Berhampur: The inscription on a 600-year-old stone engraving has been deciphered shedding light on the history of Ganga dynasty ruling in Odisha at the time.
Raj Kumar Rate, a lecturer in History at Khariar Autonomous College in Nuapada district, discovered the proto-Odia inscribed hero stone (popularly known as Veer Shila in Odia) in Junagarh of Kalahandi district and two other memorial stones from Hirasagarpada during a field survey in 2022.
Rate approached epigraphist Bishnu Mohan Adhikari of Paralakhemundi for its decipherment on October 2 last. Later, both Bishnu and Rate visited Hirasagarpada for further research on the spot. The inscribed ‘Veer Shila’ measures five feet high and 1.5 feet wide.
The engraving below the ‘Veer’ image has three-line inscriptions. The hero figure holds a sword in his raised right hand and shield in his left hand. In the upper part, the symbol of crescent moon and female palm in Abhayamudra are portrayed. The iconography on the ‘Veer Shila’ suggests that it was erected sometime between 12th and 14th century CE.
Adhikari, who has deciphered 45 new inscriptions of Odisha till now, said this ‘Veer Shila’ describes a boy named Madana/Mardana who suppressed some rebellion or agitation.
Bishnu said the inscription has been engraved in proto-Odia letters in the lower section. Those characters belong to eastern Ganga region.
He also mentioned that they are getting two Ganga era inscriptions of Eastern Ganga dynasty in a nearby area (Kalahandi Dandapata). Hence there was possibility of this and Madan was associated with Ganga ruler Bhanudeba, he added.