A hero stone inscription in Kannada belonging to the 10th century CE, with reference to Rashtrakuta King Krishna III, was discovered in the fields of a village in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, recently.
The hero stone inscription was found in the fields outside the Pannapalli village in Veppanapalli taluk, Nachikuppam gram panchayat. The inscription, which is in Kannada language with characters of the 10th century CE, belongs to the period of Nolamba king Anniga who was also known as Bira Nolamba.
The discovery was made by P. Venkateshwaran, Assistant Professor of History, Government Arts College for Men, Krishnagiri, along with a few second-year MA students when they were exploring the place, recently.
Political history
Dr. Venkateshwaran said they referred the inscription to Munirathnam Reddy, Director, Epigraphy, Archaeological Survey of India who deciphered the Kannada inscription and described it as important as it could help deduce and add to the knowledge of political history of the region during that period.
Dr. Reddy, who confirmed the discovery and its importance, said the inscription on the hero stone seems to record land gifted by king Anniga or Bira Nolamba to one Pallaya who died in the battle with Aragella a military officer and subordinate of Rashtrakutas. The hero stone was erected by the family members of Pallaya in his commemoration.
The hero stone has a carving of a person with a large dagger in his right hand and what appears to be a bow in the left hand. On the right hand corner of the stone the deceased is depicted as being transported to heaven by two celestial women.
The 10th century hero-stone with Kannada inscription discovered in a village in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu recently. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Dr. Reddy said the inscription is important as one gets a hunch that the killing of Pallaya was part of a strategy of the Rashtrakutas to weaken the subordinates of the Cholas before taking them on in the famous battle of Takkolam in 949 CE.
Dr. Venkateshwaran said he has been conducting such explorations regularly since the last 15 years and it has yielded about 20 inscriptions besides megalithic burial sites and other such antiquities.
Over 300 found
‘’As a result of creating awareness among the public regarding the importance of preserving and studying the inscriptions, we are receiving information of newly discovered inscriptions almost on a daily basis from across the country,” said Dr. Reddy. In the last one year alone, about 300 inscriptions have been discovered which will add to the knowledge base of the history of the country, he added.
