SHIVAMOGGA: Remains of a Jain basadi and two nishadi stone inscriptions, dating back to the 12th century, were discovered during a cleanliness drive conducted at Umblebailu in Bhadravathi taluk, on Wednesday.
According to the officials of the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, the findings belong to the Hoysalan period.
The cleanliness drive was taken by the MSS unit of Acharya Tulsi National Commerce College and the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage. Each Nishadi stone has six lines written in Halegannada (Old Kannada) and measures 90 cm in length and 37 cm in width.
R Shejeshwar, Assistant Director, Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, stated in a press release issue on Thursday that the stones detail the story of those who attained Sallekhana — the religious practice of facing death voluntarily.
The first stone depicts a couple sitting while practicing Sallekhana. The second one shows a disciple of Sena Bhattaraka holding a religious book and preaching.
“One Hosavisetti practices Sallekhana on a Shravana Tuesday and dies. Later, his wife Kanamve also practices Sallekhana and dies,” Shejeshwar said and thanked archaeologists Jagadeesh and Ravikumar Navalgund for helping to decipher the inscriptions.