Rise and decline of Buddhism etched in T's Gundaram forest
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Hyderabad: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered two inscriptions in the Gundaram Reserve Forest of Telangana that shed light on the flourishing and subsequent decline of Buddhism in the Deccan. Found on a rock, locally known as Sitammaloddi near Gattusingaram village in Peddapalli district, the inscriptions span a period of over 600 years.An epigraphic team from ASI's Epigraphy Branch, led by director K Muniratnam Reddy, documented a total of 11 inscriptions in the area during a recent expedition. Among these, two inscriptions were of a particular interest that captured the contrasting phases of Buddhist presence in the region.The first inscription, painted in Prakrit using Brāhmī script, dates to the 1st century BCE. It refers to a donation of caves in favour of Buddhism by a person from the Hāritiputra lineage, possibly linked to the Chuṭu dynasty. The donor is described as a friend of Kumāra Hakusiri, identified as a Sātavāhana prince . The inscription reads: "…putasa ku(ma)rasa Akusiri mitasa ivakhamitam", confirming the early Buddhist activity at the site.The second inscription, engraved in Sanskrit and early Telugu-Kannada script, dates to the 6th century CE. It mentions the term "Hakugar̥u sagrabhaya", interpreted as an epithet of ascetics of the Kalamukha sect, which gained prominence during Buddhism's decline in the region.The discovery was initiated by photographer Ravinder Reddy, after which the ASI team obtained forest permissions and carried out the documentation. The juxtaposition of these two inscriptions at a single location highlights the changing religious landscape of the Deccan across centuries.
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