Renati Cholas Era Inscription Unearthed In Andhra Pradesh

• 02 Sep 2020

• A rare inscription ofthe RenatiChola era engraved on a dolomite slab and shale has been unearthed in a remote village of Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.
• The inscription was written in archaic Telugu which was readable in 25 lines -- the first side with eleven lines and the remaining on the other side. It was assigned to the 8th Century A.D., when the region was under the rule of Chola Maharaja of Renadu.

Deciphering the Inscription

• The inscription seems to throw light on the record of a gift of six Marttus (a measuring unit) of land gifted to a person Sidyamayu, one of the Brahmins serving the temple at Pidukula village.
• The last lines are indicative of the priority given to morality in those days.“It says the people who safeguards this inscription for future generations will acquire the status of conducting AswamedhaYaga and those destroying it will incur sin equivalent to causing a death in Varanasi”.

Renati Cholas

• The Telugu Cholas of Renadu (also called as Renati Cholas) ruled over Renadu region, the present day Cuddapah district.
• They were originally independent, later forced to the suzerainty of the Eastern Chalukyas. They had the unique honour of using the Telugu language in their inscriptions belonging to the 6th and 8th centuries.
• The earliest of this family was Nandivarman (500 AD).