HYDERABAD: Researchers have discovered a terracotta object containing Brahmi inscriptions written in the Prakrit language and in characters of the 3rd century BC on the bank of the Manjira river at Kulcharam in Medak district. The inscription reads “Devana” prefixed with a symbol of ‘Nandipada’.
The word indicates a part of the title of the great emperor Ashoka of the Maurya dynasty. History and Archaeology researcher MA Srinivasan and his team comprising of B Shankar Reddy, B Nagaraju and N Arun Kumar discovered this terracotta antiquity on the banks of the Manjira river.
Three Buddhist label inscriptions were also found in rock shelters just a kilometre away from the site where the antiquity was found. These inscriptions are in Prakrit language and Brahmi script of 1st BC - 1st century AD. They read as ‘Henamo Buddeya’, ‘Dhama’, ‘He jama’ and are found on the rock boulders.
The rock shelter also had evidences from the neolithic period. “This discovery unveils a new chapter in the history of Telangana as this is the first time we have found such precious evidence in Manjira valley,” said Srinivasan.
The research team urged the Department of Heritage and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take up a survey of the Manjira river valley and the excavations of the site to find more antiquities.