10th-century hero stones near Bengaluru's Hoskote face damage amid rapid urbanisation

Expert says veeragallus are commemorative stones erected to honour an individual who died in battle defending their village or community from threats like rival kingdoms, wild animals and other acts of sacrifice.

Bengaluru: Relics of the city’s rich and ancient past are threatened as Ganga-era veeragallus (hero stones) dating back to the 10th century face neglect and destruction due to rapid urbanisation and construction activities.

Among the stones needing urgent attention is the Sambayya hero stone off the Hoskote highway.

Historian Shashidhara H G, who has been fighting to save hero stones in and around the city, has highlighted the dire situation in Medahalli, within the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA) limits, where historically significant veeragallus are unprotected.

“We have not learnt from the incident where the top of a hero stone was destroyed when it was burnt with garbage in KR Puram,” he told DH.

Shashidhara lamented the lack of action despite six years of appeals to various authorities, including the State Archaeology Department and GBA. The threat is compounded by mushrooming of large apartment complexes around the area, which, combined with rapid growth, is destroying these fragments of Bengaluru’s history. Hero stones are also found in abundance and are similarly unprotected around Devanahalli too, he added.

He suggested that authorities, like the Karnataka Archaeological Department, take immediate steps. He proposed shifting the stones to a museum, or creating a park dedicated to hero stones like the Arabhikottanur hero stones park in Kolar.

Hero stones expert R Shesha Sastry emphasised the national importance of Karnataka, which boasts the maximum number of such stones. “There is no equivalent to this in terms of sculpture or the literature it provides in the country,” he noted.

He said veeragallus are commemorative stones erected to honour an individual who died in battle defending their village or community from threats like rival kingdoms, wild animals and other acts of sacrifice.

These stones, through their inscriptions and sculpture, provide a picture of the social, political and religious status of their respective eras. The expert elaborated that the sculptures, in particular, paint a detailed picture of the clothes, weapons and customs in the state at the time. “Each and every hero stone is an important historical document based on its sculpture and inscription, which should be preserved for the future generations.”

A bit of history

This particular stone, found in Kurudu Sonnenahalli near Medahalli (off the Hoskote highway), is dedicated to a warrior named Sambayya, son of Madisetti, who died in a battle at Uralivu. Sambayya and other soldiers bravely defended their village, then known as Ereyappamangala (an agrahara named after Ganga king Ereyappa in the 8th century), from an attack by the Nolambas (a rival kingdom).