Stone with inscription in proto-Odia script found

BHAWANIPATNA: A 600-year-old hero stone with inscription in proto-Odia script has been unearthed in Junagarh of Kalahandi district.

The inscribed stone of five feet height and 1.5 feet width was found buried near Hira Sagar at Junagarh in Kalahandi district. History lecturer of Khariar Autonomous College Rajkumar Rate came across the stone during a field study and consulted epigraphist Bishnu Mohan Adhikari to decipher the eroded inscription on it. Adhikari said the inscription on the stone refers to a youth named Madana/Mardana who suppressed an agitation or rebellion and died.

Adhikari mentioned the inscription on the stone is in proto-Odia letters and the character is from Ganga dynasty. He mentioned two Ganga era inscriptions were found in Kalahandi Dandapata earlier. “Hence it is quite likely that Madana was associated with Ganga dynasty. The iconography of this hero stone suggests that it was erected between 12th and 14th century CE,” he said.

The hero figure holds a sword in his raised right hand and shield on his left. On the upper part, the symbol of crescent moon and female palm in Abhayamudra are portrayed.