Tamatakallu Gunamadhura Inscription
edit 3D scanned image of the Gunamadhura Prashasti Inscription | |
 3D scanned image of the Gunamadhura Herostone | |
| Language | Kannada,Tamil |
|---|---|
| Height | 143 cm (56 in) |
| Width | 72 cm (28 in) |
| Discovered place | Tamatakallu, Chitradurga, Karnataka |
| Discovered | 1903 |
| Present location | 13°04′44″N 77°36′26″E / 13.07891667°N 77.60725000°E |
Tamatakallu Gunamadhura inscription located in Tamatakallu village, Chitradurga district in Karnataka is one of the most prominent Kannada inscriptions. It records several firsts in Kannada epigraphical history. it is the oldest Kannada hero-stone inscription, oldest Kannada inscription that records a metered verse and also the oldest Tamil inscription to be found in Karnataka, inscribed in the Vatteluttu script. The inscriptions are a set of two inscriptions, the first inscription is a prashasti in a chandassu (metered verse) that extempores Gunamadhura's personality and virtues. The second is a herostone inscription that has a sculpture of Gunamadhura with two other men, they are depicted in a battlefield.[1]
Discovery and dating
editIt was first documented in 1903 in Vol 11, Epigraphia Carnatica under the Chitradurga Inscriptions 41,42.[2] Dr. Devarakonda Reddy and Dr. R. Sheshashastri re-read the inscription and published a detailed article in the journal Sadhana, Vol. 10, No. 3. inscriptions have undergone physical conservation by the Karnataka State Department of Archaeology with the help of locals. Recently, local authorities provided shade by installing a sheet roof.[3][4] It was subsequently digitally archived by the Mythic society 3D conservation team in 2024. The inscription is paleographically dated to 500CE.
Transliteration of the inscription
editThe text is published in the Quarterly Journal of the Mythic society.
The transliteration of the Gunamadhura Prashasti inscription.
| Line
Number |
Kannada | IAST |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ಫಣಮಣಿ ಅನ್ತುಭೋಗಿ ಫಣದುಳ್ಮಣಿ ವಿಲ್ಮನದೋನ್ | phaṇamaṇi antubhogi phaṇadulmaṇi vilmanadon |
| 2 | ರಣಮುಖದುಳ್ಳೆ ಕಾಲನರಿಯರ್ಕ್ಕುಮನಿನ್ದ್ಯಗುಣನ್ | raṇamukhadulle kālanariyarkkumanindyaguṇan |
| 3 | ಪ್ರಣಯಿಜನಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಮನ ಸಿತೋತ್ಪಲ ವರ್ಣ್ಣನವನ್ | praṇayijanakk kāmana sitotpala varṇṇanavan |
| 4 | ಗುಣಮಧುರಾನ್ಕ ದಿವ್ಯಪುರುಷನ್ಪುರುಷ ಪ್ರವರನ್ | guṇamadhurānka divyapuruṣanpuruṣa pravaran |
The transliteration of the Gunamadhura hero-stone inscription.
| Line
Number |
Kannada | IAST |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ಫಣಮಣಿ ಅನ್ತುಭೋಗಿಸ್ವಸ್ತಿ ಶ್ರೀಮತ್ಮಾಸಿಕ್ಕಾ ಪುರಾಧೀಪತಿಃ
ಅಥ ಭಾರದ್ವಾಜ ವಂಶ ಧನಾಗಮಸ್ಯಪುತ್ರೋ ಮನಾ ಫಣದುಳ್ಮಣಿ ವಿಲ್ಮನದೋನ್ |
phaṇamaṇi antubhogisvasti śrīmatmāsikkā purādhīpatiḥ
atha bhāradvāja vaṃśa dhanāgamasyaputro manā phaṇadulmaṇi vilmanadon |
| 2 | ಗಮಃತಸ್ಯೆವಸೂನುಃ ಗುಣಮಧುರೋ ನಾಮ ಸತಾಂತ್ಯಾಗ ವಾನಿತಿ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಃ | gamaḥtasyvasūnuḥ guṇamadhuro nāma satāṃtyāga vāniti praśastaḥ |
| Vatteluttu | IAST | |
| ಏಳೂರ ಮೋನಲನ್‌ ಚಾಟಣ್ | el̤ūra monalan cāṭaṇ |
Importance of the Inscriptions
editThe inscription being the first Kannada inscription to record a metered verse (chandassu), is in the atyaṣṭi chandassu. The Tamil inscription has been suggested by Iravatham Mahadevan that it might be the name of the inscription writer or sculptor. The historical information in the inscription records the valor of Gunamadhura, as belonging to the Bharadvaja clan and the son of Dhanaga, chieftain of the town of Masikka, who was renowned for his qualities of truthfulness, sacrifice, and generosity.
Gallery
edit-
Tamatakal Inscriptions housed below a shed -
3D Scanning of The Tamatakal 500CE Gunamadhura Herostone -
Digital Image with texture of the Tamatakal 500CE Gunamadhura Prashasti Inscription -
Digital image of The Tamatakal 500CE Gunamadhura Herostone
References
edit- ^ "The Hindu : Karnataka News : Two hero stones of Chitradurga". web.archive.org. 2007-12-08. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ Rice, Benjamin Lewis (1903). Epigraphia Carnatica: Inscriptions in the Chitaldroog District (in Kannada). Mysore Government Central Press.
- ^ Chandra, G. Subhash (2021-09-15). "Karnataka: 6th-century hero stone, Tamil Inscription restored in Tamatakallu". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ D, Shilpa (2021-09-15). "ಚಿತ್ರದುರ್ಗ: ತಮಟಕಲ್ಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ 6ನೇ ಶತಮಾನದ ವೀರಗಲ್ಲು, ಪುರಾತನ ತಮಿಳು ಶಾಸನ ಮರುಸ್ಥಾಪನೆ!". Kannada Prabha (in Kannada). Retrieved 2024-04-29.