10th century Kannada inscription found in south Goa

A rare inscription written in Kannada and Sanskrit has been discovered on the premises of Mahadeva temple at Cacoda in Southern Goa, according to a former history professor from Udupi.

In the release issued on Thursday, Prof T Murugeshi, former associate professor of ancient history and archaeology from Udupi who studied the inscription, said the epigraph is engraved in Kannada and Nagari characters of 10th century AD, and belongs to the Kadambas of Goa.

The inscription opens with an auspicious word ‘Be it well’ (Swasthi Shri) and records that when Talara Nevayya was administering the mandala, his son Gundayya, who had taken a vow to fulfil his father’s desire of capturing a Gopura, the port of Goa, fought and died after fulfilling his father’s wish.

The record is composed as a vocal statement on the death of his son from the mouth of a lamenting father. It is in the literary style of the Talangre inscription of Jayasimha I of the same period, Murugeshi said.

Kadambas of Goa were the subordinates of Chalukyas of Kalyana. Chalukyan emperor Tailapa II was appointed Kadamba Shasthadeva as Mahamandaleshwara of Goa, for his help in dethroning the Rashtrakutas.

Kadamba Shasthadeva conquered the city of Chandavara from the Shilaharas in 960 AD. Later on, he conquered the port of Gopakapattana (present day Goa). Perhaps in this battle, Gundayya, the son of Talara Nevayya, participated and won the port at the cost of his life. His father, on the heroic fight of his son, erected a memorial stone with the inscription on the temple premises of Mahadev in Cacoda, Murugeshi said in the release.