The Umachal rock inscription is one of the earliest epigraphic sources discovered in Assam. Dated to the 5th century, the rock description was discovered in the north-eastern slopes of the Nilachal Hills (called Umachal), near Guwahati city.[1] The artifact is dated primarily on the basis of the identification of the named Surendravarman with Mahendravarman (fl. c470-494) of the Varman dynasty.[2] The script is in the Nagari variety of the Gupta script and the language is Sanskrit prose.[3] Though the Nilachal Hills is known for the Kamakhya Temple, a shakta/tantra site, this temple was for Balabhadra, a god of the Vaishnavite pantheon.[4]
Another inscription, the Nagajari-Khanikargaon rock inscription, though undated, is sometimes claimed, on stylistic grounds, as the earliest.
mahārājādhirāja-śrī
surendravarmmaṇā-kr̥tma
bhagavataḥ-valabhadra
svmināya-idaṁ-guhaṁ
"This cave (-temple) of the illustrious Lord Balabhadra has been constructed by Maharajadhiraja Sri Surendra Varman."[5]
