Major Inscriptions of Ancient and

Medieval India
Inscription Ruler/Patron Time Period Location Characteristics
/ Features
Edicts of Ashoka c. 3rd century Across India Rock and pillar
Ashoka (Maurya BCE (Girnar, Kalsi, edicts; written
Empire) Dhauli, etc.) in Prakrit,
Brahmi and
Kharosthi;
promote
Dhamma and
non-violence
Hathigumpha Kharavela 1st century BCE Udayagiri Hills, 17-line Prakrit
Inscription (Chedi dynasty) Odisha inscription in
Brahmi;
records
military
campaigns,
public works,
Jain patronage
Nasik Satavahana 1st–3rd century Nasik Caves, Prakrit in
Inscriptions rulers & donors CE Maharashtra Brahmi; record
cave donations,
political events,
and religious
patronage
Junagadh Rudradaman I c. 150 CE Junagadh, Sanskrit;
Inscription (Western Gujarat records repair
Kshatrapa) of Sudarshana
Lake; earliest
long Sanskrit
inscription
Allahabad Pillar Samudragupta c. 4th century Prayagraj Sanskrit in
Inscription (Gupta Empire) CE (Allahabad), Brahmi;
Uttar Pradesh composed by
Harisena;
eulogy of
Samudragupta’
s conquests and
policies
Mehrauli Iron Possibly c. 4th–5th Mehrauli, Delhi Sanskrit in
Pillar Chandragupta century CE Gupta Brahmi;
Inscription II (Gupta) praises a king
(likely

1
Chandragupta
II); remarkable
for rust
resistance
Aihole Pulakesin II 634 CE Aihole, Sanskrit;
-
Inscription (Chalukya) Karnataka composed by
Ravikirti;
records
Chalukya
genealogy and
victory over
Harshavardhan
a
Gwalior Bhoja 875 CE Gwalior, Sanskrit;
Inscription (Pratihara) Madhya records
Pradesh construction of
Vishnu temple
and largest
numeral 'zero'
Khilji Alauddin Khilji 13th–14th Qutb Minar Persian; record
Inscriptions (Delhi century CE complex, Delhi mosque
Sultanate) construction
and military
victories
Chola Copper Rajaraja I, 10th–12th Tamil Nadu and Tamil and
Plate Rajendra I century CE Andhra Sanskrit; grant
Inscriptions (Chola) Pradesh lands to
temples; record
naval
expeditions and
administrative
orders
Hampi Vijayanagara 14th–16th Hampi, Kannada,
Inscriptions rulers century CE Karnataka Telugu,
Sanskrit;
religious
grants,
architectural
achievements
Tughlaqabad Ghiyasuddin Early 14th Tughlaqabad, Persian;
Inscriptions Tughlaq century CE Delhi mention fort
construction
and Tughlaq
dynasty legacy

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