A new discovery in Anegondi

Sharanabasappa Kolkar describes the significance of an inscription found on Kadebagilu hill, which mentions Kishkinda

Some scholars argue that the mythologically significant Kishkinda is located near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, while others say that it is in the Hampi-Anegundi region near River Tungabhadra. Similarly, there are legends about eight places in the country believed to be the birthplace of Anjaneya. There have been various efforts to prove that the Anjanadri hills in Hampi are where Anjaneya was born, using inscriptions, myths, monuments, sculptures and prehistoric cave paintings as evidence. A stone inscription recently discovered at Anegondi, in Koppal district, presented an addition to such evidence.

Researchers have noted that south India, especially Hampi in Karnataka, has been known, for thousands of years, as ‘Ramayana Kavokta Kishthinde’. Recently, the Tirupati Tirumala Temple Trust of Andhra Pradesh raised a new argument that the Venkatachala hill is Anjanadri, where Anjaneya was born. Anjaneri hill near Nashik in Maharashtra has also been claimed to be the birthplace of Anjaneya. Apart from these, Kesarivan on the Koodlay coast of Karnataka, Anjanahalli in Jharkhand, Kaithal in Haryana and Anjana hills in Gujarat state are also associated with the legend of Anjaneya’s birth.

It is in this context that the famous archaeologist A Sundara undertook extensive fieldwork in the Hampi-Anegondi area in 1961. He identified archaeological and inscriptional sources and tried to characterise this area as the Kishkinda of Ramayana. In the Ramayana, Kishkinda is referred to as Kikkinda Guha or ‘the cave of divine abundance’. The description makes it clear that Kishkinda was a region of steep hillocks with caves. 

The geographical details of Kishkinda are comparable to the Hampi-Anegondi region of Karnataka. Here, the area on both sides of River Tungabhadra is filled with huge rocky hill ranges. Among these are a number of small and large caves. Not only this, several historical epigraphs mention that this region is Kishkinda. 

Several inscriptions found in Karnataka mention Kishkinda. These include the inscriptions of Devghat and Huligi. The Shirasangi inscription is another example. 

New discovery

Despite these links, until recently, no inscriptions had been found directly at Anegondi that could identify the region as Kishkinda of the Ramayana period. The credit for bridging this gap goes to an inscription found at Kadebagilu Hill of Anegondi. 

A carving in stone found on the hill.

It was during a trek I guided that the inscription of the Vijayanagara period dating back to 1527 AD was found by members of the Gangavati Kishkindha Yuva Charan Balaga. After completely cleaning the inscription buried in the soil, I reviewed and read it, recognising its significance. 

The inscription is carved on a rock near the ruined Veerabhadreshwar temple on the hill.  It belongs to the Vijayanagara period and has eight lines. The inscription refers to the Saka year 1449, which corresponds to 1527 AD.  In the inscription, it is written that the Mahapradana of Anegondi, Lakki Shetty’s son Ujanatha, worshipped the deity of Viranna (Virabhadra) on the hill.

It mentions that the hill was also known as Kishkindha Parvata. This reference has become very important in the context of the controversy about the Kishkindha and the fabled birthplace of Anjaneya. 

(The writer is a historian and archaeologist.)