The Halmidi inscription is so far the oldest known Kannada inscription in the Kannada script. The inscription is carved on a pillar, which was discovered in a village called Halmidi, a few miles from the famous temple town Belur in Hassan district of Karnataka and is dated to 450 AD. The original inscription has now been deposited in a archaeological museum in Bangalore, and a fibreglass replica has been installed in Halmidi. Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... The Kannada script is an abugida of the Brahmic family, primarily to write the Kannada language, one of the Dravidian languages in India. ... The Halmidi inscription is so far the oldest known Kannada inscription in Kannada script. ... Belur was the capital of the Hoysala Empire. ... Hassan is a city and district in the Indian state of Karnataka. ... Karnātakā (ಕನಾ೯ಟಕ in Kannada) (IPA: //) is one of the four southern states of India. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Bangalore (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು; pronounced // in Kannada and // in English) is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. ... There is a disputed proposal to merge this article with glass-reinforced plastic. ...

The pillar on which the inscription was written stands around 4 feet high. Its top has been carved into an arch, onto which the figure of a wheel has been carved, which is probably intended to represent the sudarshana chakra of Vishnu. The following lines are carved on the front of the pillar: For other uses of the name Vishnu, see Vishnu (disambiguation). ...

1. jayati śri-pariṣvāṅga-śārṅga vyānatir-acytāḥ dānav-akṣṇōr-yugānt-āgniḥ śiṣṭānān=tu sudarśanaḥ
2. namaḥ śrīmat=kadaṁbapan=tyāga-saṁpannan kalabhōranā ari ka-
3. kustha-bhaṭṭōran=āḷe naridāviḷe-nāḍuḷ mṛgēśa-nā-
4. gēndr-ābhiḷar=bhbhaṭahar=appor śrī mṛgēśa-nāgāhvaya-
5. r=irrvar=ā baṭari-kul-āmala-vyōma-tārādhi-nāthann=aḷapa-
6. gaṇa-paśupatiy=ā dakṣiṇāpatha-bahu-śata-havan=ā-
7. havuduḷ paśupradāna-śauryyōdyama-bharitōn=dāna pa-
8. śupatiyendu pogaḷeppoṭṭaṇa paśupati-
9. nāmadhēyan=āsarakk=ella-bhaṭariyā prēmālaya-
10. sutange sēndraka-bāṇ=ōbhayadēśad=ā vīra-puruṣa-samakṣa-
11. de kēkaya-pallavaraṁ kād=eṟidu pettajayan=ā vija
12. arasange bāḷgaḻcu palmaḍiuṁ mūḷivaḷuṁ ko-
13. ṭṭār baṭāri-kuladōn=āḷa-kadamban kaḷadōn mahāpātakan
14. irvvaruṁ saḻbaṅgadar vijārasaruṁ palmaḍige kuṟu-
15. mbiḍi viṭṭār adān aḻivornge mahāpatakam svasti

The following line is carved on the pillar's left face:

16. bhaṭṭarg=ī gaḻde oḍḍali ā pattondi viṭṭārakara

• Banavasi Old Kannada Inscription
• Halmidi Inscription