The Halmidi inscription is the oldest known Kannada language inscription in the Kannada script. Experts agree on the relative date (it is the oldest), but differ on absolute date. Estimates vary by about 50 years either side of about 500 AD (see details below). The inscription was discovered in 1936 by Dr. M. H. Krishna, the Director of Archaeology in the (princely) State of Mysore (present-day Karnataka region of India), the Halmidi, a village in the Belur taluk of Hassan district.
The original inscription is kept in the Office of the Director of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of Karnataka, Mysore, and a fibreglass replica has been installed in Halmidi.
Read more about Halmidi Inscription: Discovery and Dating, Textual Analysis, Text, Text in Kannada
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