Inscription of Devaraya II found in Kalavara temple

Kalavara is a small village in Kundapura taluk, renowned for the worship of king cobra.

A team of researchers unearthed an inscription of Devaraya II, a famous ruler of the Sangama dynasty of the Vijayanagar Empire, during the renovation of the temple at Kalavara.

According to Prof T Murugeshi, head of the Department of History and Archaeology, Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty College, Shirva, a rectangular stone slab - 1.37 m in height and 0.61 m in width - was found with a Shivalinga on the top panel and a Prabhavali round the lingum in the centre. A seated cow on the left as well as a lamp post and a small sword as a royal insignia were seen on the right.

Language and date

The epigraph is written in Kannada language. A few words in Telugu are also found. It has 38 lines in all.

The epigraph was begun with the invocation to Lord Ganesha, Saraswathi and Lord Shiva. Then, the date of the record is written as Saka year 1360, Siddharti Savatsara, Su 5. The intended date is October 23, (Thursday) 1438 AD.

The epigraph introduced Emperor Devaraya II of the Sangama dynasty with the usual epithets and of his own title - Gajabetegara or a hunter of elephant. When Devaraya II was ruling over his empire his prime minister, Pradhani Chandarasa Odeya, was in Barakuru Rajya as governor.

Officials

The inscription referred to two officials Duggana Nayaka and Tirumale Bhandari Nayaka. Duggana Nayaka went through Tirumale Bhandari Nayaka, till near the feet of emperor (Rayara Pada Balige Terali), and made a request (Binnaha Madidali). The emperor was given Kalaura to Duggana Nayaka as fief and land grant given was specified. Duggana Nayaka was probably an officer of Basrur fort, during the Vijayanagar period.

The inscription also mentioned place names, like Kalaura (present Kalavara), Kandaura (present Kandavara) and Edahadi, which are all in Kundapura taluk, Tirumale in Andhra Pradesh and Varanasi.

The epigraph is said to be written by Annappa Senabova at the end of the record.