The Discovery

When Rudra Vikram Srivastava stumbled onto this 11th-century inscription while exploring Garhwa Fort in Prayagraj, (UP, India), he instinctively knew he had found something significant.  His discovery on December 18, 2024 carried immense historical weight, marking a noteworthy moment in our understanding of Indian history. 

Srivastava is an independent researcher with a special interest in medieval forts. Since 2022, he has studied epigraphical records from medieval forts in the broader Bundelkhand region, which covers parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Srivastava has regularly visited the Garhwa Fort site to document several other inscriptions; his research is in the process of being published.

Archaeologists Rajesh Kannaujia and Pritam Kumar and scholars like Kushagra Aniket, helped Srivastava decipher the inscription. Kannaujia is affiliated with the Archeological Survey of India (ASI); Kumar is a research scholar at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Uttar Pradesh, India; and Aniket is a Cornell and Columbia University alumnus. He is an economist and a Sanskrit scholar associate with INDICA Classical Library.

Garhwa Fort is a monument of national importance. The site is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, a federal agency responsible for archaeological research and preserving cultural-historical monuments in India. The fort, a site of several similar inscriptions in the past. houses a group of ancient temples. Srivastava said that the complex is dilapidated with several fallen structures, and the area is overrun by forest cover.  

The Inscription

The inscription dates from the reign of the Chandela king Kirtivarman (1060-1100 CE), whose minister Vatsaraja issued the edict. The Chandelas ruled the Bundelkhand region between the 9th and 13 century CE. King Kirtivarman is credited with defeating the Kalachuri king Lakshami-Karna. 

The inscription is a prashasti (eulogy) to Bhagwan Rama and is the earliest known prashasti inscription found in India, and consists of 16 lines inscribed on a large stone slab. Apart from a couple of letters on the left margin of every line, most of the inscription is excellently preserved. This inscription is exceptional because of the letters’ clarity, consistent size, and erect orthography.

“The rarity of this find cannot be overstated,” said Aniket. He revealed that the inscription was written in Sanskrit and engraved in the characters of the 11th-century Nagari script. 

Aniket carried out the meticulous study and reconstruction of the inscription together with Dr. Shankar Rajaram, a Sanskrit scholar and a recipient of the Presidential Award of the Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman. 

The inscription was erected in 1095 CE, 1152 Vikram Samvat, on the eleventh day of the waxing half of Caitra month (Caitra śukla ekādaśī) after a ceremonial procession (Rāghava-yātrā).

According to scholars, the inscription confirms that processions around Rama-Navami took place in the 11th century. The inscription is the earliest archaeological evidence of the festival. The inscription provides evidence of devotional poems (stutis) being composed in praise of Bhagwan Shri Rama during the 11th century, predating the conventional date for the beginning of the Bhakti Movement in North India.

Civilizational Memory & Sacred Geography

Bharat, India, is a sacred land for the Hindus. In her India: A Sacred Geography, Diana Eck, a Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies at Harvard University, writes that wherever one goes throughout the length and breadth of India, one finds a “living landscape… [that] bears traces of gods and footprints of heroes. Every place has its own story, and conversely, every story in the vast storehouse of myths and legends has its place.” 

The inscription mentions the departure of Bhagwan Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita and the presence of an āšrama (hermitage or resting place) at the site where a mațha (temple) was later built. The location of the inscription, said Aniket, corresponds to a site along Shri Rama’s journey to the forest, suggesting the route was preserved in popular memory of the Hindus for centuries.

Scholars involved with Srivastava’s team have identified the existence of this mațha as an incident in the Valmiki-Ramayana. After leaving Ayodhya, Bhagwan Rama spent a night at Shringaverapura before crossing the Ganga to reach the hermitage of Rishi Bharadvaja. Then, he crossed the Yamuna to proceed towards Chitrakuta. Scholars have identified the ruined temple in the Garhwa Fort complex as the site near the bank of Yamuna, where Bhagwan Rama, Lakshmana, and Mata Sita spent a night on their way to Chitrakuta. Aniket provides the following reference from the Valmiki-Ramayana that describes the site:

विहृत्य ते बर्हिणपूगनादिते शुभे वने वानरवारणायुते।

समं नदीवप्रमुपेत्य सम्मतं निवासमाजग्मुरदीनदर्शनाः॥

(Valmiki Ramayana, 2.55.34)

“After wandering in the beautiful forest, which was resounding with the cries of peacocks and full of monkeys and elephants, and having reached the leveled bank of the (Yamuna) river, they (Shri Rama, Lakshmana and Sita) who were in high spirits, reached a convenient dwelling (spot to spend the night).” (Translation by Aniket)

Later, an “āšrama” was built at this spot. Even centuries later, this “āšrama” has been identified in popular memory with Bhagwan Rama and remained famous as a pilgrimage site. In the 11th century, during the reign of Kirtivarman Chandela, a “mațha” was consecrated at the same site after a ceremonial procession on Chaitra Shukla Ekadashi (two days after Rama Navami).

Scholars have named this inscription the “Raghava-Yatra Inscription” to drive home the point that this inscription constitutes early and unimpeachable evidence for festivities around Rama Navami, the celebration of the birth of Bhagwan Rama.

The Implication

The Raghava-Yatra Inscription challenges several existing historical narratives. It refutes the claims of Marxist historians who opposed the construction of the Rama Temple at Ayodhya and argued that Rama worship was a modern phenomenon. 

While there is no doubt that since the composition of the Valmiki-Ramayana, Shri Rama was consistently celebrated in Indian literature and arts, the Raghava-Yatra Inscription confirms that poets composed devotional poems (stutis) on him around the 11th century. This inscription predates the conventional date for the beginning of the Bhakti Movement in North India.

The Raghava-Yatra Inscription leaves no question about identifying Shri Rama with Vishnu. It demolishes the claim that the Avatara theory was invented much later to give legitimacy to the “Sampradāya” of Bhagwan Ram.

Although the Marxist historians created a controversy around the Vishnu-Hari inscription, said Aniket, the discovery of an inscription related to Bhagwan Rama in Ayodhya, his birthplace, was hardly surprising. 

“What’s surprising,” adds Aniket, “is the discovery of this inscription along the route of Shri Rama’s journey towards the forest.” The Raghava-Yatra Inscription mentions the departure of the Bhagwan Shri Rama, his wife Mata Sita, and brother Lakshmana. It also mentions the presence of an āšrama at the spot where a mațha was later constructed. Could it be a reference to the āšrama of Rishi Bharadwaja? 

It is remarkable that even thousands of years after the composition of the Valmiki-Ramayana, important sites along the route adopted by Bhagwan Shri Rama remained identified in popular memory. While the Raghava-Yatra Inscription answers many questions, it still leaves a few unanswered, admits Aniket. “We still need to investigate this.”

(This article was originally published in India Currents.)