Epigraphia Carnatica
Encyclopedia
Epigraphia Carnatica is a set of books on epigraphy
of the Old Mysore
region of India
, compiled by Benjamin Lewis Rice, the Director of the Mysore Archaeological Department. Over a period of about ten years between 1894 and 1905, Rice published the books in a set of twelve volumes. The books contain the study of about 9000 inscriptions from lithic
surfaces and copper plates, which were found in the region. Apart from the original inscription, an English translation and a Roman transliteration are also provided.
in 1837. His father was a Christian missionary
and head of the Bangalore parish
. After completing his education in England
, Rice returned to serve as the principal of Central School in Bangalore. He was also appointed as a secretary of the education commission. When he toured the countryside as an education inspector, he came across various inscriptions. He was interested in epigraphy and he took the help of his assistants to edit, translate and transliterate about 9000 inscriptions. When in 1886, the British made him the head of the Department of Archaeology, he started work towards publishing his epigraphical study and brought out a series of twelve volumes entitled Epigraphia Carnatica. Rice also wrote a book called The History of Mysore and Coorg from Inscriptions which is based on Epigraphia Carnatica.
kings, Hyder Ali
and his son Tipu Sultan
and the Mysore Wodeyar
s. The inscriptions found were mainly written in Kannada language
but some have been found to be written in languages like Tamil
, Sanskrit
, Telugu
, Urdu
and even Persian
.
and Brahmagiri, discovered 2000 inscriptions and published these discoveries as the volumes 13, 14 and 15 of Epigraphia Carnatica. However, by 1950, the volumes were out of print. In 1972, the Department of Kannada at Mysore University undertook the task of reprinting the volumes, but could bring out only six volumes. The Southern Regional Centre of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) under the chairmanship of Professor S. Settar wanted to create a digitized version of the volumes. Settar donated his personal copies of Epigraphia Carnatica, which were scanned and released as a CD-ROM in 2005.
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
of the Old Mysore
Mysore State
The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...
region of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, compiled by Benjamin Lewis Rice, the Director of the Mysore Archaeological Department. Over a period of about ten years between 1894 and 1905, Rice published the books in a set of twelve volumes. The books contain the study of about 9000 inscriptions from lithic
Lithic
Lithic may refer to:*a stone tool*Lithic analysis*Lithic stage*Lithic core *Lithic reduction *Lithic technology *Lithic flake *Lithic fragment...
surfaces and copper plates, which were found in the region. Apart from the original inscription, an English translation and a Roman transliteration are also provided.
History
Benjamin Lewis Rice was born in BangaloreBangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
in 1837. His father was a Christian missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and head of the Bangalore parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
. After completing his education in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Rice returned to serve as the principal of Central School in Bangalore. He was also appointed as a secretary of the education commission. When he toured the countryside as an education inspector, he came across various inscriptions. He was interested in epigraphy and he took the help of his assistants to edit, translate and transliterate about 9000 inscriptions. When in 1886, the British made him the head of the Department of Archaeology, he started work towards publishing his epigraphical study and brought out a series of twelve volumes entitled Epigraphia Carnatica. Rice also wrote a book called The History of Mysore and Coorg from Inscriptions which is based on Epigraphia Carnatica.
Compilation
Epigraphia Carnatica contains a study of inscriptions from 3rd century AD until the 19th century. These inscriptions belonged to different dynasties that ruled this region such as Kadambas, Western Chalukyas, Hoysalas, VijayanagarVijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...
kings, Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
and his son Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
and the Mysore Wodeyar
Wodeyar
The Wodeyar dynasty was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947, until the independence of India from British rule and the subsequent unification of the Indian dominion and princely states into the Republic of India.The spelling Wodeyar/Wadiyar is found in most...
s. The inscriptions found were mainly written in Kannada language
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
but some have been found to be written in languages like Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and even Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
.
Publishing
After the set of twelve volumes had been published by Rice, R. Narsimhacharya, who succeeded Rice as the head of the archaeological department, found another 4000 inscriptions. H. M. Krishna, after his excavations at ChandravalliChandravalli
Chandravalli is an archaeological site located in the Chitradurga district of the state of Karnataka, India. The region is a valley formed by three hills, Chitradurga, Kirabanakallu and Cholagudda. It is a semi-arid region with scrub vegetation with a stream running through it...
and Brahmagiri, discovered 2000 inscriptions and published these discoveries as the volumes 13, 14 and 15 of Epigraphia Carnatica. However, by 1950, the volumes were out of print. In 1972, the Department of Kannada at Mysore University undertook the task of reprinting the volumes, but could bring out only six volumes. The Southern Regional Centre of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) under the chairmanship of Professor S. Settar wanted to create a digitized version of the volumes. Settar donated his personal copies of Epigraphia Carnatica, which were scanned and released as a CD-ROM in 2005.
Volumes
The twelve original volumes of "Epigraphia Carnatica" were:- Coorg inscriptions
- Inscriptions at Sravanabelagola
- Inscriptions in the Mysore districtMysore districtMysore District is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. The district is bounded by Mandya district to the northeast, Chamrajanagar district to the southeast, Kerala state to the south, Kodagu district to the west, and Hassan district to the north...
, Part I - Inscriptions in the Mysore districtMysore districtMysore District is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. The district is bounded by Mandya district to the northeast, Chamrajanagar district to the southeast, Kerala state to the south, Kodagu district to the west, and Hassan district to the north...
, Part II - Inscriptions in the Hassan districtHassan districtHassan is a district in Karnataka state, India. The district headquarters are Hassan.Hassan district was the seat of the Hoysala Empire which at its peak ruled large parts of south India from Belur as its early capital and Halebidu as its later capital during the period 1000 - 1334 CE...
- Inscriptions in the Kadur district
- Inscriptions in the Shimoga districtShimoga DistrictShimoga District is a district in the Karnataka state of India. A major part of Shimoga District lies in the Malnad region of the Western Ghats, a hilly area known for its green forests, plentiful rainfall, and as the source of many of the area's rivers. Shimoga City is the administrative centre...
, Part I - Inscriptions in the Shimoga districtShimoga DistrictShimoga District is a district in the Karnataka state of India. A major part of Shimoga District lies in the Malnad region of the Western Ghats, a hilly area known for its green forests, plentiful rainfall, and as the source of many of the area's rivers. Shimoga City is the administrative centre...
, Part II - Inscriptions in the Bangalore districtBangalore districtIn 1986 Bangalore District was split into Bangalore Urban district and Bangalore Rural district.It was located in Karnataka, India....
- Inscriptions in the Kolar districtKolar districtKolar district is a district in Karnataka state of India. The town of Kolar is the district headquarters. Kolar district is located in the southern region of the State and is the eastern-most district of the Karnataka State...
- Inscriptions in the Chitaldroog districtChitradurga districtChitradurga district is an administrative district of Karnataka state in southern India. The city of Chitradurga is the district headquarters. Chitradurga gets its name from Chitrakaldurga, an umbrella-shaped lofty hill found there. Tradition dates Chitradurga District to the period of the...
- Inscriptions in the Tumkur districtTumkur districtTumkur district is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. The district headquarters are located at Tumkur. The district occupies an area of 10,598 km² and had a population of 2,584,711, of which 19.62% were urban as of 2001...
External links
- Epigraphia Carnatica, online copy of the 1898 edition. (archive.org)