Hyderabad: Archaeological Survey of India ’s epigraphy wing, Mysuru, has deciphered an inscription of the Vijayanagara empire discovered in the Nallamala forest. The inscription, which dates back to the reign of king Devaraya II, was unearthed near Palutla in Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. The inscription was engraved on the four sides of a Nandi pillar located in the heart of the Nallamala forest, in close proximity to Palutla.
“The inscription is composed in the Telugu language and script, bearing the date October 18, 1436 CE. It chronicles the generous endowment of 800 varahas (gold coins) on the village of Puluvaii (likely the present-day Plula) as a ‘sarvamanya’ to the revered deity Mallikarjunadeva of Sriparvata. The offering was bestowed by the king to facilitate the conduct of worship, festivities, and the provision of food offerings to the deity during his encampment at Udayagiri Rajya,” ASI epigraphy director K Munirantam Reddy stated.
The intricate details of the inscription were conveyed by Vadde Madhav, a research scholar from the department of ancient history and archaeology at Acharya Nagarjuna University in Guntur. Prior to the discovery, a comparable inscription was unearthed in the vicinity of Ponnala Bayalu village, situated a mere few kilometres from Palutla. Moreover, two additional Telugu inscriptions from the 16th century had been identified near ‘Poleramma’ (a revered local village deity) temple, at Palutla.
These inscriptions were .