Maski is a town and an
archaeological site in the
Raichur district of the state of
Karnataka,
India.
[Amalananda Ghosh (1990), p282] It lies on the bank of the Maski river which is a tributary of the
Tungabhadra. Maski derives its name from Mahasangha or Masangi . The site came into prominence with the discovery of a
minor rock edict of
Emperor Ashoka by C. Beadon in 1915.
[V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar (1993), p41] It was the first edict of
Emperor Ashoka that contained the name ''Ashoka'' in it instead of the earlier edicts that referred him as ''Devanampiye piyadasi''.
[O. C. Handa (1994), p197][Vincent Arthur Smith (1998), p5] This edict was important to conclude that many edicts found earlier in the Indian sub-continent in the name of ''Devanampiye piyadasi'', all belonged to
Emperor Ashoka.
The edict is etched on a rock-face of ''Durgada-gudda'', one of the
gneissic outcrops that are present in the site.
Maski is also the place on the Raichur Doab which was also under the hegemony of the imperial
Chola
The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...
empire and it was here that
Rajendra Chola I defeated
Jayasimha II, the
Western Chalukya ruler in battle in 1019-1020 AD.
[(2003), K.A.Nilakanta Sastri, p. 166]
Excavation history
Maski was studied initially by
Robert Bruce Foote in 1870 and 1888. In 1915, C. Beadon, a mining engineer, discovered Ashoka's rock edict here. In 1935–37, the archaeological department of
Hyderabad state
Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
explored this region and in 1954,
Amalananda Ghosh excavated this place on behalf of the
Archaeological Survey of India.
Minor Rock Edict of Ashoka
The Maski version of
Minor Rock Edict No.1 was historically especially important in that it confirmed the association of the title "Devanampriya" ("Beloved-of-the-Gods") with
Ashoka:
Other findings
The excavations indicated that the region was occupied across four different cultural periods; Period I:
Neolithic-
Chalcolithic, Period II:
Megalithic
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
, Period III: Early historical and Period IV:
Medieval. In Period I,
microliths and blades made of
agate,
chert,
carnelian and
opal are found.
Ornamental beads of
agate,
coral,
shell and other materials are also found. Dull-grey ware and painted-buff ware pottery are found, some of which were painted with linear patterns. Animal remains of cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat are also found.
Period II saw the introduction of
iron and five different forms of burials were discovered. Lances,
ferrules, daggers and arrowheads were found, apart from beads of
gold and
terracotta objects.
The pottery of Period II consisted of the megalithic red-and-black ware, all-black ware and red-slipped ware, some of which had graffiti on them. Coins were discovered in the Period III which also saw the use of Russet-coated painted ware. The earliest specimens of Indian
glass were also discovered at Maski.
[Manfred G. Raschke (1978), p1029] A
cylinder seal has also been found here.
[E. C. L. During Caspers (1975), p64]
Transport
Maski is well connected by road. It lies on Bangalore-Gulbarga road. Maski ia around 425 km from Bangalore, 80 km from Raichur and 24 km from Sindhanur. Maski can be reached by
KSRTC
KSRTC may refer to:
* Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation
* Kerala State Road Transport Corporation
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one o ...
buses from all Major towns and cities in Karnataka. Raichur Junction, 80 km away, is the nearest railway station and Gangavathi Approximate driving distance between Gangavathi and Maski is 74 km or 46 miles.
Image gallery
File:Maski government college.jpg, Devanampriya Ashoka government first grade college and post graduation study centre, Maski
File:Maski Sunset.jpg, Maski sunset view
File:Maski Malllikarjun Temple.jpg, Maski Mallikarjun Temple
File:Maski.jpg, Maski at night
File:Maski in monsoon.jpg, Maski in monsoon
File:Maski Canal view at night.jpg, Maski canal view at night
Maski Panorama view.jpg, Maski panoramic view
See also
*
Hatti Gold Mines
Hatti Gold Mines, also spelled Hutti, is a notified area council in Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The mines are owned and operated by Hutti Gold Mines Limited.
Hatti is situated in Raichur District, Karnataka State and ...
*
Mudgal
*
Raichur
*
Hampi
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Raichur district
Cities and towns in Raichur district
History of Karnataka
Archaeological sites in Karnataka
Taluks of Karnataka