In 1896, a Brahmin living in village Arigom accidentally came in possession of an curious inscribed ancient stone. The stone had been in a piece of uncultivated land near the Masjid Malik Sahib by a farmer during a dig. The farmer sold the stone to the Brahmin. The Brahmin kept the stone with him for sometime and believing it to be a religious relic, did puja to it. People told him the message on the stone probably was a treasure map and that the Maharaja of the state may be the rightful owner of the stone. Afraid that he might lose it, the Brahmin hid the stone under the wall of his house and later threw it into a pit at the entrance of his cowshed, covering it up with cow-dung. The place from where the stone was found also offered signs of an ancient temple. The local called the place Ganesvara which just less than 50 years ago was known as Gangesvara.
The inscription on the stone were found to be Sanskrit in Sharda script. On deciphering the inscription, it was found that the inscription was a material proof of an episode mentioned in Kalhana’s Rajatarangini and a proof the Buddhism lingered on in Kashmir till 12th-13th century.
The old name of Arigom was Hadigrama.
In the reign of King Jayasimha (A.D. 1128) Hadigrama was burnt down by one Sujji. The inscription was from a new building built in bricks replacing an older wooden Buddhist vihara.
The inscription (now supposed to be at SPS museum) read:
Source: Arigom Sharda Inscription, Sten Konow, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. IX.1907–08.
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[To imagine the way that old wooden vihara dedicated to Avalokiteśvara must have looked like, we can look at Alchi]
