Berhampur: A rare window into the resplendent past of Kalinga has opened with the discovery of an ancient Odia inscription from the Eastern Ganga era at Krushna Chandra Matha at Tekkali in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The find, hailed as a remarkable milestone in regional epigraphy, illuminates the deep cultural and dynastic connections that once bound northern Andhra and southern Odisha in a seamless fabric of faith, language and art.

The inscription, delicately engraved on the lotus-feet panel of the presiding deity within the sanctum of Krushna Chandra Matha, bears a Sanskrit verse etched in classical Odia script: “Gangavansha-samudbhutah Krsnacandra-mahipateh ragyan Nilamani-devyah patimeyadi-nirmane.”

Eminent epigraphist Bishnu Mohan Adhikari, who first deciphered the text, reveals that it records the pious act of Queen Nilamani Devi, consort of King Krushna Chandra Gajapati, a ruler of Raghunathpur estate encompassing Nandigam and Buragam in the Tekkali region. The Queen, proudly proclaiming herself as Gangavansha-samudbhuta, “born of the illustrious Ganga lineage,”embodies the living legacy of the dynasty that built the world-renowned Jagannath Temple in Puri.

This revelation marks the second known inscription bearing Queen Nilamani’s name, the first being located at Varaha Laksmi Narasimha Temple in Simhachalam, Visakhapatnam, where she is described as belonging to Atreya gotrabati of the lunar clan, further testifying to her noble origin and devout patronage.

Historically, until 1936, the Tekkali–Nandigam estate formed a part of Ganjam district under the Gajapati domain of southern Odisha. The Krushna Chandra Temple itself, a fine specimen of pidha-style Kalinga architecture, stands as a symbol of that shared artistic and spiritual continuum.

Presently cared for by the Gantayat family of Tekkali under Samrat Gantayat, the temple continues to echo the songs of history. Locals and scholars have urged the Andhra Pradesh government to preserve this rare monument, a stone-bound testimony to the eternal confluence of Odia and Andhra heritage, where faith and history intertwine beneath the same sky.