File:4th century CE Chandravalli inscription of Mayurasarman, Brahmi, Prakrit and Sanskrit, tank near Bhairavesvara temple 2.jpg

English: This is a 4th-century inscription attributed to the Brahmin founder of Kadamba dynasty named Mayurasarman (Mayurasarma, Mayura Sharma). The script is Brahmi, a southern variant. The language is a blend of Prakrit (mostly) with Sanskrit.

This approximately 6.5 feet x 3 feet inscription was discovered in early 20th-century on a flat boulder next to the historic Bhairavesvara Hindu temple's water tank at Chandravalli of Chitradurga district (Chitaldrug, Chitaldurg). This temple likely existed in ancient times and was rebuilt later. The area is an important archaeological site (near 14°12'26"N 76°22'56" E).

Translation: Tank constructed by Mayurasarman of the Kadambas who defeated Trekuta, Abhira, Pallava, Pariyatrika, Sakasthana, Sayindaka, Punata and Mokari.

The inscription is historically significant as it helps confirm the dynasties that existed in South India prior to about 350 CE, as well as provides evidence of the start of the Kadamba dynasty. It is also important evidence of the role Hindu kings placed in building infrastructure such as water tanks.

For more details about the location, the context, the significance and a translation: Annual Report of the Mysore Archaeological Department for the year 1929, pp. 50–60

Note: the later scholarship dates this to the 4th-century CE, unlike the report above where it is dated to the 3rd-century CE.

This is a photograph of a 2D print produced in the 1910s of a 2D inscription from the 4th-century in Chitradurga, Karnataka. Therefore wikimedia commons PD-Art guidelines apply. Any rights I have as a photographer, I herewith donate to wikimedia commons with public domain (CC0) license.