Udupi: An inscription of Vijayanagara King Bukkaraya I has been discovered near Kollur in Udupi district. This is said to be the earliest inscription of Bukkaraya found in Udupi till date. The 24 line epigraph written in Kannada script and language was found at Santegadde of Ellur village near Kollur.
The inscription records a donation made for ‘Rudra Pooja,’ of Kotiswara Deva and dates back to Saka Era 1275 corresponding to 1353 AD.
"The inscription refers to Veera Bukkanna Odiya (Bukkaraya I of Sangama Dynasty) with usual epithets like ‘ariraya vibhada’ and ‘bhasege tappada rayara ganda’. This is probably the earliest inscription of Vijayanagara King Bukkaraya found in Udupi district till date. It is also the most ancient Vijayanagara record discovered in Kollur region till date,” MSRS College Department of History and Archeology head Prof T Murugeshi told Deccan Chronicle.
“There are several inscriptions of Bukkaraya in the district. But this is the earliest one found in Udupi district till now,” he asserted. Murugeshi also throws light on some of the words and names used in the inscription that would help in constructing rehistory of the region.
“The inscription refers to Tamma Hegade of Edava Kolli. The Edava Kolli mentioned here could probably be the archaic name for Kollur. The inscription refers to one ‘Maleya Danayaka,’ as Pradhani or Prime Minister. History knows him as the governor of Barakuru. But this inscription mentions him as Prime Minister,” he notes.
Two new subordinate rulers or ‘Mandalikas’ of Vijayanagara Kings- Tamma Hegade of Maramundi and Edava Kolli too are mentioned in the inscription.
