
Harish, a Kannada lecturer in the Government First Grade College of Arsikere, found this inscription and brought it to the notice of Mr. Murugeshi.
