21 June 2025
(Current Affairs Notes - Prelims)

Srisailam Mallikarjunaswamy Temple

• The first Indian epigraphical reference to Halley’s Comet has been discovered in a copper plate inscription dated 1456 CE.

• The plate belonged to the Vijayanagar period and preserved at the Srisailam Mallikarjunaswamy temple in Andhra Pradesh.

• The inscription was written in Sanskrit, using the Nagari script, and refers to the appearance of a comet and a subsequent meteor shower. It coincides with the 1456 appearance of Halley’s Comet.

• The inscription records a grant made by the Vijayanagar ruler Mallikarjuna to a Vedic scholar to mitigate the great calamity believed to arise due to the appearance of a comet.

• While references to ‘dhumaketus’ (comets) were found in ancient and medieval Indian texts, this was the first inscriptional record that had been discovered.

• Some basics

  • • Mallikarjunaswamy Temple is located in Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh) on Nallamalai Hills along the Krishna River. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

    • A copper plate refers to an inscribed sheet of copper used primarily for recording royal grants, land donations, and official decrees.

    • Halley's Comet is a periodic comet visible from Earth approximately every 76 years, and it is the only known short-period comet that can be seen with the naked eye.

National Time Release Study

• Prepared by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)

• Assesses the speed at which goods are cleared at ports across land, sea, and air

Taiwan Strait

• A strait is a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water.

• Taiwan Strait is a narrow body of water that separates Taiwan from mainland China, stretching about 180 kilometers at its widest point.

• It holds significant geopolitical importance, as it is a major international shipping route and a flashpoint in China-Taiwan relations.

• Median Line or Davis Line runs approximately down the middle of the Taiwan Strait.