Hyderabad: Archaeological Survey of India’s epigraphy division has successfully deciphered a newly discovered set of copper plates from Kodad. These plates reveal the coronation date of Vengi Chalukya king Vikramaditya II and sheds light on the genealogy of the Kakatiya dynasty’s early ancestors.According to ASI epigraphy division director K Muniratnam Reddy, the copper plates, comprising three leaves, were recovered from a graveyard in Kodad in Suryapet district. They were now being preserved by the department of heritage, Telangana. The inscription, composed in Sanskrit using Telugu script, was dated Saka 840, Phalguna ba 5, Saturday —corresponding to March 6, 918 CE. The plates bear a seal featuring the ‘varaha’ (boar) symbol and the legend ‘Sri Tribhuvanankusha’, confirming the document’s origin during the reign of Vikramaditya II, son of Chalukya Bhima I and Vijayamahadevi.Coronation Grant and Military BackgroundThe inscription records that Vikramaditya II issued a land grant during his coronation to Lokamamba, the widow of Gunda II, the then governor of Kondapalli Vishaya. Gunda II died in battle while supporting Vikramaditya II in a conflict against an usurper named Talapa, who earlier captured and imprisoned the boy king Vijayaditya. The grant refers to this event as ‘madrajyabhisekha punyaghosana samaya’ — the auspicious occasion of coronation following the reconquest. The land granted was the village of Kovuru in the Kandervadi Vishaya, given in recognition of Gunda II’s loyalty and sacrifice.Meanwhile, officials also found Vengi Chalukya king Bhima I copper plate in a graveyard in Kodada. It is presently preserved in department of heritage, Telangana.
