CHENNAI: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will begin the final phase of recopying inscriptions at the Brihadeeswarar Temple, popularly known as the Big Temple, in Thanjavur from Thursday as part of efforts to preserve the historic records and digitise them under the Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions (BharatSHRI) project.
A team of more than 15 members will work for over two weeks to recopy Tamil and Marathi inscriptions found inside the temple. The exercise is being undertaken as several existing inscription estampages (impressions taken from inscriptions on stone surfaces) have deteriorated over time, making it necessary to prepare fresh copies.
K Munirathnam Reddy, Director (Epigraphy), ASI, said the temple houses more than 500 inscriptions in Tamil and Marathi. The recopying work is technically demanding and cannot be completed at a single stretch, particularly as temple maintenance activities have also had to be accommodated.
The inscriptions were last copied in 1886, and the ASI resumed the recopying exercise in 2023. The work has since been carried out in several phases. The exercise beginning on October 22 will be the final phase, following which the collected materials will be taken up for digitisation, Reddy said.
The recopying is part of the ASI’s ongoing initiative to digitise inscription estampages preserved by its Epigraphy Division. So far, around 15,000 Tamil estampages have been digitised under the initiative, according to officials. The inscriptions at the Big Temple, built during the Chola period, are valuable historical records that shed light on the temple’s construction, administration, political developments of the period and donations made to the institution. They also provide insights into the social and economic life of the time.
ASI officials said the exercise is expected to help preserve these records in a more accessible digital format while ensuring that information contained in the inscriptions remains available for future research and historical documentation.
