The correct answer is: C) Halmidi
Halmidi is a village in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It is famous for the Halmidi inscription, which is the earliest known inscription in the Kannada language. The inscription is dated to the 5th century CE and is written in the Kadamba script. It is a bilingual inscription, with the text written in both Kannada and Sanskrit. The inscription records the gift of a land grant by a king named Kakusthavarman to a Brahmin named Vishnuvardhana.
The Maski inscription is a bilingual inscription in Kannada and Prakrit, found in Maski taluk of Raichur district in Karnataka. It is dated to the 3rd century BCE and is the earliest known inscription in the Kannada language. The inscription records the gift of a village by a king named Gautamiputra Satakarni to a Brahmin named Vishnurudra.
The Chandravalli inscription is a bilingual inscription in Kannada and Sanskrit, found in Chandravalli taluk of Bellary district in Karnataka. It is dated to the 5th century CE and is the second oldest known inscription in the Kannada language. The inscription records the gift of a village by a king named Vishnuvardhana to a Brahmin named Lakshmidhara.
The Aihole inscription is a bilingual inscription in Kannada and Sanskrit, found in Aihole taluk of Bagalkot district in Karnataka. It is dated to the 6th century CE and is the third oldest known inscription in the Kannada language. The inscription records the gift of a village by a king named Pulakesin II to a Brahmin named Lakshmidhara.
The Halmidi inscription is considered to be the earliest known inscription in the Kannada language because it is the oldest inscription that is written entirely in Kannada. The Maski inscription is also written in Kannada, but it is a bilingual inscription, with the text written in both Kannada and Prakrit. The Chandravalli inscription and the Aihole inscription are also bilingual inscriptions, with the text written in both Kannada and Sanskrit.