Odisha's 1st inscribed ‘Vrishabha Vahana' found at Paralakhemundi
The rare inscription, etched delicately onto the body of the bronze bull, has been deciphered by epigraphist Bishnu Mohan Adhikari, who dates it to the era of Gajapati Narayana Deva I, a monarch of the illustrious Ganga dynasty in the 18th century.
As decoded by Adhikari, the bronze bull was a sacred offering made during the Shiva Vivaha festival by a merchant named Aishiraju Narasingulu from the Khadura community. Forged in the exquisite Kalinga style of 'dhatu vigraha,' the image exemplifies not just religious fervour but Odisha's enduring artistic craftsmanship. What makes this discovery extraordinary is its epigraphic uniqueness. It is the first-known bronze bull in India with an Odia inscription, elevating it to the ranks of national antiquarian treasures.
While Tamil Nadu and Karnataka boast of similar artifacts, this is Odisha's earliest known Odia-script Vrishabha inscription, previously unseen in temple bronzes across the region.
Comparable inscriptions were so far only recorded on the Neelachakra of Athagada Patana and Puri Jagannath temples, or on the Padmapada pedestals of deities.
This bull, however, marks the first instance of an 'utsava-vigraha' (festival image) inscribed in Odia, signifying both ritualistic and linguistic heritage.
The inscription also unveils fascinating details: the crafting of the bull cost 217 tankas at toula 60 madangas, a rare economic reference illuminating the trade and devotion practices of the time.
This remarkable discovery not only enriches the cultural annals of Odisha but positions Ramalingeswar Temple as a beacon of heritage, where bronze, belief and language converge to narrate a forgotten chapter of devotion and dynasty.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
a day ago
- Hans India
Odisha's 1st inscribed ‘Vrishabha Vahana' found at Paralakhemundi
Berhampur: In a discovery echoing spiritual grandeur and historical resonance, a 296-year-old bronze 'Vrishabha Vahana' (bull mount of Lord Shiva) bearing an Odia inscription has been unearthed at the ancient Ramalingeswar Temple, nestled near the sacred Ramasagar on the threshold of Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district. The rare inscription, etched delicately onto the body of the bronze bull, has been deciphered by epigraphist Bishnu Mohan Adhikari, who dates it to the era of Gajapati Narayana Deva I, a monarch of the illustrious Ganga dynasty in the 18th century. As decoded by Adhikari, the bronze bull was a sacred offering made during the Shiva Vivaha festival by a merchant named Aishiraju Narasingulu from the Khadura community. Forged in the exquisite Kalinga style of 'dhatu vigraha,' the image exemplifies not just religious fervour but Odisha's enduring artistic craftsmanship. What makes this discovery extraordinary is its epigraphic uniqueness. It is the first-known bronze bull in India with an Odia inscription, elevating it to the ranks of national antiquarian treasures. While Tamil Nadu and Karnataka boast of similar artifacts, this is Odisha's earliest known Odia-script Vrishabha inscription, previously unseen in temple bronzes across the region. Comparable inscriptions were so far only recorded on the Neelachakra of Athagada Patana and Puri Jagannath temples, or on the Padmapada pedestals of deities. This bull, however, marks the first instance of an 'utsava-vigraha' (festival image) inscribed in Odia, signifying both ritualistic and linguistic heritage. The inscription also unveils fascinating details: the crafting of the bull cost 217 tankas at toula 60 madangas, a rare economic reference illuminating the trade and devotion practices of the time. This remarkable discovery not only enriches the cultural annals of Odisha but positions Ramalingeswar Temple as a beacon of heritage, where bronze, belief and language converge to narrate a forgotten chapter of devotion and dynasty.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Chinese e-commerce site angers millions by selling doormat with Lord Jagannath's image; Company responds
A major controversy broke out in Odisha after people found out that Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress was selling doormats with the image of Lord Jagannath, a deeply respected deity in the state. The matter came to light when users noticed the offensive item listed on AliExpress. The image of Mahaprabhu Jagannath , who holds great spiritual value for Odias, was printed on doormats, a move that many called hurtful and insulting. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science Leadership Cybersecurity Data Science Degree Technology Project Management PGDM Finance Management Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Public Policy Others healthcare MCA CXO Design Thinking Product Management Digital Marketing MBA Operations Management Data Analytics others Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida slammed the platform. Sharing her views on X, she wrote, "Mahaprabhu Jagannath is deeply connected to the soul and emotions of every Odia. I strongly condemn Chinese e-commerce platform @AliExpress_EN for selling doormats featuring Mahaprabhu Jagannath's image. @AliExpress_EN must remove the listing immediately and apologise to devotees for this offensive act." After the backlash, AliExpress replied to a post by Congress MLA Sofia Firdous, saying the item had been taken down. The platform stated, 'We appreciate your report. The item has been reviewed and removed. Community input helps us improve our platform and strengthen our content checks. Thank you for helping us create a safe and friendly online shopping experience.' Live Events Firdous had earlier written, "Strongly condemn the blasphemous act of selling doormats with the sacred image of Lord Jagannath on @AliExpress_EN. This is a grave insult to millions of devotees and a serious attack on cultural and religious sentiments. Immediate action must be taken to remove the listing and issue a public apology." Renowned sand artist and Padma Shri awardee Sudarshan Pattnaik also voiced his anger. He wrote, "Jai Jagannath. We appeal to all devotees worldwide to raise their voice against this unacceptable act. The sacred image of Mahaprabhu Jagannath on a doormat sold by @AliExpress_EN is deeply offensive. Remove it, apologise, and ensure this never happens again." Former MP and BJD leader Amar Patnaik called the act a disgrace. He said, "I strongly condemn the act of selling doormats with the sacred image of Lord Jagannath on AliExpress. This is a big insult to millions of devotees. It shows complete disrespect for Hindu beliefs. Immediate action must be taken to fix this and protect the dignity of our faith." Inputs from PTI
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Indian Express
Krutrim layoffs continue as Ola-backed AI startup looks to build ‘leaner' teams
Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal's AI venture, Krutrim, has reportedly laid off several employees in the company's linguistics department in its second round of job cuts this year. More than 100 employees have been impacted by the layoffs after being hired six months ago as part of Krutrim's strategy to make its workforce leaner, according to a report by Economic Times. 'As part of a strategic realignment and our commitment to efficient capital deployment, we are building leaner, more agile teams. This transition aligns with evolving business priorities and reflects our long-term vision to build India's own full-stack AI platform,' a Krutrim spokesperson told The Indian Express in a statement. The AI startup did not confirm exact figures on how many job roles have been cut in this round of layoffs. 'We urge you to refrain from publishing unverified reports that are not substantiated by accurate facts,' it added. Krutrim reportedly hired linguists for full-time roles to train its AI models and evaluate its responses in at least 10 Indian languages, including Tamil, Odia, Telugu, and Marathi. The company's linguistics team comprised over 600 people, as per the report. In June this year, Krutrim reportedly axed dozens of linguist roles after the introduction of its agentic AI app called Kruti. which is capable of autonomously booking cabs and ordering food on the Ola platform. It also has plans to enable ride bookings and food delivery orders on rival platforms such as Uber, Zomato, Swiggy, etc, through the AI agent. Earlier this year, Krutrim released a handful of new 'open-source' AI models with the aim of making India have a stronger presence in the AI race which is currently dominated by the US and China. Aggarwal, the founder and CEO of the company, had announced a $230-million injection of funds into Krutrim and said he was seeking an additional investment of $1.15 billion by 2026. He also announced Krutrim AI Labs to carry out frontier AI research with a focus on 'developing India's first frontier-scale AI models, creating state-of-the-art multimodal AI systems, and publishing breakthrough research in top-tier AI conferences like NeurIPS, ICML, ACL, Interspeech, and CVPR,' as per the official website. In May this year, a machine learning engineer at Krutrim was found dead in Bengaluru. Allegations cropped up on social media suggesting that the 25-year-old died by suicide due to 'work pressure'. However, the company responded to the social media posts, saying that the employee, Nikhil Somwanshi, was 'on personal leave at the time of the incident.'
