Halmidi inscription

Halmidi inscription

Encyclopedia

Tutorials

Encyclopedia

Dictionary

Directory

Email this to a friend Halmidi_inscription

Halmidi inscription

A replica of the original Halmidi inscription at Halmidi village

The Halmidi inscription is the oldest known Kannada inscription in the Kannada script, dating to the 5th century A.D. (the Kadamba period).

The original inscription is kept in the Office of the Director of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of Karnataka, Mysore,^[1] and a fibreglass replica has been installed in Halmidi.

Discovery and dating
Textual analysis
Text
Notes
See also
References
External links

Discovery and dating

The undated inscription was discovered in 1936 by Dr. M. H. Krishna, the Director of Archaeology in the (princely) State of Mysore, in Halmidi, a village in Karnataka. In a report published in a Mysore Archaeological Department Report (MAR) in 1936, Krishna dated the inscription to 450 A.D., on paleographical grounds.^[2]^[3]

Later scholars have variously dated it to 450 A.D.,^[4] 470 A.D.,^[5] 500 A.D.,^[6] "about 500",^[7] and "end of the fifth century A. D. or the beginning of the 6th century A.D."^[8] Epigraphist, D. C. Sircar even dated the inscriptions to "about the end of the 6th century."^[9] Historian, K. V. Ramesh wrote about the differing estimates: He also hypothesized that, compared to possibly contemporaneous Sanksrit inscriptions, "Halmidi inscription has letters which are unsettled and uncultivated, no doubt giving an impression, or rather an illusion, even to the trained eye, that it is, in date, later than the period to which it really belongs, namely the fifth century A.D."^[10]

Textual analysis

The replica of the Halmidi inscription mounted on pedastal

The inscription is in verse form indicating the authors of the inscription had a good sense of the language structure.^[11] The inscription is written in pre-old Kannada (Puruvada-hala Kannada), which later evolved into old Kannada, middle Kannada and eventually modern Kannada.^[12] The Halmidi inscription is the earliest evidence of usage of Kannada as an administrative language.^[13]

Text

The Halmidi inscription translated into modern Kannada script

The Halmidi inscription translated into modern Kannada language

The pillar on which the inscription was written stands around high. Its top has been carved into an arch, onto which the figure of a wheel has been carved, which is probably intended to represent the Sudarshana Chakra of Vishnu.^[14] The following lines are carved on the front of the pillar:

1. jayati ?ri-pari?v??ga-??r?ga vy?natir-acyt?? d?nav-ak???r-yug?nt-?gni? ?i???n?n=tu sudar?ana?
2. nama? ?r?mat=kada?bapan=ty?ga-sa?pannan kalabh?ran? ari ka-
3. kustha-bha???ran=??e narid?vi?e-n??u? m?g??a-n?-
4. g?ndr-?bhi?ar=bhbha?ahar=appor ?r? m?g??a-n?g?hvaya-
5. r=irrvar=? ba?ari-kul-?mala-vy?ma-t?r?dhi-n?thann=a?apa-
6. ga?a-pa?upatiy=? dak?i??patha-bahu-?ata-havan=?-
7. havudu? pa?uprad?na-?auryy?dyama-bharit?n=d?na pa-
8. ?upatiyendu poga?eppo??a?a pa?upati-
9. n?madh?yan=?sarakk=ella-bha?ariy? pr?m?laya-
10. sutange s?ndraka-b??=?bhayad??ad=? v?ra-puru?a-samak?a-
11. de k?kaya-pallavara? k?d=e?idu pettajayan=? vija
12. arasange b??ga?cu palma?iu? m??iva?u? ko-
13. ???r ba??ri-kulad?n=??a-kadamban ka?ad?n mah?p?takan
14. irvvaru? sa?ba?gadar vij?rasaru? palma?ige ku?u-
15. mbi?i vi???r ad?n a?ivornge mah?patakam svasti

The following line is carved on the pillar's left face:

16. bha??arg=? ga?de o??ali ? pattondi vi???rakara