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Memorial Inscriptions with Special Reference to Hero Stones

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Religious Memorials

As mentioned earlier, the largest category of religious memorials is that of the Jains who died observing the vow of sallekhanaor starvation to death. These are found distributed widely with a concentration in places like Shravanabelgolaand Koppal, which were considered sacred. Shravanabelgola,in fact, became known as Kalbappu or Sepulchral Hill as a result of its fame as the resting place of a large number of monks and nuns who chose to end their lives on its bare expanse between the seventh and the ninth centuries. The Gommata colossus was set up only at the close of the tenth century, but until then, the fame of this centre was primarily as a sacred place for inviting death. The memorials in the initial phase of the seventh to the ninth or even the tenth centuries were simple single line inscriptions with the name of the monk or nun and sometimes the name of their preceptor and the year of their death. An instance is number 11 which merely states that Panada Bhatara of Nedubore died after adopting the vow.[54] A slightly modified version of this type of memorial specifies the vow and the duration of the vow which ended with the death of the individual. Sometimes the preceptor and the monastic affiliation are also specified. An inscription on a rock to the right side of the Parshvanatha basadi on the small hill records the death of an old teacher (modeya) Kalapakada Guravaḍigaë, a disciple of Kalavir Guravaḍigaëhailing from Per̥jeḍe in Tarekadu,who died after observing the vow of sanyasana for twenty-one days.[55]

Around the close of the tenth century, we have the memorial of the Ganga king Marasimha II who died at Bankapura, having adopted the vow of aradhanavidhi (propitiation ritual) at the direction of Ajitasena Bhattaraka on the third day after initiation to the vow. His memorial however stands at Shravanabelgola, an elaborate pillar known locally as the Kuge Brahmadeva pillar, that enumerates his military achievements.[56] A similar military eulogy of Chavundaraya, his general, is also given on the foot of the Tyagada Brahmadeva pillar on the large hill at Shravanabelgola though it is not clear that he had adopted any vow ending in his death.[57] This seems to have set off the tradition of setting up eulogies of Jain generals who were prominent patrons and set up structures at the small or the big hill at Shravanabelgola. We have a eulogy of Gangaraja, the loyal general of Vishnuvardhana Hoysala who is said to have set up the suttalaya, the shrines of the Tirthankaras around the Gommata statue at Shravanabelgola. The inscription is an elaborate military eulogy of the general only recording his guru’s name, Shubhachandra Siddhantadevar, and his efforts in constructing the shrines.[58] This inscription stands on a regular stone near the surrounding wall of the large hill and perhaps would not qualify as a memorial inscription. But it points to the changing character of the sacred hill. From being primarily the site of performing the vow of sanyasana or sallekhana, it had become a centre of temples.

Elaborate eulogies of Jain monks who died by ritual vows continued to be set up at Shravanabelgola,and unlike the earlier memorials these were lengthy records engraved on pillars and given a mantapa (tower). The entire pontifical chain is sometimes elaborated therein before commemorating the monk who died. The memorials were set up by influential lay disciples. For instance, a mantapa in the vicinity of the Gandhavarana basadi has the memorial of Prabhachandra Siddhantadeva, the senior disciple of Meghachandra Traividyadeva of the Mulasangha, Kondakundanvaya and Desiga gana. The memorial was set up by his lay disciple, Macikabbe, the mother of the Hoysala queen, Shantala.[59] This is a lengthy record of 192 lines engraved on a pillar within the mantapa. Similar pillar memorials were also set up for influential lay disciples such as Baladeva, the grandson of Baladeva Dandanayaka,and the lay disciple of Prabhachandradeva who died at Morimgere by sanyasana. The memorial was set up by his sister Echiyakka and his mother Nagiyakka who also built a pattadasale (a reading hall) and a tank in his memory.[60] This record is also engraved on a memorial pillar in a mantapa and is 84 lines long.

In the case of Koppala or as it was known in the early medieval period, Kupana, the centre was recognised early on as a tirtha and it was both a centre with temples and a centre where people chose to attain liberation by adoption of vows. Thus, a record dated 881 CE registers the death of Shri Sarvvanandibhatara,the disciple of Ekacattugabhatara,by adoption of the vow of sanyasana[61], while another early eleventh century record states that after the death of Simhanandi muni by Inginimarana, the place became the preferred spot where Abhayandimunindra and Gunachandramuni among others chose to die also of the same vow after severe penances(kadutapam). The spot was also marked with the establishment of an image of Shantinatha.[62] But in the ninth century itself, it was becoming the centre recognised as a tirtha where influential people sought to increase merit by constructing or adding to Jain shrines.[63] It attained further fame at the close of the tenth century when several queens of the Ganga dynasty chose to die by sanyasana there.[64] By this time, the memorial records were much lengthier and elaborate, giving a eulogy of the deceased monk or lay person and of his preceptors.[65] It is also noteworthy that even in cases where the renunciant had died elsewhere, often the memorial was set up at Koppal, much in the same fashion as the memorial for Màrasimha II being set up at Shravanabelgola because of its sanctity. Thus, in 975 CE, we hear of a monk Sadhusena Bhatarar who, having ruled Kupana for sometime, adopts the vow of sanyasanaat the Ekacattuga basadi at Manyakheta and dies. His disciple, Siddhasena Bhatarar,set up the nishidhi in his memory. In this case, the control of the monk over Kupana might have been a factor in placing his memorial there, though it is not quite clear why he chose to adopt the vow at Manyakheta.[66]

Over time, we find the memorial inscriptions growing more and more elaborate and lengthy, with the pontifical chain given, with eulogies of each major monk, whereas before only the monk or nun being commemorated was mentioned. Either their monastic or lay disciples usually set up the stone in their memory. This trend may be compared to the elaboration of other memorial stones over time. For instance, the manner in which the Bachahalli records commemorate more and more individuals dying with the king and also becomes more ornate both physically and textually.

Notes

[1] K. Kailasapathy, Tamil Heroic Poetry, Colombo: Kumaran Book House, 1968 (reprint 2002) 235-237.

[2] R. Nagaswamy, “Dolmens, Hero Stones and the Dravidian People’, in Tamilnation.org

[3] Rajan Gurukkal, “Tribes, Forest ad Social Formation in Early South India”, in Social Formations of Early South India, by Rajan Gurukkal (New Delhi: OUP, 2010), 121-135.

[4] This came to be known as the debt of salt, or in Karnataka, the debt of the millet.

[5] R.V. Kulkarni, ed. and trans., Sahasabhamavijayam of Ranna (Gadayuddham), (Bangalore: Kannada Sahitya Parishat, 1985), II. 21,22.

[6] N. Anantarangachar, ed. and trans., Vikramarjunavijayam (Pampa Bhàratam), (Bangalore: Kannadóa Sahitya Parishat , 1977), XI.15.

[7] Kulkarni, ed. and trans. Gadayuddham II. 11.

[8] Anantarangachar, ed. and trans. Pampa Bhàratam, IX. 84.

[9] Kulkarni, ed. and trans. Gadayuddham, Vol. 17, 22.

[10] Kulkarni, ed. and trans. Gadayuddham, II. 24.

[11] Friedhelm Hardy, The Religious Culture of India: Power, Love and Wisdom, (Delhi: CUPi, 1994), p. 112.

[12] A.V.Narasimhamurthy et al. eds., Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. IX, Belur 524. (Mysore: University of Mysore Prasaranga,1990)

[13] B.L.Rice ed, Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. VIII Sorab 60-63, (Mysore: Mysore Dept.of Archaeology, 1904)

[14] Ibid, Sorab 202, 203.

[15] Ibid, Sorab 240.

[16] Ibid, Sorab 326.

[17] B.R.Gopal et al. eds. Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. VIII, HN 130, (Mysore: University of Mysore Prasaranga, 1984).

[18] B.RGopal et al .eds. Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. III (Mysore: University of Mysore Prasaranga,1974), Gundlupet 36,37.

[19] Rice ed, Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. VIII, Sb 16.

[20] Gopal et al eds Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. III Nanjanagudu 204 of 892 CE.

[21] A.V. Narasimhamurthy et al ,eds. Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol X (Mysore: University of Mysore Prasaranga 1997), Channarayapatna 102.

[22] Rice ed. Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. VIII Sorab 141.

[23] N.L. Rao ed South Indian Inscriptions, Vol. XVIII, (New Delhi: ASI, 1964) No.169.

[24] Rice ed. Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. VII (Mysore: Mysore Dept.of Archaeology,1902), Shikaripura 181.

[25] Ibid, Shikaripura 300.

[26] Riceed EpigraphiaCarnatica, Vol. VIII Sorab 251.

[27] Gopal et al eds. Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. V (Mysore: University of Mysore Prasaranga, 1975), 114.

[28] Anantharangachar, ed, Pampa Bharatam X. 45.

[29] B.S. Sannayya and Rame Gowda ,eds. Ajita Tirthakara Puranam of Raima, (Mysore: Geerha Book Depot, 1988), I. 46.

[30] Ibid, I. 48.

[31] Gopaled Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. III Heggadedevanakote 60.

[32] Kesavan Veluthat, “Landed Magnates as State Agents: The Gavudas under the Hoysalas”, Paper presented to the 50th session of the Indian History Congress, Gorakhpur, 1989; Malini Adiga, The Making of Southern Karnataka: Society, polity and Culture in the Early Medieval Period, (Chennai: Orient Longman , 2006) , 168-177 on the position of the gaudas.

[33] Narasimhamurthy ed, Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. IX Bl 185 of 1122, Epigraphia Carnatica XII Kadur 99 of early eleventh century, Rice (ed) Epigraphia Carnatica VIII Sorab 396 of 1200, Mysore Archaeological Report (MAR) 1930, No. 61 of 1201, MAR 1931, No,60 of 1208, Rice(ed) Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. VIII Nagar 29 of 1228, etc. Epigraphia Carnatica vol. IV Chamrajapet 226 of unspecified date records the death of a warrior of indeterminate status in a cattle raid on his village and his wife is said to have become a masati.

[34] Indian Antiquary, Vol. XX (1891), pp. 69-71.

[35] M.Chidanandamurthy, Kannada shasanagala Samskritika Adhyayana, (Mysore: Mysore University Press, 1979), 312-313.

[36] Gopal (ed) Epigraphia Carnatica Vol. V, TN 257.

[37] Narasimhamurthy (ed.) Epigraphia Carnatica VIII, Ag 26.

[38] Ibid, Ag 24.

[39] Ibid, Ag 41.

[40] Rice (ed) Epigraphia Carnatica, VIII, Sb 479.

[41] South Indian Inscriptions Vol. XX, No. 217.

[42] K. Veluthat, “The Nature and Significance of the Institution of Velevali in Karnataka in Historical Perspective (AD 800-1300)’ in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress (PIHC) 57th session, (Calcutta: Calcutta University, 1990), 151-159.

[43] Gopal (ed) Epigraphia Carnatica Vol. VI (1977) Krishnarajapete 84and 82 are the most important of these. Other references to this family show them fighting and dying in battles.

[44] Narasimhamurthy ,ed, Epigraphia Carnatica IX Bl 268.

[45] Gopal (ed) Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. VI Krishnarajapete 82 of 1256.

[46] Ibid, Krishnarajapete 77.

[47] Ibid, Krishnarajapete 84.

[48] Narasimhamurthy et al. eds Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. IX Belur 300.

[49] Narasimhamurthy et al (eds) EpigraphiaCarnatica, Vol. IX, Belur 522.

[50] Kulkarni, ed. and trans. Gadayuddham IV. 22.

[51] Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro, “Vanishing Visual Heritage: Sati and Hero Stones in Nagarparkar, Sindh”, in Journal of Indian Society of Oriental Art, Vol. XXVII, p 231-239.

[52] Alf Hiltebeitel, Draupadi among Rajputs, Muslims and Dalits: Rethinking India’s Oral and Classical Epics, (New Delhi: OUP, 2001), 95.

[53] Marco Fattori, “The Bhil and the Rajput Kingdoms of Southern Rajasthan”, in Narratives from the Margins: Aspects of Adivasi History of India, eds. by Sanjukta Das Gupta and Raj Sekhar Basu , (New Delhi: Primus Books, 2012), 127-152.

[54] Gopal et al (eds) Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. II SB 11.

[55] Ibid, SB 36.

[56] Ibid, SB 64.

[57] Ibid, SB 388.

[58] Ibid, SB 355.

[59] Ibid, SB 173 of 1145.

[60] Ibid SB 174.

[61] Devarakonda Reddy (ed) Kannaḍa University Epigraphical Series III, Koppal district, Kpl 45. (Hampi: Kannada University, 1999).

[62] Ibid, Kpl 62.

[63] Ibid, Kpl 34 of 883CE.

[64] Ibid, Kpl 98 of 971, Kpl 101 of 975, Kpl 84 of 987, etc.

[65] Ibid, Kpl 85 of 997 which has an elaborate eulogy of the preceptor, Maladharideva of the commemorated monk, Shridharabhattaraka. The nishidhi was set up by a nun, Poleyabbekantiyar.

[66] Ibid, Kpl 86.

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நடுகல்லும் நடுகல் வழிபாடும்

அண்மையில் வெளியான நூல், “தொல்குடி-வேளிர்-அரசியல்” என்பது. எழுதியவர் தொல்லியல் அறிஞர் முனைவர் அர.பூங்குன்றன். நடுகற்களைப் பற்றிய விரிவானதொரு ஆய்வு நூல். அந்நூலில் ”தொறுப்பட்டி” என்னும் தலைப்பில் உள்ள செய்திகளைப் படித்துக்கொண்டிருக்கும்போது, அதை ஒட்டிச் சில தரவுகள் எனக்குக் கிடைத்தன. அதை இங்கு பகிர்ந்துகொள்கிறேன்.

நடுகல் வழிபாடு-ஓர் அறிமுகம்

கால்நடை வளர்ப்புச் சமுதாயத்தில், மேய்ச்சல் நிலம் வேண்டிப் புலம் பெயரவேண்டியேற்பட்டது. மேய்ச்சல் தேடிக் குடிபெயரும் தன்மை பூசலை உருவாக்கியது. புதிய இட்த்தில் ஏற்கெனவே உள்ள மேய்ப்பவர்களுக்கும் குடி பெயர்ந்தவர்களுக்கும் இடையில் மேய்ச்சல் நிலம் தொடர்பாகப் பூசல் உருவாகியது. சங்க காலம் முதல் பல்லவர் காலம் வரை மாடே கேடில் விழுச்செல்வமாக விளங்கியது. எனவே, ஆநிரை கவர்தலும், ஆநிரை மீட்டலும் நிகழ்ந்தன. மேய்ச்சல் நிலத்திற்காகவும், நிரைக்காகவும் நடைபெற்ற பூசல், மறவர் குலம் உருவாவதில் கொண்டு சென்றது. இவ்வகைப் பூசல் தொறுப்பூசல் என்றழைக்கப்பட்டது. மாடுபிடிச் சண்டையில் தம் புகழ் நிறுத்தி மாய்ந்த மறவர்களுக்கு நடுகல் எடுத்து வழிபட்டார்கள். நடுகற்களில், தொடக்கத்தில் வீரனின் உருவம் ஓவியமாக வரையப்படுதலும், பின்னர் சிற்பங்களாக வடிக்கப்படுதலும் நிகழ்ந்தன.

எழுத்து - ஓவியம்

கால்நடை வளர்ப்புச் சமூகத்தில் எழுத்துப்பயன்பாடு குறைவு; எழுதிவைக்க வேண்டிய அவசியம் இல்லாத வாழ்க்கை. சங்க காலத்து வணிகம் வீழ்ச்சியடைந்த பின், வணிகர்கள், கால்நடை வணிகர்களாக மாறியிருக்கவேண்டும். அவ்வாறு மாறியபோது அவர்கள் நடுகல் பகுதியில் தங்கினர். இவ்வணிகர்களே பெரும்பாலும் எழுத்தை அறிமுகப்படுத்தியிருக்கக் கூடும். கி.பி. ஆறாம் நூற்றாண்டிலிருந்து எழுத்துடை நடுகற்கள் மிகுதியும் கிடைக்கின்றன. நடுகல் வழிபாடு பழங்குடியினரின் ஆவி வழிபாட்டிலிருந்து தோன்றியது. தன் இனக்குழுவில் வாழ்ந்த மனிதன் இறந்த பின்னும் தன்னுடனே வாழ்கிறான் என்ற நம்பிக்கையின் அடிப்படையில் நடுகல் வழிபாடு தொடர்ந்தது.

தொறு (சங்க கால ஆநிரை) கால்நடைக் கூட்டத்தைக் குறிக்கும் சொல் தொறு. தொழு என்றும் வழங்கும்.

தொறுப்பட்டி (நெய்த்தோர் பட்டி) நடுகற்களில், மாண்ட வீரனுக்கு அளிக்கப்பட்ட நிலம் பற்றிய செய்தி கி.பி. 9-10-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டிலிருந்து சுட்டப்படுகின்றது. இது, அரசு உருவாக்கம் நிலைபெற்ற காலத்துடன் தொடர்புடையது என்பதற்குச் சான்றாகும். மாண்ட வீரனுக்கு அளிக்கப்பட்ட நிலத்துக்கு நெய்த்தோர்பட்டி என்று பெயர். நெய்த்தோர் என்பதற்கு இரத்தம் என்று பொருள் கொண்டு இரத்தம் சிந்துவதற்காகத் தரப்படும் நிலம் என்று பொருள் கொள்ளப்படுகின்றது. இத் தானத்தினைக் கல்நாடு என்ற சொல்லாலும் கூறுகின்றனர்.

கல்நாடு

வெ.கேசவராஜ், ”தென்னிந்திய வீரக்கற்கள் – ஓர் ஆய்வு” என்னும் தலைப்பிலான தம் பிஎச்.டி. ஆய்வேட்டில், கல்நாடு என்பதற்கு எல்லை வகுத்துக் கல்நாட்டிக் கொடுத்த நிலத்தானம் என்று பொருள் கூறுகிறார். ஆனால், நடுகல்லிற்குக் கொடுக்கப்பட்ட வேளாண் நிலம் அல்லது நிலம் என்ற பொருளில் அச்சொல் ஆளப்பட்டிருக்கவேண்டும்.

மேலே சொல்லப்பட்ட செய்திகள் யாவும் பூங்குன்றனார் அவர்களின் நூலிலிருந்து பெரும்பாலும் அவர் எழுத்துகளிலேயே தரப்பட்டவை. இனி வருபவை, அவருடைய ஆய்வுக்கருத்துகளுடன் ஒட்டிய – எனக்குக் கிடைத்த - சில தரவுகள்.

என் தரவுகள்

· நெய்த்தோர் - நெய்த்தோர் என்பதற்கு இரத்தம் என்று பொருள் கொள்ளப்படுகிறது. இக்கருத்து மிகச் சரியே. கன்னட மொழியில் இரத்தம் என்பதற்கு “நெத்துரு” என்ற சொல்லே வழங்குகிறது. தெலுங்கு மொழியிலும் “நெத்துரு” என்னும் சொல்தான். கொங்கு நாட்டில் “ரத்தம்”என்பது “நத்தம்” என வழங்குவது கருதத்தக்கது. “நத்தம்”, “நெத்துரு”இரண்டும் நெருங்கிய தொடர்புள்ளன என்பது புலனாகிறது. கருநாடகத்தில், நடுகல்லுக்கு வீரகல்லு என்ற பெயர் வழங்குகிறது. கருநாடகக் கல்வெட்டுகளில் வீரகல்லு (வீரக்கல்) கல்வெட்டுகள் மிகுதியாக உள்ளன. அவற்றில், இறந்துபட்ட வீரனின் குடும்பத்தார்க்கு நிலம் கொடையாக அளிக்கப்பட்ட செய்திகள் காணப்படுகின்றன. ”கொடை” யைக் குறிக்கும் கன்னடச்சொல் “கொடகெ” என்றும் “கொடுகெ” என்றும் பயில்கின்றன. இரத்தத்தைக் குறிக்கும் “நெத்துரு”, “நெத்ர” ஆகிய சொற்களுடன் சேர்ந்து “நெத்துரு கொடகெ”, “நெத்ர கொடகெ” என வருகின்றன.

எடுத்துக்காட்டு-1

மைசூர் மாவட்டம், ஹிரியபட்டண(ம்) வட்டம், ஜோகனஹள்ளி என்னும் ஊரில் உள்ள நடுகல்(வீரகல்லு) கல்வெட்டு கீழ்வருமாறு அமைகிறது:

1 பஹுதான்ய சம்வத்சரத மார்க

2 சிர .... மருளிஹரதி

3 ய நாகப்பகள மக்களு பைச்சண்ண

4 னூ ஜோகனஹள்ளிய இசுவண்ண

5 ஹுலிய இறிதனாகி நெத்ரகொ

6 டகெய கொடகெயனூ ஆரொ

7 பரு அளுசிதவரூ சத்த

8 நாயி திந்தவரு ஸ்ரீ

கல்வெட்டின் தமிழ் வடிவம் கீழே:

1 வெகுதான்ய வருடம் மார்கழி

2 மாதம் மருளிஹரதி ஊரைச்சேர்ந்த

3 நாகப்பனவரின் மகன் பைச்சண்ணன்

4 ஜோகனஹள்ளி ஊரைச்சேர்ந்த இசுவண்ணன்

5 புலியைக் கொன்றதற்கு (கொன்று இறந்துபட்டமைக்கு) குருதிக்

6 கொடை. இக்கொடையை யாரொருவர்

7 அழித்தவர் (கேடு செய்தார்) இறந்துபோன

8 நாயின் புலவை உண்டவர்க்கு ஒப்பாவார். ஸ்ரீ

கட்டுரை ஆசிரியர் குறிப்பு :

”ப” எழுத்தை முதலாகக் கொண்ட தமிழ்ச் சொற்கள் பல, கன்னடத்தில் ”ஹ”ஒலிப்பாக மாறுதல் இயல்பு. எடுத்துக்காட்டாக :

பால்=ஹாலு

பல்=ஹல்லு

பாழாயிற்று=ஹாளாயித்து

இங்கே, புலி, ஹுலி ஆயிற்று. கொடை என்னும் தமிழ்ச் சொல் கொடகெ என்பதும்,

அழித்தவர் என்னும் தமிழ்ச் சொல் அளுசிதவர் என்பதும், கன்னட மொழி தமிழ் வேர்களைக் கொண்டது என்பதைப் புலப்படுத்துகின்றன. (தின்றவர்=திந்தவர் என்பது இவ்வகையானதே) தமிழ்க் கல்வெட்டுகளில் பயிலும் இன்னொரு சொல் “எறிந்து” என்பதாகும். அது, ”கொன்று” என்னும் பொருளையுடையது. அதுவே, கன்னடத்தில் “இறிது” என்று திரிந்து வழங்கியிருக்கக் கூடும். கல்வெட்டின் காலம் கி.பி. 17-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு.

எடுத்துக்காட்டு-2

மைசூர் மாவட்டம், யளந்தூர் வட்டம், யளந்தூரில் ஒரு வீட்டின் கொல்லைப்புறத்தில் இருக்கும் ஒரு பலகைக் கல்லில் காணப்படும் கல்வெட்டு. முதல் எடுத்துக்காட்டு ஒரு கன்னடக் கல்வெட்டாக அமைய, இந்த எடுத்துக்காட்டு ஒரு தமிழ்க்கல்வெட்டாக அமைந்திருப்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. கல்வெட்டின் காலம் போசளர் (ஹொய்சளர்) காலம். கி.பி. 1266. அரசன், மூன்றாம் நரசிம்மன். கருநாடகத்தின் கங்கபாடிப் பகுதி, முதலாம் இராசராசன் காலம் தொடங்கிச் சோழர் ஆட்சியின்கீழ் இருந்தபோது, தமிழரும், தமிழ் மொழியும் இப்பகுதியில் குடியேற்றம் பெற்றனர். சோழருக்குப்பின் போசளர் ஆட்சிக் காலத்திலும் தமிழின் செல்வாக்கு உயர்ந்தே இருந்தது. போசளரின் கல்வெட்டுகளும் தமிழில் பொறிக்கப்பட்டன. அத்தகைய கல்வெட்டுகளுள் இந்தக் கல்வெட்டும் அமைகிறது. கல்வெட்டின் பாடம் கீழ் வருமாறு :

கல்வெட்டின் முன் பக்கம் :

1 ஸ்வஸ்திஸ்ரீ வீர ந

2 ரசிம்ஹதேவன் பிருதிவீரா

3 ஜ்யம் பண்ணி அருளாநிற்க

4 இளமருதூரான ராஜகேசரி ந

5 ல்லூர் நாலுகூற்றில் சமஸ்த கா

6 முண்ட

7 களும்

8 ஸ்தானிகரும்

9 இளமயரும்

10 வியாபாரிக

11 ளும் அய

12 ணிக்கு

13 மெங்க

14 ளூர் நாவித உடயச்சன் மகன்

15 கேத்தைக்கு பிரமாணம் பண்

16 ணிக் குடுத்தபடி க்ஷய சம்

கல்வெட்டின் பின் பக்கம் :

17 வத்சரத்து சித்திரை

18 மாசத்து இந்த நாவிதன் புலி

19 யெறிந்து வீரியஞ்செய்தது ப

20 க்கு இவனுக்கு நேத்தல் குடங்

21 கை கரிகூடபள்ளத்து குழி

22 60 இந்த குழி அறுபது இவ

23 ன் மக்களுள்ளதனை செலு

24 த்தி இவன் வம்சமுள்ளதன்

25 நாளுஞ்செல்லக்கடவதாக

26 தாராபூர்வம் பண்ணிக்கு

27 (டு)த்தோம் ஆசந்திராஸ்தாஹியாக

28 த்தை அழிம்பினார்கள் கங்

29 கைக் கரையில் குரால்பசு(வை)

30 கொன்ற பாவத்தில் (போ)

இக்கல்வெட்டில், இருபதாம் வரியில் “நேத்தல் குடங்கை” என்னும் தொடருக்கு, நூலின் பதிப்பாசிரியர் “நெத்தரு கொடகெ” என்றே பொருள் கூறுகிறார். கேத்தை என்னும் நாவிதன் புலியெறிந்து (புலியைக்கொன்று) வீரச்செயல் புரிந்ததற்காக நெய்த்தோர் பட்டியாக (நேத்தல் குடங்கை) அறுபது குழி நிலம் கொடையளிக்கப்பட்டது. கொடையள்த்தவர்கள், சமஸ்த காமுண்டர்கள், ஸ்தானிகர், இளமயர், வியாபாரிகள் ஆகியோர். சமஸ்த, ஸ்தானிக ஆகியவை ஊரின் நிர்வாக அமைப்பைக் குறிக்கின்றன எனலாம். காமுண்டர்கள் என்பவர்கள் ஊர்த்தலைவர்கள். இளமையர் என்பதற்குக் காவலர், வீரர் என்று பொருள். மிளை என்னும் காவற்காட்டைக் காத்து நின்றவர் எனலாம். (மிளை, இளை எனத்திரிந்திருக்கலாம்.) கால்நடைகளைக் காத்த காவலரான இளையரும் கொடையளிக்கும் பிரமாணத்தில் பங்கு கொள்வதைக் கல்வெட்டு தெரிவிக்கிறது. எனவே, ஊர்க்காமுண்டரும், இளையரும், வியாபாரிகளும், ஸ்தானிகரும் கொடை ஏற்பாடு செய்கின்றனர். தமிழ்க் கல்வெட்டுகளில் பயிலும் இளையர் என்னும் வழக்குச் சொல் கன்னடக் கல்வெட்டிலும் பயில்கின்றது. இது, தமிழகத்தின் கால்நடைச் சமுதாயத்தின் கூறுகள் கருநாடகப் பகுதியிலும் நிலைபெற்றிருந்தது என்பதை விளக்குகிறது.

admin · Guru

தொறு - எடுத்துக்காட்டு-1

அடுத்து, தொறு என்னும் வழக்கும் கருநாடக் கல்வெட்டுகளில் பயில்வதைக் காண்கிறோம். எடுத்துக்காட்டாக, மைசூர் மாவட்டம், பிரியபட்டணம் வட்டம், கூரகல்லு என்னும் ஊரிலிருக்கும் வீரக்கல் கல்வெட்டு, தொறுப்பூசலைப்பற்றியது. தொறு என்பது கால்நடைக்கூட்டம் என்று முன்பே பார்த்தோம். கன்னடக்கல்வெட்டுகளில் “தொறு” என்பது “துறு” என்று சற்றே திரிந்து காணப்படுகிறது. இக்கல்வெட்டு, கங்க அரசன் பெர்மானடியின் காலத்தைச் சேர்ந்தது. (கி.பி. 10-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு). கொங்கல் நாடு-8000 என்னும் நாட்டுப்பிரிவை ஆளும் தலைவனான இறெயப்பன், நிலக்கொடை அளிக்கிறான். கூரகல்லு ஊரின் காவுண்டன், தொறுப்பூசலில் சண்டையிட்டு இறந்துபடுகிறான். அவனுக்கு மூன்று கண்டுகம் நிலம் “கல்நாடாகக்” கொடுக்கப்படுகிறது. ஆகோள் என்று இலக்கியங்களில் பயில்கின்ற ஆநிரை கவர்தல், நடுகற்களில் “தொறு கொள்ளுதல்” என வழங்கும். தமிழகக் கல்வெட்டுகளில் காணப்படும் “தொறு கொள்தல்” அல்லது “தொறு கொளல்” என்னும் தொடர், பழங்கன்னடத்திலும் காணப்படும் சொற்றொடராகும். மேற்படி கல்வெட்டில் “துறு கொளல்” என்று கன்னடத்தில் குறிப்பிடப்படுகிறது. ஆளுத்திரெ, சத்தர் ஆகிய சொற்கள் தமிழ் வேர்களைக் கொண்டுள்ளதை நோக்குக. மண் என்னும் சொல் மண்ணு என்று தமிழ்ச் சொல்லின் வடிவம் மாறாது பயில்வது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. காதி என்னும் கன்னடச் சொல் சண்டையிடுதலைக் குறிக்கும்.

கல்வெட்டுப் பாடம்:

1 ஸ்வஸ்திஸ்ரீ பெர்ம்ம
2 னடிகள் பிரிதுவிராஜ்யம்
3 கெய்யுத்திரெ கொங்கல் நாடெ
4 ண்டாசிரமனு இறெய
5 ப்பனாளுத்திரெ குர்கல்ல
6 பூதுகனரசி பரமப்பெ
7 யாளுத்திரெ குர்கல்ல காவுண்ட
8 தம்முத்திர்பொர் துறுகொளல் காதி
9 சத்தர் இதக்கெ எறயப்பரசர்
10 கொட்ட மண்ணு மூகண்டுக கால்நாடு இத
11 க்கெ சக்கி முதிரெ பூவய்ய பெள்ளென கர
12 குடி பாரதர் எறெயம்ம கெதறெயரய்ய
13 ப

கல்வெட்டின் தமிழ் வடிவம்.

1 ஸ்வஸ்திஸ்ரீ பெருமானடிகள்
2 ஆட்சி செய்கையில்
3 கொங்கல் நாடு
4 எண்ணாயிரத்தை இறயப்பன்
5 ஆளுகையில் குர்கல்லைப்
6 பூதுகனின் அரசி பரமப்பை
7 ஆளும்போது குர்கல்லைச் சேர்ந்த காவுண்டன்
8 ...... தொறு கொளல் போரில் சண்டையிட்டு
9 செத்தான் இதற்காக எறயப்பரசர்
10 கொடுத்த மண் (நிலம்) மூன்று கண்டுகம் இது கல்நாடாக
11 ...........
12............
13..........

தொறு - எடுத்துக்காட்டு-2

மைசூர் மாவட்டம், மல்லெகவுடன கொப்பல் என்னும் ஊரில் உள்ள ஒரு நடுகல் கல்வெட்டும் தொறுப்பூசல் பற்றியதே. கி.பி. 1036-ஆம் ஆண்டைச் சேர்ந்த இக்கன்னடக் கல்வெட்டு முதலாம் இராசேந்திரனின் ஆட்சிக்காலத்தது. ஆநிரை கவர்தலும், ஆநிரை மீட்டலும் இக்கல்வெட்டில் செய்தியாக வருகின்றன. சங்காள்வா(ன்) என்பவன் தன் தம்பியோடு சேர்ந்து ஆநிரை கவர்கிறான். பாகுளி சிரியண்ண(ன்) என்னும் வீரன் ஆநிரை மீட்கும் முயற்சியில் சங்காள்வானுடன் சண்டையிட்டு இறந்துபடுகிறான்.

கல்வெட்டுப்பாடம் கீழ்வருமாறு :

1 ஸ்ரீ ராஜேந்த்ர சோழதேவர்க்கெ யாண்டு இப்பத்த மூ

2 ற மதறொ

3 ளெ த்து சம்வ

4 த்ஸரத ஆஷா

5 ட மாஸத

6 அமாவாச்யெ யந்து திலுகரமாரி சங்காள்வ கிறுசோதர கூடி

7 துறுவ கொ

8 ண்டு போகெ ஒ

9 ளி நாகய்ய

10 ர மக பாகு

11 ளிசிரியண்ண

12 சங்காள்வன

13 காதி துறுவ மகுழ்ச்சி பெண்டிர பெறகிக்கி காதி சத்த அவன

14 தம்ம

15 ஆ..ண்ண பரோக்‌ஷவினெய கெய்து

கல்வெட்டின் தமிழ் வடிவம் :

1 ஸ்ரீ ராஜேந்திர சோழ தேவற்கு யாண்டு இருபத்துமூன்று

2 ......

3 தாது வருஷம் ஆஷாட(ஆடி)

4 மாதம்

6 அமாவாசையன்று திலுகர மாரி (என்னும்) சங்காள்வானும் அவனது சிறிய சகோதரனும் கூடி

7 துறுவைக்

8 கொண்டுபோகும்போது (கவர்ந்து போகும்போது?)

9 ஒளிநாகய்யனின்

10 மகன் பாகுளி

11 சிறியண்ணன்

12 சங்காள்வானுடன்

13 பொருது துறுவை மீட்டு, பெண்டிரைக் காத்து

சண்டையில் செத்தான் அவனுடைய

14 தம்பி

15 .... இறந்தவர் நினைவாக......

சோழப் பேரரசன் காலத்துக் கல்வெட்டாகையால், தமிழ்க் கல்வெட்டு மரபுப்படி அரசனின் ஆட்சியாண்டு சுட்டப்பெறுகிறது. ஆனால், கன்னடச் சொல்லுக்கு ஈடாகத் தமிழ்ச் சொல்லான “யாண்டு” என்பது கையாளப்படுவதைக் காண்க. ஆநிரை, துறு என இக்கல்வெட்டில் பயில்கிறது. ஆநிரையைக் கவர்ந்து போகும் நிகழ்வு, “துறுவ கொண்டு போகே” என்னும் தொடரில் தமிழின் தாக்கத்துடன் கூறப்படுகிறது. சிறியண்ணன் ஆநிரை(தொறு) மீட்கச் சண்டையிடுதல் ”காதி” என்ற தொடரால் சுட்டப்பெறுகிறது. தொறுவை மீட்டல் என்பது “துறுவ மகுழ்ச்சி” என்னும் தொடரால் அறியப்படுகிறது.தொறு மீட்டல் நிகழ்ச்சியில், பெண்களைப் பாதுகாத்தலும் நிகழ்ந்தது இதை,”பெண்டிர பெறகிக்கி காதி” என்னும் கல்வெட்டு வரி விளக்குகிறது.”பரோக்‌ஷவினய(ம்) என்னும் வடசொல், இறந்தவர்க்கு மரியாதை செலுத்தும் முகத்தான் செய்கின்ற செயலைக் குறிக்கும். அதாவது, இறந்தவர் நினைவாகச் செய்வது. கல்வெட்டின் காலம் கி.பி. 11-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டாதலால், ”மகுழ்ச்சி” என்பது தமிழின் தாக்கத்தால் விளைந்த பழங்கன்னடச் சொல்லாக இருக்க்க் கூடும். ஆனால், இச்சொல்லின் தமிழ் வேர் எது எனப் புலப்படவில்லை.

கல்நாடு

எல்லை வகுத்துக் கல்நாட்டிக் கொடுத்ததால் கல்நாடு என்னும் வழக்கு ஏற்பட்ட்து என்னும் கருத்தைக்காட்டிலும், நடுகல்லிற்குக் கொடுக்கப்பட்ட வேளாண் நிலம் அல்லது நிலம் என்ற பொருளில் அச்சொல் ஆளப்பட்டிருக்கவேண்டும் என்னும் பூங்குன்றன் அவர்களின் கருத்தே கருநாடகக் கல்வெட்டில் காணப்படுகிறது.

கல்நாடு - எடுத்துக்காட்டு-1

மைசூர் மாவட்டம், திருமுக்கூடல் வட்டம் தொட்டஹுண்டி என்னும் ஊர் வீரக்கல் கல்வெட்டில், கங்க அரசனான நீதிமார்க்கப் பெர்மானடி இறந்தபோது, அவனது பணியாள் ஒருவன் (ஆகய்யன் என்பது அவன் பெயர்)), அரசன் மேல் உள்ள பற்றால் தன் உயிரை மாய்த்துக்கொண்டான். அவனுக்கு நினைவுக்கல் எடுக்கப்பட்டது. கல்நாடாக ஓர் ஊர் கொடுக்கப்பட்டது என்னும் செய்தி கூறப்படுகிறது. கொடையளித்தவன் , இறந்த அரசனின் மகன் சத்தியவாக்கியப் பெர்மானடி. கல்வெட்டின் காலம் கி.பி. 10-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு எனக் குறிக்கப்படுகிறது.

கல்வெட்டின் பாடம்

1 ஸ்வஸ்திஸ்ரீ நீதிமார்க்க கொங்குணிவர்ம தர்ம மஹாரா

2 ஜாதிராஜ கோவளாலபுரவரேஸ்வர நந்த

3 கிரி நாத ஸ்ரீமத் பெர்மானடிகள் ஸ்வர்கமேறிதன்

4 ஏறிதொடெ பெர்மானடிகள மனெமகத்தின் ஆக

5 ய்ய நீதிமார்க்கப் பெர்மானடிகெ கீழ்குண்ட்டெ ஆத

6 பெர்மானடிகள் சுபுத்ர சதயவாக்ய பெம்மானடிகள் ..

7 பாடி ய

8 கல்நாடு

9 கொட்ட து

10 ப்பஹள்ளி

குறிப்பு : ஸ்வர்கம் ஏறித – சொர்க்கத்தை அடைந்தான்.

பெர்மானடிகெ – பெர்மானடிகளுக்கு

கீழ் குண்ட்டெ ஆத - கீழ் குண்ட்டெ ஆனான்.

கீழ் குண்ட்டெ என்பது, தமிழகக் நடுகற்களில் காணப்படும் நவகண்டச் செயலை ஒத்தது. அர்சனுக்காகத் தன்னுயிரைத் தானே மாய்த்துக்கொள்ளுதல். கல்நாடாகக் கொடையளிக்கப்பட்ட ஊர் துப்பஹள்ளி.

கல்நாடு - எடுத்துக்காட்டு-2

”தொறு” வைக்குறித்த மேற்படி எடுத்துக்காட்டு-1, கல்நாடு என்னும் கருத்துக்கும்
எடுத்துக்காட்டாக அமைவதைக் காண்க. தொறு கொளல் பூசலில் இறந்துபட்ட காவுண்டனுக்கு மூன்று கண்டுகம் அளவுள்ள நிலம் (மண்ணு) கல்நாடாகக் கொடுக்கப்படுகிறது.

முடிவுரை :

நெய்த்தோர் பட்டி என்பது தொறுப்பூசலில் இரத்தம் என்னும் குருதி சிந்தி இறந்து
பட்ட வீரர்களுக்குக் கொடுக்கப்பட்ட நிலத்தைக் குறிக்கவந்தது என்பதும், இதே கருதுகோள்
கருநாடகத்திலும் வழக்கில் இருந்தது என்பதும், இவ்வாறே, கல்நாடு என்பது தொறுப்பூசலில் இறந்த வீரர்களுக்குக் கொடுக்கப்பட்ட நிலம் என்பதும், தொறு என்னும் தமிழ்ச் சொல், கால்நடைச் சமுதாயப் பண்பாட்டின் கூறுகளுள் ஒன்று என்பதும், இந்தப் பண்பாடும், இந்தச் சொல்வழக்கும் கருநாடகத்திலும் இடைக்காலத்தில் இருந்துள்ளன என்பதும் பெறப்படுகின்றன.

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து.சுந்தரம், கல்வெட்டு ஆராய்ச்சியாளர், கோவை.
அலைபேசி : 9444939156.

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Hero Stone Worship in North India (Post No.4286)

edd9f-2528hero_stone2529_in_kedareshvara

Image of Hero Stone in Karnataka

Written by London Swaminathan

Date:9 October 2017

Time uploaded in London- 18-15

Post No. 4286

Pictures shown here are taken from various sources such as Facebook friends, Books, Google and newspapers; thanks.

Hero Stones are erected by ancient Tamils for those killed in some community work. We have ancient hero stones found in different parts of Tamil Nadu from 5th century CE. Two-thousand-year-old Sangam Tamil literature also refers to it.

5db10-hero2bstone.jpg?w=600

In Tamil Nadu and adjacent places Hero stones are placed in the road junctions and they are worshipped. The hero stones were erected for those who sacrificed their lies for others, particularly killing a tiger, or saving a village from an attack.

In Karnataka and Rajasthan, Pattinis, women who sacrificed their lives were worshipped. Thus India has 1000s of God like people who are elevated to the status of divinities.

Tamil inscriptional Evidence

Tamil inscription names even a dog called Kovivan in a hero stone. Mahendra Pallava’s Eduthanur Hero Stone inscription praised Kovivan that died with his master in the battle. This Tamil inscription belongs to sixth century CE.

Erecting a stone or a pillar over the burial or the place of cremation has been practised by lot of communities around the world. Probably this pagan custom resulted in erecting decorative graves by the Christians where the pillar was replaced by a cross.

Hero Stone from Gotlur

Bridegroom’s Tragic Death mad him a Hero!

Dulhaa Deo (Bridegroom God) is worshipped in North India. Dulhaa Deo was an unfortunate bridegroom who was killed by lightning marriage ceremonies. People believed he and his horse were stoned into stones. Actually, people erected stones in memory of the horse and the rider like the Tamils.

General Sleeman gives a different version about this accident: In the valley of Nerbudda (River Narmada), near Bhopal, one may see on the side of the road, upon a spur of the hill, a singular pillar of sand stone rising in two spires. On the spur of a hill half a mile distant is another sand stone pillar not quite so high. The tradition is that the smaller pillar was the affianced bride of the larger one, who was a youth of great eminence in those parts. When the bride and bridegroom along with his uncle looked at each other discarding the rules (not to look at each other before the ceremony) they were converted into stones.”

This deity is one of the chief household gods of the tribal people. Flowers are offered to him on the last day of February, and a goat at marriages. In some places, even Brahmins worship him., and his symbol is a fetish battle axe, fastened to a tree.

In Mirzapur he is worshipped in the family cook room, where oil and turmeric are offered to him; when two or three marriages are taking place at the same time there is a combined offering of rice and goat.

9d15a-memorial2bstone2bfrom2bkambaduru25

Memorial Stone from Andhra Pradesh

In course of time, lot of different customs get mixed up, particularly among illiterate people. Hundreds of such customs exist in Tamil Nadu. Road side stones/deities are offered various things such as lemon, coconut, flowers and incense sticks. In several places like Sabarimala, Madurai Chitra festival even Muslims are linked with Hindu Gods.

Rev Osborne Martin, author of Gods of India even point out similar custom in the Bible:

“For a father afflicted with untimely morning, when he had made an image of his child soon taken away, now honoured him as a god which was then a dead man: Thus in process of time an ungodly custom grown strong was kept as law.”

—subham–

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HERO STONES ON SEA BATTLES (Post No.5163)

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Written by LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Date: 29 JUNE 2018

Time uploaded in London – 21-24 (British Summer Time)

Post No. 5163

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Hero stones are found throughout India. They are erected to honour those who lost their lives in protecting the community or saving the country. Even a dog has a hero stone in Tamil Nadu because it heroically fought with a tiger and save the people.

Sangam Tamil literature refers to hero stones and so we know that it has been the practice for at least 2000 years; but unfortunately we have not discovered very ancient ones. The ones we know now are from sixth or seventh century.

Hero(ine) stones are erected for women who lost their lives by climbing their husband’s funeral pyre. Rajasthan and Karnataka have such stones with had symbols. In short Super Men were celebrated in Bharat from very early days.

Though we don’t come across much in Sanskrit literature about Hero Stones, we know that Brahmin families even today bury a stone after the ten day ceremony in a garden or the backyard of the house. Perhaps in ancient days it was a big one. Now they just bury it in the crematorium or the place where the ceremonies are done.

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One feature about the hero stones is that they are revered as gods or goddesses. Sangam Tamil literature is very clear about the Pujas done to you with flowers etc.

Several Tamil Hero Stones became Village Gods. We are fortunate to have two sets of Hero stones describing in pictures and words the ancient sea battles. One set of Stones is in Goa Museum and another set of six stones is in Eksar in Mumbai. It is one mile from Borivili station. But latest press reports say that some of the stones are missing. People in the village worship it as Goddess Boradevi. They are between four and eight feet high and intricately carved with ships and warriors.

After some historical awareness, people have discovered over 100 hero stones in Maharashtra. They are already well known in Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka.

The old Goa hero stones are from the Kadamba rulers who ruled for 400 years from CE 950.

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Great Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar says in Tamil Veda Tirukkural that human beings who lead a virtuous life are considered Gods.

“A man who leads an ideal life in this world,

will be ranked amongst the Gods in the heaven”- Kural 50

Sea Battle

Moti Chandra in his book Ancient Trade Routes has given full details about the six stones found in Eksar. But there are different opinions about the identity of the king in the stones. One researcher says it was the battle between Yadava king Mahadevan and Silhara King Someswara as described by Hemadri Pandit in his work Chaturvarga Chintamani. Others think it wass a battle between the Kadambas and Silahara kings. Since the inscriptions on the stones are unreadable we don’t know the names for sure.

Another strange thing about these Eksar stones is they are called Veera Gal ( a mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil words Veera+ Kal)

Now it becomes essential to collect all the details and publish them in an Encyclopaedia of Hero Stones.

I am giving below the descriptions of six stones as found in Moti Chnadra’s book:-

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–SUBHAM–

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LETIZIA TRINCO- HEROES BEYOND THE TEXTS: SACRIFICE, DEATH AND AFTERLIFE IN THE ICONOGRAPHY OF SOUTHERN MAHARASHTRA’S HERO-STONES

0. The Hindu concern for death and afterlife finds expression in a refined sequence of rites which aim at a twofold result: on one side, removing the pollution derived to the living from the contact with the mortuary remains, and, on the other side, ensuring the definitive transfer of the dead to their otherworldly abode. The funerary rituals are extensively described in the normative texts both in their practical and theoretical implications (Kane 1953: 180-679) and encompass a number of stages which include, among the others, the optional erection of a funerary monument over the post-cremation burial spot of the bones. The opacity of the terms recurring in the Vedic texts to indicate these monuments,1 paralleled by the paucity of references in the epic literature (Bakker 2007: 15, 16), contributed to shape an idea of Hinduism where structures in honor of the deceased, if any, seemed to be confined to the fringes of tradition, with their relegation to the fringes of the scholarly discourse following as a result.

In the second half of the last century a countertrend developed from the comparison between archaeological records and epic sources in local vernaculars. A different picture of the Hindu funerary monuments throughout India was thus progressively sketched, with particular reference to the so-called memorial stones and their most sizeable subgroup: the herostones.

Functions, typologies and local varieties of this class of materials were framed within a theoretical context for the first time (Nagaswamy 1974; Vanamamalai 1975; Blackburn 1978; Settar – Sontheimer 1982). Megaliths, hero-stones, satī-stones, samādhis, chattrīs, vṛndāvanas, thaḍes, temples and even unhewn stones appear today as tangible proofs of a very much alive tradition of dead cults in different epochs and regions. Yet, the global assessment of this phenomenon continues to be challenging: any evaluation so far carried out on Hindu memorials suffers from the lack of an integrated approach combining rigorous archaeological methods with the theoretical tools offered by disciplines like anthropology, history of religions and art history.

1. Definition of materials

English defines by the word compound ‘hero-stones’ some slabs or pillars erected in honor of individuals who perished in a certain range of circumstances or while carrying out specific sorts of deeds, perceived as extraordinary by the community they belonged to. Typically, they bear an iconographical and epigraphical apparatus which provides with information on the identity of the deceased and the context of his death.

It has to be noted that the expression ‘hero-stones’ somehow smooths over the variety of terms with which Indian languages designate these artefacts. Such a variety is not just a matter pertaining to the linguistic domain, rather it reflects the formal and structural changes of these materials according to the region where they were produced. A series of etymologically related words like vīragal in Marathi, vīrakkal in Tamil, vīragallu in Kannada, vīrakallu in Telugu are the literal counterparts of ‘hero-stone’. Terms like chāyāstaṃbha, proper of the specimens from Andhra Pradesh (Murthy 1982: 210)2 or khaṃbha, and its alternative forms khaṃba, khaṃbhi, diffused in Northern and Central India (Sontheimer 1982: 92; Shah 1982: 102; Doshi

1982: 166), convey the meaning of shade-pillar and pillar, with reference to the memorial shape.3 Pāliya and govardhana from Gujarat and Rajasthan allude instead to the concept of protection (i.e. a memorial to the protector of the community), as the root of the first term (Doshi 1982: 165) and the iconographic repertoire suggested by the second term (namely the representation of Kṛṣṇa Govardhanadhara. Agrawala 1982: 151) show.

On the ground of the available data,4 the death cases recorded on the hero-stones can be summed up as follows:5

 people who died to protect their livestock from theft; while retrieving it after the attack

 people involved themselves in cattle raiding

 people who died while defending their community and ruler from external attack; people died on the onslaught of a stronghold

 people who died to defend women and children

 people devoured by wild animals, most commonly tigers; people who freed the village from the threat of wild animals

 people who died after a snake bite

 people who committed religious suicide

 women who died in pregnancy or childbirth / suicide victims.

The terminus a quo for hero-stones relies on Southern Indian materials, but it is not free from uncertainties. Until few years ago, one of the earliest cases as such could be identified in a 3rd-4th centuries AD cattle raider’s inscribed pillar from Andhra Pradesh (Murthy 1982: 210-211; Rajan 2000: 102). However, a fast-paced series of discoveries would ultimately prove –according to some – the existence of hero-stones already in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC Tamil Nadu.6 Less problematic seems instead the terminus ad quem, which stretches up to the present time, if the living practices among tribal communities of both Northern and Southern India are considered.

The scholarly tradition (e.g. Vanamamalai 1975: 41) maintains that a hero-stone was raised on the spot where the hero fell or where his remains were buried, or alternatively in his native village or in the place where his relatives lived. The current position of the materials, however, hardly corresponds to the original one. Many have been relocated inside museums or temple premises, either as freestanding elements or as structural components; but even when found at the crossroads of hamlets, under trees or next to water reserves, one cannot ignore that some transformative process must have intervened over the centuries and reshaped the landscape (e.g. due to the construction of a new road, or to cropland expansion).

Archaeological excavations never occurred systematically in the past, so that at present, threatened by an increasing urbanization, the veracity of both primary and secondary sources on this issue is de facto unascertainable.

2. Case Study: Maharashtrian Hero-Stones

Maharashtra shows a high concentration of hero-stones which differ from all the other regional specimens by two features: a codified iconographic apparatus combined to an almost total absence of inscriptions, which makes their chronological horizons rather opaque.7 The identification of the main figurative motifs – a research field still at an early stage –will be taken here as a focus through the analysis of seven prototypical steles from the South-Eastern area.8 As I will try to show, the paradigmatic value of the selected hero-stones encompasses both the iconographic and the iconological levels: beyond a series of formal variations on the basic themes, each sample illustrates in its own way two of the three types of heroism to which Maharashtrian hero-stones can be virtually ascribed, that is to say ‘martial heroism’ and ‘religious heroism’.9

3. Structure and layout

The narrative develops across a series of horizontal panels carved on the front side, ranging between three and five; the back and lateral faces are just rough-cut. At times, in place of the more common one-sided slabs, square-based pillars engraved on the four sides are found. The steles may have equal width at the top and bottom, but more often they taper upwards. Typically, a frame divides each scene from the other; it is usually plain, although it may bear geometrical decorations or

be replaced by a more sophisticated casing which imitates secular or religious architecture.

Often conceived to be looked from bottom to top, the panels show the physical and spiritual progression of the hero who ascends to heaven after passing through different kinds of trials in the worldly level which cost him his life. On the lowest panel the circumstances of the hero’s death are captured (battlefield, self-sacrifice), whereas in the middle and top sections he is portrayed while ascending to heaven and ultimately in association with the god of whom is devotee. Exceptions are frequently found in this sequence, the most common featuring the representation of the dead hero on the lowest panel (lying on the ground or on his funeral pyre), a stage which theoretically should be following the circumstances of his death. The slab is usually crowned by a kalaśa and by the sun and moon, symbols of the eternal glory of the hero which will last as long as the two celestial bodies endure.

The hero shows codified attire and attributes: he regularly wears dhotī, armlets and bracelets, having the yajñopavīta, belt with sheathed dagger and anklets as optional features; his hair is always tied in a bun.

He is in the company of different personages according to the scene: enemies, apsarases and ācāryas are the most regular characters, contributing in their own way to his achievement of each stage, namely ascension to heaven and enjoyment of the celestial abode with the supreme Lord. The scenes are enriched with more or less details to the point that in some instances we find the hero surrounded by a procession of figures, such as musicians, or carried on a palanquin and protected by a parasol, alone or with his wife, whose satī ritual might be represented as well.

Sometimes the horizontal panels can be vertically split into two halves, mirroring each other in terms of content. As a result, the same episode is replicated twice, and by this device two heroes happen to be honored on one stele. A further strategy to condense on one and the same stone the story of many heroes can be detected in the pillars carved on the four sides: each of them reproduces the same cycle of conflict-death-and-ascension with just slightly different details.

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A free standing hero-stone in the village of Loni Bhapkar (fig. 1) is consistent with the features so far outlined except for a detail on the top frame. It has four panels: the lowest portrays the hero laying on the ground surrounded by his livestock. The second lowest scene shows him fighting against two enemies armed with shields and swords, while in the middle panel he stands between two celestial damsels (apsarases) taking him to heaven. The uppermost scene depicts the hero in padmāsana, his hands in añjalimudrā in the presence of a śivaliṅga accompanied by Nandi. On the right side (from the viewer perspective), a priest is performing a rite on the cult object. The top part of the stele reveals quite an unusual feature: in the place where a kalaśa is normally expected, a human figure is engraved whose interpretation is challenged by some unclear details depending on the bad preservation status of the relief (four arms are allegedly represented, and the body posture may either correspond to a cross-legged sitting or to a bust protruding from a balcony). In the lack of further data, the figure could be theoretically identified as a deity no less than as the hero himself deified, both cases being documented elsewhere.

The second hero-stone composition displays a comparatively higher degree of dynamism. A free standing slab from the village of Bawada is divided into four panels (fig 2). The lowest depicts the hero lying prone on a structure which can be reasonably identified as a funeral pyre.10 He is surrounded by six female figures (apsarases, in all probability), each of them raising a garland. Above a fight scene is portrayed: on the left, the horse riding hero faces a handful of enemies. Three of them move against him with their spears, while other six foot soldiers, equipped with shields and daggers, mill around the other side of an architectural barrier, likely the wall of a fort. A

sprawling figure is depicted below the hero’s horse. The middle panel displays the hero together with a female personage (likely his wife) resting on a seat which is apparently lifted up by two celestial figures fluttering about the bottom corners of the scene, adorned with anklets and a refined hairstyle. Behind them, a couple of standing female figures, wearing jewels and having their hair arranged in a bun, rises up two garlands. The top scene depicts the worship of the śivaliṅga by the hero in the presence of Nandi and an ācārya on the right edge. The priest holds a bell in his right hand, with an incense burner (?) in his left. On the left side, next to the hero, a standing male figure lifts a garland, showing no distinctive features beyond his dhotī and a classical bun hairstyle. The topmost section of the stele bears a kalaśa and a wavy decorative motif denoting the evident architectural inspiration of the design.

The same site reveals one more noteworthy stone, which exemplifies the case of two heroes celebrated on one and the same slab (fig. 3). Only three horizontal panels are carved, the lower ones divided into two halves. Although the whole right section of the stele is worn, its contents can be safely ascertained on the ground of their similarity with the left counterparts. The lowest level captures twin scenes of skirmish: both the halves show a hero standing on the left edge facing his foes (two, in the left section), who are armed with shields and swords/daggers. Each of the two middle scenes portrays a dead warrior standing between two apsarases. The uppermost panel shows instead the two heroes together, sitting cross-legged by the two sides of a śivaliṅga, above which a garland is hanging.

Both of them are in padmāsana, with their hands in añjalimudrā, and display the same attire. We can catch sight of a standing figure on the right edge, whose role is arguably connected with the ritual performance as in the samples illustrated above. The top section of the stele is occupied by a kalaśa, a common iconographical code in this area. The frame bears a garland motif decoration as a distinctive trait. Unlike the other slabs considered so far (cattle raid; fort assault), here no additional information are provided to the viewer as regards the context of the skirmish.

At times the hero is portrayed in the company of his wife. A unique specimen from the village of Kumbharvalan (fig. 4), unfortunately incomplete, offers a vivid representation of the couple burning on the funeral pyre: on the lowest panel the wife lies prone on her husband’s body, her left arm raised up in the flames. Above this scene, the skirmish where the hero sacrificed his life is shown. He appears in his traditional attitude on the left side, while his foes, who seem to be characterized to a lesser extent, face him standing on the right; once again no details are given about the reason of the violent dispute.

The iconographical patterns of Maharashtrian hero-stones can reach higher degrees of complexity as in the following example from the village of Velapur (fig. 5). This stele consists of four panels which frames are visibly more elaborated than in the previous instances, the narrative pattern itself displaying some variations. Both the lower panels depict indeed a battlefield scene. The hero stands in the center and is attacked head on and backside by six foot warriors wielding a sword in their lifted right hand, with a shield in their left. An irregular frame separates this scene from the upper one, providing the ground to a more complex battle episode, where the hero and his enemies fight on horseback. Interestingly, a figure stands on the left edge of the scene bearing next to the hero a parasol, one of the Indian royal symbols par excellence. A further intriguing but scarcely preserved figure is represented in the foreground in left profile view: a four-legged animal of medium size (a jackal?) with muzzle bent down. The middle panel features the hero flanked by six celestial damsels holding a cāmara (fly-whisk) in their right hands. A wavy motif crowns this scene, its pinnacle pointing to the center of the top panel, the spot where the śivaliṅga is represented. In the uppermost episode the hero is sitting in the classical worship attitude close to the liṅga, above which a garland hangs; on the opposite side are Nandi and an ācārya performing the ritual, with bell and censer/water pot (?) as his attributes. An unidentifiable element flanks the hero on his right. The whole composition is superseded by a stylized architectural frame reproducing a temple covering made of superimposed levels.

Hero-stones are not reserved just to those who lost their lives on the occasion of events having social implications, such as defensive or offensive deeds. The steles erected to perpetuate the memory of those who committed religious suicides are one of the most peculiar variants. Several types of self-immolations are recorded in Medieval Deccan (Sircar 1971: 206-220).

Beyond those committed by heroes on the battlefield as a consequence of their failure in achieving death by the hand of their enemies, suicides might have taken place in the fulfillment of a vow made to secure the accomplishment of a certain desire (winning a war, getting a son, etc.), or in order to propitiate a deity whose wrath was believed to get manifest through pestilences or other calamities in the village. Expiatory suicides by criminal are known as well, occurring as an alternative to the execution or to regain lost honor (Filliozat 1991: 144-145).

The immolation ritual could take the form of the hero’s beheading in front of the god or goddess, known as kamala pūjā (Sontheimer 1982: 163), or could alternatively be performed by throwing oneself under the wheels of a running temple cart, or even by piercing one’s own body on a sharp spiked pedestal (Rice 1909: 187-188). Through such practices, which transformed the suicide victim into the prototypical sacrificial animal of more traditional rites, the devotee aimed to obtain the God’s response or to get closer to him in the afterlife.

A huge-size slab from the village of Mangalwedha accounts for this custom (fig. 6). The stele is incomplete, the lowest panel being lost; nonetheless the story can be detected from the surviving four panels. The bottom one depicts a choral scene: it is a procession of men in army (left) and musicians (right). Both the groups converge towards the center, where a male figure sits on an elephant back. A dhvaja (banner) held by one of the men in army is topped by a composite animal, namely a makara, which recurs also in other spots of the depiction, as we shall see.

The focus of the second scene is on the sacrifice: the hero, portrayed on a bigger scale compared to the other figures and sitting in padmāsana, is beheaded. Once again, a procession takes place wherein we can observe his head being carried on a plate, preceded by the same makaradhvaja (likely, the family banner) represented in the panel below, and by a group of musicians (oboe and percussion players). The scene above features the hero’s ascension to heaven in the company of ten apsarases. Two of them embrace the hero by resting an arm around his back. The content of the last panel is consistent with the records we analyzed so far: the hero is eventually in the presence of the śivaliṅga. The officiant on his left holds a bell and a censer/water-pot (?); the right side of the scene displays three more ācāryas, similarly involved in the performance of the ritual as confirmed by their attributes, and again a group of musicians playing tambourines, drums and a conch shell. On the top section, beyond a variation of the architectural covering that we have already encountered on the other hero-stones, a makara is depicted on the right, echoing the family emblem of the banner depicted in the panels below. Even the interpretation of this fabulous aquatic animal as an apotropaic element could be considered.

The last hero-stone of this review embodies a synthesis between the classical heroism displayed on the battlefield and the type of heroism connected to the performance of selfmortification practices (fig. 7). This small size sample from the village of Kikli is divided into three panels, which apparent iconographic simplicity betrays a certain complexity of meanings. The uppermost scene includes the expected iconographical repertoire: the dedicatee of the stele is worshipping a śivaliṅga, upon which a garland hangs; interestingly, no officiants are portrayed. The middle panel depicts the hero involved in a skirmish. He is pierced by his two enemies’ spears while wielding his dagger. The lowest panel captures a sacrificial ritual performed by the hero: he moves towards a square based pillar bearing a triśūla-shaped set of spikes on the top. It will be noted that while the heavenly ascension is missing, two different ways of dying are represented on one and the same slab, which coexistence still awaits for a proper explanation. On one hand, self-immolation on spiked pillars is usually associated with extreme bhakti rituals, rather than with suicides on the battlefield, where the sword could reasonably serve the purpose; on the other side, the battlefield scene portrayed in the middle panel seems already to give proper account of the heroic death of the protagonist at the hand of his foes.

4. Conclusions

The seven samples we offered can be looked at as a small scale compendium of South-Eastern Maharashtrian hero-stones in relation to iconographic motifs and meanings conveyed. But what does it precisely mean, and which kind of data can we elicit by this review?

The very existence of a large number of hero-stones and the almost ubiquitous depiction of warlike contexts on them reflect a social milieu where disputes of different nature must have not occurred sporadically in the Medieval period, should they have been trigged by the defense/pillage of livestock (as the head of cattle around the dead hero indicate in fig. 1), or been connected to fort assaults (fig. 2) and other local controversies not always specified (fig. 3-5, 7). The higher concentration of cattle-raid steles in a particular strip (i.e. the Western Ghats) of the area under examination, in addition, would be indicative of the predominant pastoral character of the region, the hero-stones thus becoming authentic economic markers as well (Dandekar 1991).

Although produced in a rural environment by and large, these steles commemorate ordinary villagers as much as higherrank individuals whose identity is inferred by the presence of royal symbols like parasols, banners, attendants and horses (fig.5 and 6), with the stone size and refinement as further distinctive factors.

Interestingly, even when the steles extol practices of devotional heroism, according to the above mentioned variants of religious suicide, the warlike component is not necessarily excluded (fig. 7 and likely fig. 6, where the missing lowest panel may have represented a battle scene). Whatever the vow of self-sacrifice, either related to success on the battlefield or not, the devotional heroism it entails shares indeed the same nature with martial heroism: eternal glory is reserved to the hero on the worldly sphere – as the dedication of a memorial to him proves – no less than on the otherworldly dimension – through the attainment of the Śivaloka. Following Sontheimer (2004 [1976]: 125-126), on one side a hero-stone dedication may have permitted the hero to ascend to the world of gods. But the concept of hero and fame (vīra and kīrti) is also present and must have been a strong overriding motive in warring communities who did not have any claims as such to be called ‘Kṣatryias’ but who aspired to rise in social and ritual rank. […] Death or victory in battle or in a hunt against a tiger [or in a self-immolation ritual] indicated special qualification for rank and honor […]”and ultimately equate the hero’s deeds to the yogi’s. The hero is perceived as such since by means of a death through trial (being it war or self-mortification) he obtains closeness to the Lord in the same way as the yogi does by means of his penance. “The fight in itself becomes a kind of religious, yogic exercise for achieving the supernatural” (ibid.): and by this martial and devotional heroism ultimately merge.

Beside the religious affiliation of the hero explicitly provided on the upper section of the iconographic program, these materials implicitly throw light on another set of religious data:

the beliefs on death and afterlife which are rooted in the socalled popular religion. The necessity to provide those who suffered from an akāla mṛtyu (untimely death) with honors must have played indeed a significant role in the decision to erect hero-stones to certain categories of dead far beyond a mere commemorative intent. The deification process occurred at times for some deceased would confirm it (Vanamamalai 1975).

Hero-stones erection and heroes’ apotheosis, in other words, can be interpreted as strategies to prevent potentially unsatisfied spirits in search for revenge or wish fulfilment from harming the living community (on spirits afflictions and their treatment see for instance Fuller 1992: 231-232).

In the light of these considerations it becomes clear that a proper evaluation of the “hero-stones heroism”, that is to say of the system of values conveyed by this class of materials, relies not only on dharmaśāstras and epic texts, but also on a broader understanding of the local context which produced it.

1 They consist of mounds, referred to as loṣṭa-citti; at times a sort of post (sthūṇa) is mentioned in connection with them. See Patil 1982: 49-52.

2 Chāyāstaṃbhas designate hero-stones in the strict sense as well as funerary monuments like the 2nd-3rd centuries AD pillars from the site of Nagarjunakonda. fall beyond the present scope “because they were mainly raised for elite people who attained a natural death” (Rajan 2000: 105), rather than for heroic figures. This specification

becomes meaningful as to the definition of the hero-stones chronology, the chāyāstaṃbhas from Nagarjunakonda being inevitably overlooked despite their remarkable antiquity.

3 All these terms have the same root of skaṃbha, pillar, mentioned in the Atharva Veda Saṃhitā as one of the epithet of the Puruṣa [AVŚ X, 7]. A connection between this particular aspect of the sacrificial being par excellence, the historically attested memorial stones and the terms in use to designate them may be postulated. I am thankful to Prof. Y.Vassilkov for kindly bringing to my attention this passage and for sharing his notes on the topic.

4 The reported list results from the synthesis between secondary sources (among the others, see Rajan 2000) and my personal records.

5 Satī cases, although strictly relevant to the context, have been omitted due to methodological reasons. Satī- and hero-stones share the same function, structure and iconographic code, to the point that we often find the two types merged (see fig. 4 and description); however the ‘religious heroism’ connected with the satī-stones would lead us beyond the scope of the present contribution.

6 News of hero-stones findings in the Tamil region with Tamil-Brāhmī scripts periodically appear on the press: see for instance <http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/stone-commemorating-heroic-actwith- tamilbrahmi-inscription-found/article3662994.ece>. Such discoveries would represent a turning point for a certain tradition of studies (Rajan 2000: 24, 105) which used to classify the hero-stones engraved in vaṭṭeluttu script, dated to the Pallava period, as the earliest examples of their kind in India.

7 These materials are normally dated to the Medieval period.

8 Namely the districts of Pune, Solapur and Satara. The proposed samples were recorded during a two-session fieldwork I carried out in 2013 and 2014 in the frame of my Ph.D. research (Trinco, in preparation). Unless occasionally appearing in the works by the late German scholar Günter-Dietz Sontheimer (1982, 1989, 2004 [1976]), these materials are still unpublished.

9 A third category is what I define “accidental heroism” (Trinco, in preparation). This theoretical distinction is so far substantiated by the data I collected during my fieldwork, concerning nearly 300 samples of hero-stones across 30 villages.

10 This interpretation relies on the comparison between the alleged funeral pyre on this specimen with the burning pyre unequivocally portrayed on other steles, such as that of fig. 4 in the present contribution.