Mahendravarman (Varman dynasty) in the context of "Umachal rock inscription"

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. The artifact is dated primarily on the basis of the identification of the named Surendravarman with Mahendravarman (fl. c. 470–494) of the Varman dynasty. The script is in the Nagari variety of the Gupta script and the language is Sanskrit prose. 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.

Another inscription, the Nagajari-Khanikargaon rock inscription, though undated, is sometimes claimed, on stylistic grounds, as the earliest.