Telugu inscription dating back to the 16th century found at Bugga Ramalingeswara temple in Tadipatri

A Telugu inscription dating back to the 16th century has been found on the north wall of the Sri Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy temple at Tadipatri in Anantapur district.

Historian MyNaa Swamy, who deciphered the script, said the inscription records the obeisance paid by Basavappa, son of Satram Cheruvupalli Kalayya from Mahimaluru in Udayagiri Seema, at the feet of Sri Tatiparti Rameshwara Deva.

The event is recorded as having taken place on Chaitra Bahula Dwadashi during the Telugu cyclic year of Bhava. As the inscription mentions only the cyclic year and not a specific calendar date, Mr. Swamy estimated that it dated back to either 1574 or 1634 CE. He said Basavappa had likely served as a regional representative of the Mahimaluru region.

The base of the inscription carries carvings of Basavappa and his wife standing beside a Sivalingam in a posture of devotion. An adjacent engraving identifies his wife as ‘Basavappa Pendlamu Naga Easwaramma’. Mr. Swamy said the use of the word ‘Pendlamu’ (wife) was characteristic of the local Rayalaseema dialect.

Mr. Swamy said Tadipatri was an important part of the Pennabadi Seema within the Gutti Kingdom during the Vijayanagara Empire. The fact that a representative from the distant Udayagiri Seema, about 220 km from Tadipatri, took part in the temple’s services indicated the reach of the temple’s influence at the time, he said.