'Shankhalipi' inscription discovered on stairs of Gupta-period temple in Etah
The Archaeological Survey of India has found Shankhalipi inscription on the stairs of a Gupta-period temple in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Etah district that has been dated to the time of Emperor Kumaragupta, officials said on Thursday. ASI Superintendent Archaeologist (Agra Circle) Vasant Kumar said the inscription possibly reads Sri Mahendraditya which was the title of Kumaragupta, a ruler of the Gupta dynasty.
'Shankhalipi' is assumed to be derivative of Brahmi script
Shankhalipi is a script with conch-shaped characters and it is assumed to be a derivative of Brahmi script. Kumar said that the breakthrough discovery was made on the stairs leading to a Gupta-period temple in Etah's Bilsarh village. "It was discovered during the cleaning of the premises of an ASI-protected site of two pillars at Bilsarh village," he added.
We were curious to know about depth of pillars: Kumar
"We were curious to know about the depth of the pillars, so the excavation work began, leading to the unearthing of the steps," Kumar said, adding four steps of stone and a platform of bricks were discovered.
'Sri Mahendraditya' was the title of Kumaragupta: Kumar
"An inscription in Shankhalipi was discovered on one of the steps, dating to 5th century CE, the Gupta period. The inscription possibly reading Sri Mahendraditya was identified from the time of Kumaragupta of the Gupta dynasty," he said. "Sri Mahendraditya was the title of Kumaragupta," he said, adding that the pillars also have human figures inscribed on them.
Similar inscription from that period was found on horse sculpture
"A similar Shankhalipi inscription was found on the back of a stone horse sculpture from that period that is presently placed at the State Museum at Lucknow," Kumar said. "We matched the inscription found on the stairs with that on the horse and came to the conclusion that it was from the time of Emperor Kumargupta," he added.
