Hero stones found in Sentharapatti village in Salem

Five hero stones with inscriptions dating back to fifth or sixth century were found at Sentharapatti village in Gangavalli Taluk in the district recently.

Members of a voluntary organisation ‘Yaakkai‘ comprising Kumaravel Ramasamy, Sudhakar, Palanisamy and Arunraja, visited the village and found the stones amid trees. Though the inscriptions were recorded 30 years ago, the full text was not deciphered. During the present re-reading, it is learnt that these inscriptions are an important historical evidence of the indigenous social background that existed in the beginning of the Pallava period (275 CE to 897 CE). During the strengthening of the Pallava rule, the Attur Pass, Sentharapatti, Kollimalai and Pachamalai Pass were dominated by ethnic leaders with separate powers, the members said.

Archaeologist Poongundran said that a hero stone began with the name Neelakandaraisar. It was the 33rd reign of Singavinnaparuman, a short-lived king of Attur region, who controlled Poithaneeyaar. He said that these names were used in all the five stones and the archaic transliteration of the Tolkappiyam script could be seen in these inscriptions.

The name Neelakandaraisar also appears in the Thondai Mandal inscriptions at different times in different places. It is therefore more likely to be considered a generic name to identify an ethnic group than the name of an individual, Mr. Poongundran added.