Discovery at Mahalingeshwara Temple in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Nagar

Mysore/Mysuru: A remarkable archaeological discovery has shed new light on the ancient history of Mysuru, with the unearthing of a 10th-century inscription from the Ganga Dynasty at the Mahalingeshwara Temple in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Nagar (SVP Nagar), located about 10 kilometres east of the city centre.

The inscription, carved on white granite and written in Kannada script, dates back to 948 AD — making it 1,076 years old. Measuring two feet wide and two and a half feet tall, the six-line text was found on the east-facing wall inside the temple, which locals previously believed to be only 200 to 300 years old.

 What the inscription reveals

The inscription is believed to have been carved during the reign of Butuga II, a ruler of the Ganga dynasty. According to the inscription, Maremma — a bodyguard of Butuga II and a member of the Besta community — may have donated a garden to a temple, exempting it from taxes, and entrusted its management to the village chief, Vijaketa Gavunda.

Although the inscription is partially damaged and cannot be fully deciphered, the mention of “Vijaketa Gavunda Dise” suggests that the garden’s administration was indeed assigned to the village head.

A symbolic engraving of a temple further supports the interpretation that the donation was temple-related. While the specific temple is not named, the presence of a Ganga-style Shiva Linga in the Mahalingeshwara Temple — where the inscription was found — strongly indicates that the donation pertains to this temple.

At the bottom of the inscription, a carved image of a cow feeding its calf serves as a symbolic warning: Defacing or destroying the inscription would be equivalent to committing the grave sin of killing a cow.

E-stampage of inscription taken

The find was initiated by retired Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivanna, who alerted archaeologist Prof. N.S. Rangaraju. Fieldwork was conducted by Dr. C.A. Shashidhara, an archaeological researcher with the Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada.

The research team, led by Project Director Prof. N.M. Talwar and supported by Prof. Shailendra Mohan of the Central Institute of Indian Languages, included Dr. R. Mariswamy and photographer Ramesh Patel. An e-stampage of the inscription was taken with the cooperation of residents P.B. Pramukh  and Raghavendra.

“This discovery confirms that the Mahalingeshwara Temple is over a thousand years old,” said Prof. Talwar.

“The architectural style and inscription reflect the population density and cultural priorities of the Ganga period,”   he added.

Dr. Shashidhara emphasised the importance of preserving such heritage: “Many Ganga-era temples have been misattributed to other dynasties due to renovations and lack of awareness. This research helps restore historical accuracy and honour the legacy of the  Ganga rulers.”

CIIL Director In-Charge Umarani Pappuswamy, Assistant Director Pankaj Dwivedi, Coordinator L.R. Premkumar and epigraphist Prof. Devarakondareddy supported the research and inscription analysis.