Brahmi Inscription (5th Century) on Shiva Seal Deciphered by ASI (2026)

On April 28, 2026, the Archaeological Survey of India announced the decipherment of a 5th-century Sanskrit seal from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, linking early Shaivite traditions to the Devadaru forest. The inscription confirmed organized worship of Lord Kotesvara, enriching the understanding of religious, cultural, and script developments in ancient South Asia.

advtanmoy 01/05/2026 5 minutes read

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Archaeological Survey of India Decodes 5th Century Sanskrit Seal in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir

On 28 April 2026, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) announced the decipherment of a rare 5th-century CE Sanskrit seal carrying a Brahmi-script inscription, an epigraphic discovery that has drawn attention for its connection to early Shaivite religious traditions in the northwestern Himalayan region. The seal, originating from present-day Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, was studied by the Epigraphy Division of the ASI at Mysuru, under the supervision of epigraphist K. Muniratnam Reddy, and is now regarded as one of the earliest inscriptional references linking the cult of Shiva with the sacred Devadaru forest tradition described in ancient Sanskrit literature.

The inscription engraved on the seal reads: “Devadaruvane Svami Kotesvarah”, translated by the ASI as “Lord Kotesvara in the Devadaru forest.” The term Devadaru refers to the Himalayan cedar tree (Cedrus deodara), forests of which historically stretched across the western Himalayas, including Kashmir and adjoining mountain tracts. The seal identifies a shrine dedicated to Svami Kotesvara, a form of Lord Shiva, thereby confirming the existence of an organised Shaivite establishment in the region during the late Gupta period, approximately between the 5th and early 6th centuries CE.

According to the ASI’s findings, the inscription is significant because it provides an early material reference to the mythological narrative preserved in the Skanda Purana, one of the major Mahapuranas of Hindu tradition. In this narrative, Shiva wanders through the Devadaruvana, or cedar forest, where sages residing in the woodland attempt to challenge his divine authority. The seal is therefore not merely administrative or ceremonial in character; it represents an important intersection between mythology, sacred geography, and institutional temple worship in early medieval South Asia. Scholars associated with the decipherment noted that the object may constitute the oldest known artistic and inscriptional testimony connected with the Devadaru forest legend.

The seal itself was shared with the ASI by François Mandeville of Hong Kong, who facilitated its examination by Indian epigraphists. Written in Gupta-era Brahmi characters, the script displays transitional palaeographic features associated with the evolution from classical Brahmi toward later regional scripts such as Sharada, which became dominant in Kashmir between the 8th and 12th centuries CE. The inscription has therefore contributed not only to religious history but also to the study of script development and cultural networks across the northwestern subcontinent.

The 2026 decipherment forms part of a broader series of discoveries by the ASI concerning inscriptions from regions historically connected with ancient India. In 2024, the ASI decoded another Sanskrit inscription discovered near Gilgit in present-day Pakistan-administered territory. That inscription referred to a devotee named Pushpasingha, who installed a Mahesvaralinga for the spiritual merit of his guru, offering further evidence of Shaivite patronage in the trans-Himalayan region during the early historic period. A few months earlier, the ASI had also interpreted a fragmented 10th-century CE inscription found near Peshawar, associated with Buddhist Dharani practices, demonstrating the coexistence of Shaivite and Buddhist religious traditions across the northwestern frontier zones.

Historians view these discoveries as crucial in reconstructing the cultural landscape of ancient Kashmir and Gandhara, regions that once functioned as crossroads linking the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, and the Himalayan world. The newly deciphered seal strengthens evidence that Sanskrit learning, Brahmi literacy, and temple-centred Shaivism had already spread deep into the mountainous regions by the 5th century CE. It also illustrates how sacred narratives preserved in Sanskrit texts were embedded within physical locations and ritual institutions, giving geographical reality to traditions previously known primarily from literary sources.