MARGAO
The Global Romi Lipi Abhiyan has said the recent news about an old idol of Shree Kalbhairava being found in the lake near the Chamundeswari Temple at Pilgao, Bicholim, has created a lot of interest among historians and Konkani scholars, cause till date, no other evidence had been found of inscriptions in Nagari in Goa, both in the old and new conquests.
Acknowledging the significance of such a discovery, GRLA said the NGO feels that before hastily making public statements, it is essential to subject the idol to rigorous examination and analysis, by a team of experts, to determine its authenticity, age and historical significance.
“It would have been prudent to make such claims only after the report was received from the Mysore Archeological survey of India, which is still awaited”, stated GRLA Convenor Kennedy Afonso.
He said the Abhiyan has spoken to many Konkani experts and researchers about this discovery, and the discussions have raised several important questions. “Many scholars feel that it is not right to make strong claims about the idol’s inscription based only on two unclear words. What one needs to see is sentences with Subject-Object-Verb, which should be verified by a Konkani language expert. They believe that a proper and detailed study of the idol should be done before saying that the inscription is in Dev Nagari Konkani, Nandi Konknni, or Marathi”, Afonso said.
He added: “This careful approach is necessary because similar claims were made in the past. For example, some people once said that the inscription at Shravanabelagola, near the Bahubali statue, was in Konkani. However, the scholar José Pereira had shown that it was not Konkani but Maharashtra Prakrit, which is the parent language of both Marathi and Konkani. To avoid such confusion, scholars stress the need to confirm all historical facts clearly so that the truth is not distorted.
He said another question raised by researchers is why the discovery of the idol, said to have been made in 2010, is being made public only now, fifteen years later. “If the inscription was indeed, visible when the idol was first found, it should have been announced then, so that experts could have continued studying it and identified the language accurately”, he said.
He added: “Scholars have also questioned the claim made by Dr Phalgaokar that the idol was originally placed in Goa Velha. If it was indeed installed at Goa Velha, the place mentioned on the idol would be Govem/Gove, the Konkani name for Govepuri, now partly Old Goa. We need to seek what proof exists for this statement and suggest that more evidence is needed before making such conclusions”.
Another important finding, Afonso said, would be to check when was the idol carved and when was the inscription made. A report containing all the above information would be of great help, to verify the authenticity of the inscription.
“Scholars hope that the report awaited from Mysore Archeological survey of India, will shed light on the above observations”, he said.
