Udupi: An early Kannada inscription dating back to the Alupa period has been discovered at Mangodu in Udupi district. The Alupa royal family ruled the coastal belt and parts of Malnad for about thousand years with Udayapura in Udupi district as their capital. Mangodu, where the recent inscription was discovered is situated near Udyavara.
The inscription is engraved in a natural roundish stone found only in St Mary’s island in Udupi. The early Alupa rulers widely used this stone for their writing of inscriptions.
“The inscription which begins with a simple word ‘Swasthisri’ narrates the valour of a soldier Pala Achiya who fought against King Shwethavahana,” MSRS College Ancient History and Archaeology department associate professor Prof T. Murugeshi said while giving details about the new discovery.
The inscription states that Pala Achiya, a servant of Navra stabbed Shwethavahana when the later forcibly tried to enter Udayapura. Pala Achiya later fell fighting and attained heaven, it adds.
“The eight line inscription is written in early Kannada script and language. It is assignable to the early 9th century AD. The seventh line of the inscription is completely damaged,” Mr Murugeshi said.
“The inscription not only records the valiant fighting and death of Pala Achiya but records the end of Alupa ruler Shwethavahana. It also introduced two personalities, Navra, a ruler and Pala Achiya his servant hitherto unknown in history,” he added.
Murugeshi feels that the record is also useful in studying the antiquity of Mangodu Subrahmanya temple. “With the help of this record we can safely assignable the temple to the early 9th century A.D,” he added.
Udyavara witnessed infighting among the Alupa rulers. The present inscription narrates the killing of Alupa king Shwethavahana by Pala Achiya. It is likely that Pala Achiya mentioned in the inscription fought for Shwethavahana’s relative Prithvisagara.
