The Jain temple that stands aloof on the Meguti hill in
Aihole village houses one of India’s foremost important inscriptions. Aihole is
quite a remote village located at 35 Km from the better known Badami. However,
from archaeological and historical point of view Aihole is an extremely
important Landmark. The above mentioned Jain temple houses the Pulakeshin II
inscription or Ravikirti inscription.
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| Jain temple on top of the Meguti hill - Aihole |
Ravikirti was the
court poet of Pulakeshin II and also the designer of Meguti temple. The
inscription is found on one of the side walls of the Meguti Jain temple. It was
written in the year of 634AD. This inscription is popular because it indicates
the year in which Mahabharata war took place.
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| Original Aihole inscription on the wall of Jain temple Meguti hill |
There are only a few inscriptions in India that suggests the time period
of Mahabharata war. There are 37 verses in the Aihole inscription. The 33rd
verse describes that at the time of inscription of this(ie 644AD or 556Saka) 3375 years have passed after the Mahabharata war. The
exact verse goes like this:
“(V.
33.) (Now) when thirty and three thousand and five years besides, joined with
seven hundred years, have passed since the Bharata war”
The detailed calculations can be found here:
Aihole inscription is also popular due to its comprehensive
account of the entire Chalukya lineage till Pulakeshin II. It explains in
details the conquests of the Chalukya kings against Nalas, Mauryas, Kadambas,
Pallavas and the most powerful king Harshavardhana of Kanuj. Aihole inscription is also important because it
mentioned the great poet Kalidasa and Bharavi. Aihole inscription has helped
the historians to set an upper limit for the time period of both these poets.
For the complete translation of inscription look here:
The inscription, thousands of years younger than the event, only proves that people then *believed* this chronology. The MBh itself, even its interpolated late parts, never confirms this chronology. It is the 4 yuga concept exactly like the Greeks and Scandinavians used it: a declining but unquantified sequence of four world ages.
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