Mangaluru: Villagers, historians try to trace the life of 12th century king

Mangaluru: Kulashekhara village, named after the 12th king, who ruled the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada for over a thousand years, bustled with activity on Sunday as its people hobnobbed with historians and officers of the endowment department, who were helping them understand their connection to the royals based on the evidence still available in their midst.

Although there are some inscriptions that throw light on the king's life, the local villagers of Kulashekhara ,with the help of historians, are looking for more historical evidence to throw light on his association with the village. “This place was named after King Kulashekhara. Although there is no palace or fort here now, we still have some remains, which could tell us more about him. Our hope is to reconstruct our local history and we are trying to do this with the help of historians and the endowment department,” explains Mr Vishwajith, a businessman from the village.

The main source of information about the royal family is the Sri Veeranarayana Temple in the village, which has two inscriptions dating back to the time of the king. They have been copied by a historian, professor T Murugeshi of MSRS College and his students at the invitation of the endowment department. “We have copied the inscriptions and based on paleography believe it dates back to the 12th century. One of them is in Kannada and the other in Tulu. The idol of the presiding deity of the temple, Sri Veeranarayana, too dates back to same century. This was the time when Kulashekhara ruled Tulunadu,” explains Prof T Murugesh.