Civil Service Bytes

Antiquity of Kannada Language: Kannada is among more than 20 languages of the Dravidian group. It is one of the oldest Dravidian languages . The name Isila found in one of the Ashokan inscriptions in Karnataka has been described as a Kannada word by Prof. D.L. Narasimhachar. According to him, it means “throw an arrow”. Thus, Kannada was a spoken language during the 3rd century B.C. itself. The next important document that helps us to prove the antiquity   of Kannada is The Geography written by Ptolemy, a scholar from Alexandria, during the first half of the second century A.D. Ptolemy speaks of many places in Karnataka such as Kalgeris (identified as Kalkeri), Modogoulla (Mudugal), Badamios (Badami) and so on. All these are not only places in Karnataka, but are also names of Kannada origin. The famous Halmidi Record of the Kadambas which is an inscription of the 5th century, is the oldest available written in the Old Kannada script. We have a Badami Record of Mangalesha...