A 500-year-old Kannada inscription dating back to 16th century was discovered at Silvarpatti near Periyakulam in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district.
As per a report by The New Indian Express, it was found by K Bharathiraja, a BT assistant teacher of Government Model Higher Secondary School in Silvarpatti, while searching for archaeological evidence in the cellar region of the Vinayaka temple.
Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation president V Rajaguru, historian Noorsahipuram Sivakumar, Block Resource teacher Murugesa Pandian and Aruppukottai SBK college History Professor Rajapandi, inspected the inscription.
Rajaguru said the stone slab in the cellar of the temple was 3 ft high, 2.5 ft wide and 5 ft thick, and a Shivalinga, sun and moon were carved on top of the slab. At the bottom, there is a Kannada inscription with four lines, he added.
It is noteworthy that the Vinayaka temple and the sculptures are in the art form of the Vijayanagara king and the pillars in the temple have sculptures of two standing dwarapalakas, Rajaguru further said.
According to some newly settled people, who have been staying at the place and renovating existing temples, “The administration of the village was titled ‘Nattanmai’ during the reigns of Vijayanagara and Nayaks. Sri Halapayya Gauda might have been the ruler of this place during the Vijayanagara kings. At the time, temples of Vinayaka, Kathir Narasimha Perumal and Chenraya Perumal were built here.”
(With inputs from The New Indian Express)
