HYDERABAD: Nine sets of ancient copper plates recently unearthed from a Muslim graveyard in Kodada village of Suryapet district, have brought to light a significant royal land grant issued by Vengi Chalukya ruler Bhima I, who reigned between 892 and 922 CE.
The inscription records the donation of the village Chunugiyapundi for the maintenance and worship at the Sakalesvara Siva temple in Kakarti village, situated within the Vengi-mandala of Kondapalli vishaya. The grant was made during the administration of Vetti, grandson of Vigraha Vetti. The royal order was issued by Kadeyaraja, the Superintendent of the Royal Camp, while the inscription was engraved by Kondapacharya.
The plates, written in Sanskrit using Telugu script of the 9th-10th century CE, bear the royal seal of the Eastern Chalukyas—a varaha (boar) symbolising the dynasty with the inscription Svasti Sri Tribhuvanamkusa. The text also details the royal lineage from Kubja Vishnuvardhana to Chalukya Bhima I.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Director (Epigraphy) Munirathnam Reddy said that the inscription offers crucial insights into the religious practices, administrative systems, and cultural life of the Eastern Chalukyas, underlining the historical significance of the Vengi region in early medieval South India.