Discovered in 1938 by Dr. N.P. Chakravarti at the Bandhogarh fort in Madhya Pradesh, this Sanskrit rock inscription engraved in the Nāgarī script, belongs to the reign of the Kalacuri king Yuvarajadeva I.
The inscription records that the figures carved representing the matsya (fish), kūrma (tortoise), and varāha (boar) incarnations of Viṣṇu were commissioned by an official named Gollaka. Gollaka, who also bore the secondary name Gauda, is identified as the son of Bhanu. The inscription explicitly defines his political status as the amātya, or minister, serving the Kalacuri king Yuvarajadeva I.
1. śrīyuvarājadevāmātyasya śrībhānusūnoḥ śrīgo-
2. llākasya gauḍāparanāmna ete matsyakacchapasūkarādyāḥ |
These (figures of) the Fish, the Tortoise, the Boar and others are of (i.e., are caused to be carved by) the illustrious Gollāka, (who is known) by the other name of Gauḍa, the son of the illustrious Bhānu (and) a minister (amātya) of the illustrious Yuvarājadeva (I).
| Dynasty: | Kalacuri |
| Ruler: | Yuvarājadeva |
| Date: | c. 10th century CE |
| Place: | Bandhogarh, Madhya Pradesh |
| Donor: | Gollāka |
| Language: | Sanskrit |
| Script: | Nāgarī |
| Religion: | Vaishṇava |
| Deities: | Avatars of Lord Viṣṇu: Matsya (the fish), Kūrma (the tortoise), and Varāha (the boar) |
| Nature of grant: | Religious endownment |
| Purpose: | To officially credit and record the patronage of massive rock-cut sculptures |
| Provenance of inscription: | Bandhogarh, Madhya Pradesh |
| Type of Inscription: | Stone Inscription |
| Source: |
The inscription physically interfaces with large, in-situ rock-cut reliefs of the Vaiṣṇava avatāras, acting as an explicit contemporary label of architectural patronage.