The inscriptions from the period of Ballala II, discovered in KR Puram and Doddanekkundi, describe revenue and land grant in the 11th-12th century
It seems Bengaluru has a deep connection with Veera Ballalas — three prominent kings of the Hoysala Dynasty. After state archaeology, museums and heritage department officials recently found a major inscription pertaining to last great Hoysala king, Veera Ballala III (1292-1342), two more inscriptions, this time from the period of Veera Ballala II (1173-1220), have surfaced in Doddanekkundi and KR Puram. Officials have roped in experts and historians in an attempt to connect the dots by getting information of time and subject matter of these inscriptions to decipher the Hoysala-Bengaluru connect, 800 years ago.
While one inscription was found in Doddanekkundi, the other was found at Sadaramangala in KR Puram. Last month, a 674-year-old 16-line inscription was found at an abandoned site in Kattigenahalli near Yelahanka. The inscription dated back to 1343, a year after the death of Veera Ballala III. The inscription was found accidentally during research work pertaining to Kempegowda was being carried out by a team of historians and heritage enthusiasts.
This inscription spoke of revenue generated from local towns and villages that went to temples — there was a mention of Kodigehalli temple that which doesn’t exist anymore.
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Officials of the department of archaeology museums and heritage said the latest inscriptions too, in Tamil, have similar subject matter. Both inscriptions date back to the 11th-12th century, when Veera Ballala II was in reign.
The one found in KR Puram has a mention of grant of land and Brahmins who migrated from Andhra Pradesh to settle in Karnataka, said Maniganda Ranganathan, a heritage enthusiast who played an instrumental role in bringing it to light. Ranganathan is also a research scholar at the National Institute for Advanced Studies.
“People are neglecting history. This inscription is unique because it talks of a Brahmin family from Andhra Pradesh settling in Karnataka under a Tamil ruler. This could be between 11th-13th century. I got to know about it from a local boy named Chidambaram. It has a mention of grant of land by the ruler. As heritage enthusiasts, we want it to be preserved at the site usually. However, as there is a threat to one of the oldest inscriptions, shifting it will be safer,” Ranganathan told Bangalore Mirror.
The Doddanekkundi inscription, which belongs to the same age and has a direct mention of Veera Ballala II, has a mention of today’s Marathahalli. A unique aspect about this inscriptions is that it has text in both Tamil and Telugu on each side. The inscription is being deciphered further to trace the Hoysala connection with the city to relate them with other inscriptions of the same period found or documented so far, officials said.
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“At Doddanekkundi, the inscription will be preserved in the temple. The KR Puram inscription will be shifted to the Government Museum. We have written to the tahsildar to initiate measures in this regard as it lies in a private land. However, these inscriptions, along with the one we shifted to the museum last month, throw more light on the Hoysalas.
“We are connecting the content here with that of other vital inscriptions to document the administration and happenings in today’s Bengaluru 600-800 years ago, during the times of these rulers, with the help of historians,” R Gopal, director, museums, Karnataka told Bangalore Mirror.

Meanwhile, heritage enthusiasts are pressing for a holistic approach to document inscriptions and hero stones to track and preserve the city’s history.
“Authorities have to safeguard inscriptions which are at risk with a holistic survey of the city. Documenting these inscriptions and hero stones and providing them a safe shelter at the place of their find or at the museum will safeguard the rich heritage of our city. Archaeology department can collaborate with heritage enthusiasts working in this front and elaborate more on this with a full-fledged survey and documentation,” Swaminathan Natarajan, a heritage enthusiast, said.

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