Bengaluru inscriptions: History’s footprints rediscovered

While the loss of heritage is mourned, there is also some exciting news for those interested in the local history of Bengaluru. A project to digitize the inscriptions has so far yielded 43 undocumented inscriptions, shedding fresh light on the culture and ethos. Of the 43, 22 have been found in Bengaluru, while the rest have been identified in Anekal, Hoskote and Magadi taluks adjoining the city.

8. 22 new Kannada inscriptions and 21 Tamil inscriptions have been found from ^th century CE to 17 ^th Century CE has been found by the team implementing The Mythic Society’s Bengaluru Inscription 3D Digital Conservation Project which is revisiting approximately 1,500 inscription locations in Bengaluru, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban and Ramanagara districts.

The last time inscriptions were described with details was in 1905 in the Epigraphia Karnatakaa, which has about 1,500 inscriptions from the region. Subsequently, the location of several other inscriptions has been reported in Mysore archaeological reports, and new inscriptions have been found sporadically in other journals by individual historians, epigraphy enthusiasts and others. The findings in Bengaluru, now a global tech hub, have been published in Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society,

main deity of the temple

While seven unrecorded inscriptions have been found in the 800-year-old Chokkanathaswamy temple at Domlur, eight of the 13 Tamil inscriptions ^th and 14 ^th century CE have been found in the Champakdham Swamy temple at Bannerghatta. Although the surface is eroded making the inscription difficult to read, high-resolution 3D imaging has shown that the latter temple was dedicated to Damodar Perumal as the principal deity, and Puradaraya was an important patron of the Tamattalvar temple.

At Chikkabanavara, a Kalyani restoration yielded four of the five unspecified inscriptions. Of the two unspecified inscriptions reported from the Venugopalaswamy temple at Yelahanka, one refers to the Kambha built for the Anjaneya temple, although there is no longer an Anjaneya temple in the temple complex. The project identified eight inscriptions documented for the first time – at Kalya in Magadi taluk – a large Jain religious-trade center in the past, where the first 18 inscriptions have been reported.

Antiquity of Bellandur Lake

Interestingly, the discovery of a Durga idol in the premises of the NAL Belur Someshwara Temple is evidence of the Bellandur Lake being at least 1,300 years old as the worship of Durga on the banks of a lake is a Ganga period custom. ^th 10. until ^th century CE), the journal noted. From the references of two undocumented inscriptions, the village of Marasuru Madiwala in Anekal is estimated to be 1,200 years old.

Lord Siddeshwara Seema stone inscriptions dated to 1034 AD were found in a private estate at Kumbarahalli near Hesaraghatta. , Photo Credit: The Mythic Society, Bangalore

New inscriptions found at Kumbarahalli near Hesaraghatta, recorded in Kannada and Tamil, indicate that the 10 CE Siddeshwara temple at nearby Aivarkandapura had received land donations. Inscriptions related to this were found earlier also at Soladevanahalli. Incidentally, the temple built in 1034 CE is currently dedicated to Gopalakrishna.

“For the first time, the locals realized that the temple they often visit is 1,000 years old. They feel excited to explore the antiquity,” said Project Director (Hon) PL Uday Kumar, adding that awareness was being created about their local heritage at several places.

He also said that with the help of technology in better study of the inscriptions, in many cases a new reading of the recorded inscription is being given in the light of new information.