Hero stone
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Hero stone (veeragallu) is an Indian memorial commemorating the honorable death of a hero in battle in India. A hero stone can display a variety of of adormments, including bas relief panels, statutes, and figures of carved stone.[1] Usually they are in the form of a stone monument, and can be inscribed at the bottom with a narrative of the battle, or uninscribed.
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[edit] Findings
The Tamil Nadu Department of Archeology recently found several hundred hero stones erected in memory of warriors who sacrificed their life defending their community or region. Scholars call these hero stones "veeragallu" or “virakkal”. Those carved with inscriptions detail the acts of the hero, the battle involved, and the name of king in whose name the battle was fought. The stones are found alone or in groups, usually near a tank or lake outside the village. [2]
Recently a hero stone has been unearthed, dating from 9th century of the Pallava king Dantivarman, in which the hero is riding a galloping horse, beautifully dressed and carrying a spear.[3] Another was recently recovered at Pappapatti in Usilampatti taluk and probably dates from the 18th century. The ancient stone shows a warrior posed heroically, accompanied by his wife who holds a flower. Many of these statues have been recovered over southern India depicting heroic warriors in battles. Creating hero stones had been prevalent since the Pallava period, dating back 1,400 years, and continuing until the Nayak and post-Nayak period around 200 years ago.[4]
Hero stones were not only for people. A hero stone made to commemorate the favourite hound of a feudatory Western Ganga King Butuga II that died fighting a wild boar has been found.[5]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Hero-stone Memorials of India. Kamat Potpourri. Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
- ^ Dolmens, Hero Stones and the Dravidian People. Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
- ^ Pallava period 'herostone' unearthed in Vellore dt.. Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
- ^ 'Hero stone' unearthed. Retrieved on March 17, 2007.
- ^ Altekar (1934), p351
[edit] References
- Altekar, Anant Sadashiv [1934] (1934). The Rashtrakutas And Their Times; being a political, administrative, religious, social, economic and literary history of the Deccan during C. 750 A.D. to C. 1000 A.D. Poona: Oriental Book Agency. OCLC 3793499.
