Vijayawada: Rare sculptures and historical inscriptions belonging to the Kakatiya period dating back to 12th century AD are lying in a state of neglect at Durgi, a remote village in Guntur district.
These sculptures and inscriptions were spotted at the temples of Venkateswara, Vankeswara, Nageswara, Pageswara and Gopinatha built in 13th and 14th centuries AD.
Six inscriptions dating back to 1231 AD, 1268 AD, 1269 AD, 1297 AD and 1318 AD which refer to the Kakatiya emperors Ganapatideva, Rudramadevi and Prataprudra were left unattended to in the open. The earliest inscription refers to Namaya Pandita, the secretary of Gangaya Sahini, who was the military general of Ganapatideva.
The inscription records the construction of Vankeswara temple and donation of some lands by Namaya Pandita for its maintenance. Dr Emani Siva Nagireddy, an archaeologist, who explored the temples said, these inscri-ptions bear a great historical significance as it refers to Nagarjunakota for the first time in the known history.
The last inscription dating to 1319 AD refers to the construction of Rudre-swara and Bolleswara temples by Vennaya Reddy at Darvemula, a village close to Durgi, and also about the lands he gifted to the temple. The sculptures of the Kakatiya period identified at Durgi include Narasimha slaying Hiranya Kasipu, Chenna Kesava, Surya, Rudra, Bhairava, Veerabhadra, Parvati, Durga, Valli, Subrahmanya Ganesa and dwarapalakas. The irony is that all these sculptures were painted with several coats of paints and colours losing their antique character.
As part of his campaign to preserve the heritage for posterity, Dr Sivanagi Reddy sensitised the locals on how to protect the historical significance of the monuments and pass them on to future generations. He urged the officials concerned to restore the sculptures and inscriptions to their originality by removing the colours by scientific methods.
