A rare hero stone belonging to the Vijayanagara dynasty dating back to 1405 Common Era (CE) has been discovered at Vanavolu village of Gorantla Mandal in Sri Sathya Sai district.
Researcher in history Mynaa Swamy accidentally found the hero stone or ‘Veeragallu’ at the Ranganatha Swamy temple in the village when he went there along with some residents.
The hero stone was first spotted near the Veeranjaneyaswamy statue on the outskirts of a massive rock. But, since it was getting damaged, the villagers brought it inside the temple located at the centre of the village.
Retired Archeologist from State Archeology Department Vijay Kumar confirmed that it was a rare hero stone named ‘Mahasti Shila’ with special features not seen in hundreds of other such hero stones in Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka (which has the highest number of them).
The 8 feet by 4 feet stone has an intricately designed depiction of the Penukonda war hero Ramadeva Nayakaru sitting to the right of Lord Shiva, and on the left is Nandi, a common practice in such hero stones which depicts the hero’s becoming one with the lord after his death, as per their religious belief.
The middle panel shows Ramadeva, believed to be from Vanavolu village, sitting along with his wife Gangasani on a platform for Sati Sahagamana. Gangasani was the daughter of a businessman from Pamidi—Bayannasetty.
The inscription on the hero stone is in Kannada. It begins with Swastisri Jayaabhyudaya Saka varsha 1327 Paarthiva samavatsara, which translates to 1405 CE as 78 years must be added to Saka Samasra to arrive at Common Era.
Mr. Vijay Kumar finds the rarity in the pillar etched on the right side of the panel with a Lotus Flower or a Wheel with spokes, which again depicts Buddhist sculpting, or it could be a flower rarely seen on hero stones.
At the bottom right, the war hero is depicted with a weapon in his hand, and on the left side, he is seen handling a well-decorated horse, usually a royal horse used by the kings.
The war hero is seen holding the reigns in one hand and a dagger in the other, which looks like a scene from the war field. A large hand attached to the pillar is also something not seen in that era, opined Mr. Vijay Kumar.
Mr. Mynaa Swamy said he was attracted by the stone lying next to a garbage dump, and a dump of firewood was also on the hero stone. He then deciphered the inscription at the top and bottom of the stone. A hero stone (Vīragallu in Kannada, Naṭukal in Tamil) is a memorial commemorating the honourable death of a hero in battle.
