An inscription found at Neeragunda in Arsikere taluk refers to the death of Hoysala ruler Vishnuvardhana.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Villagers in Neeragunda, in Arsikere taluk, have stumbled upon a centuries-old veeragallu (hero stone) bearing a Kannada inscription that could resolve long-standing confusion over the date of the death of Vishnuvardhana, the celebrated ruler of the Hoysala dynasty.The village has two Hoysala-era temples — Malleshwara and Lakshmi Narayana Swamy. The latter had fallen into a dilapidated state, prompting residents to undertake its restoration, raising funds from villagers and others interested in preserving Hoysala structures. Hoysala is the prominent dynasty that ruled many parts of today’s Karnataka and Tamil Nadu between the 11th and the 14th centuries. Belur and Halebid, now in Hassan district, were capitals of the dynasty.Stones unearthedWhile workers were engaged in foundation work on June 28, they unearthed two stone slabs bearing sculptural work, which were later brought to the notice of researchers. One of them carried an inscription.Shashidhar H.G., who works for an IT company in Bengaluru and has a keen interest in Hoysala architecture, has so far documented over 600 Hoysala temples. He visited the site and identified the two slabs as veeragallus, one of which carried a significant inscription. Veeragallus are memorial stones placed in honour of warriors.“I read the inscription in old Kannada and verified the content with other experts in the field. Going by the text, one can say it is a veeragallu installed by Maravve, a resident of Neeragunda, in memory of her husband, Boppa, a soldier, who sacrificed his life soon after Vishnuvardhana’s death at Bankapura. The date mentioned in the inscription, as per the Hindu calendar, is Ekadashi of Pushya Masa of Durmathi Samvatsara, in the year 1064. This corresponds to December 11, 1141, as per the Gregorian calendar,” Mr. Shashidhar said.
