1,250-year-old Hero stone lies in neglect

For nearly 700 years, the rule of the Western Gangas — based out of Kolar and Talakad — marked the development of south Karnataka as an economic and cultural powerhouse. Now, signs of their valour lay besides dustbins and piles of garbage.

A nearly 1,250-year-old ‘veeragallu’ (Hero stone), believed to have been installed by the dynasty, is being used as a compound slab of the Sri Mahabaleshwara temple at Vengayyanakere in K.R. Puram.

It would be near impossible to differentiate the historic stone relief from the pile of construction material, burnt leaves, overflowing dustbin and discarded photos of deities in a dusty bylane beside the temple.

“This is a dishonour to the great history, culture and heritage of the region,” said Alama Prabhu, chairman of the Bengaluru branch of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Earlier this month, Mr. Prabhu had stumbled on the stone during his research into the antiquity of the city.

“During the temple renovation, the hero stone was kept outside. Now, it is surrounded by trash while dried leaves are set ablaze right next to it,” he said.

Depiction of sacrifice

S.K. Aruni, Deputy Director of the Indian Council of Historical Research, said the stone was installed by Ganga emperor Sripurusha around 750 AD to commemorate the sacrifice of Mareya.

The inscriptions depict the valour of Mareya in protecting his village from dacoits, during the course of which he sacrificed his life, says the historian.

As was the tradition of that time, the tribute to the sacrifice comes in the form of a ‘veeragallu’, which depicts the fight, the manner of death, and the place of the hero in the afterlife.