One short inscription on the pillar is associated with the Tomara king Anangpal, although it is hard to decipher.. Alexander Cunningham (1862–63) read the inscription as follows:
Based on this reading, Cunningham theorized that Anangpal had moved the pillar to its current location while establishing the city of Delhi. However, his reading has been contested by the later scholars. Buddha Rashmi Mani (1997) read it as follows: