The Nagajari-Khanikargaon rock inscription is a 5th-century land grant discovered in the Nagajari area of the Golaghat district.[1] The artifact is fragmentary, with inscriptions in Sanskrit written in the eastern variety of the Brahmi script.[2] In style, language, and script, the inscription is very similar to the Umachal and Barganga rock inscriptions.[citation needed] Additionally, since it betrays no influence of a local Prakrit, this inscription is often placed earlier than the Umachal rock inscription.[citation needed] It also indicates that Indo-Aryan culture had spread to the Golaghat region by the 5th century.[3] It is also speculated that it might belong to a different dynasty unrelated to the Varmans of Kamarupa.[4] It's a wonderful Rock which is now kept in Sarupathar College, Golaghat.[citation needed]
Text[edit | edit source]
The text is fragmentary, with no complete sentence available, though it is believed it was written in the sloka meter.[5] Since the text is fragmentary, no English translation is available. Nevertheless, it is ascertained that the inscription is related to a grant of land, with the area bounded by "Dibrumukkhada" (a water body) in the east and a Banyan tree in the west.[citation needed]
Discovery[edit | edit source]
The rock inscription was collected by Luduram Saikia of Khanikargaon among some ruins in the Nagajari area prior to 1972.[citation needed] Around 1972, this stone fragment was noticed by M K Saikia at Saikia's residence, when it was reported.[6]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ (Sharma 1978, pp. 303–305)
- ↑ (Sharma 1978, p. 303)
- ↑ (Sharma 1978, p. 305)
- ↑ (Shin 2018, p. 29): Some stone inscriptions assigned to the fourth and fifth centuries refer to the four names of kings who have possibly ruled over this area. The date of the Nagajari-Khanikargaon fragmentary stone inscription is considered to be earlier than that of the Umachal inscription of the Varmans.[citation needed] It is nevertheless too early to make any definite conclusion as the archaeological and inscriptional evidences are still limited to date. Furthermore, the absence of large-scale archaeological excavations in the region prevents us from tracing a detailed picture of society in the earlier period.
- ↑ (Sharma 1978, p. 304)
- ↑ (Sharma 1978, p. 303)
References[edit | edit source]
- Sharma, Mukunda Madhava (1978). Inscriptions of Ancient Assam. Guwahati, Assam: Gauhati University.
- Shin, Jae-Eun (2018), "Region Formed and Imagined: Reconsidering temporal, spatial and social context of Kamarupa", in Dzüvichü, Lipokmar; Baruah, Manjeet (eds.), Modern Practices in North East India: History, Culture, Representation, London & New York: Routledge, pp. 23–55