This paper re-examines the Palam Baoli inscription (1276 CE) to address a central question: how does early Delhi epigraphy encode identity, legitimacy, and power outside later-imposed religious binaries? Moving beyond conventional Hindu–Muslim frameworks, the study investigates the inscription’s internal logic through a combined methodology of epigraphic-structural analysis, genealogical mapping, lexical-semantic study, and archaeological contextualisation. The analysis reveals three key findings. First, the inscription demonstrates a selective genealogical asymmetry, with maternal lineage expanded more deeply than paternal, indicating that lineage is curated according to prestige rather than rigid patrilineal norms. Second, while Sultanate rulers are acknowledged, they are neither genealogically embedded nor religiously identified; instead, they are classified as “Saka,” reflecting continuity of older ethnographic categories. Third, Delhi is situated within Hariyanaka (early Haryana), suggesting a regional spatial framework that predates and outlasts shifting political regimes. These elements collectively point to a distinction between enduring memory systems (genealogy, geography, material patronage) and episodic power systems (regnal succession). The female were the geneology carriers rather than passive partners. The paper contributes to the field by demonstrating that early Delhi inscriptions operate within a civilizational grammar of memory that integrates political change without privileging religious identity. By foregrounding lineage, locality, and material culture, it challenges reductive historiographical models and offers a methodologically grounded re-reading of Sultanate-period sources, highlighting the need to interpret epigraphy on its own conceptual terms.