8th century stone inscriptions found in Odisha’s Pipili

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Pipili, Aug 6:

Stone inscriptions dating back to 8^th century have been found from an abandoned field at Pamasara village under Pipili block in Odisha’s Puri district.

A team headed by Dr Bharati Pal, Assistant Curator (Epigraphy), Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar visited the site on Wednesday afternoon to conduct further research on the findings.

Local people worship a place called Ardha Kapileshwar, which is situated in a low-lying field. The villagers visit the place, believed to be a sacred one, and offer prayers to get rid of migraine pain.

A black chlorite stone (locally known as muguni pathara) nearly 70% of it buried in the ground and the rest of it overf the ground with inscriptions of vrishabha (bull), dambaru (pellet drum) and trishul (trident) is revered  by the local people.

The stone having Shaivite inscriptions is believed to be a part of Lord Shiva. An ancient well of 3 feet radius is also found near the place.

Since time immemorial, people throng the place to get rid of nagging migraine headache. They make seven rounds of the idol and offer betel nut and coconut for fulfilment of their desire.

Dr Bharati Pal and Repographer Sushant Patnaik visited the place for further research on Wednesday afternoon.

After inspecting the stone carving, they said, some inscriptions are written in Sanskrit. “Of these, five lines have been inscribed between 8^thand 9^th century. We would be in a position to tell more about this after more research,” Pal said.

Residents of the area accompanied the researchers to the site.