Hero-stone discovered in Bhadravathi is from Rashtrakuta period and dedicated to a warrior who died protecting cows from raiders A thousand-year-old inscription from the Rashtrakuta period has been discovered in the Tadasi village in Bhadravathi. The hero-stone memorial records the death of a warrior who lost his life while saving cows from raiders. The inscription itself is too worn out to be read with only a few alphabets being visible.
R Shejeshwara Nayak, the assistant director of the Archealogical Museum at Shivappa Nayaka Palace in Shivamogga discovered two inscriptions, including the hero-stone at the village recently. The other inscription was found at the Veerabhadra Temple in the same village and is from the Hoysala period of 13th Century. “The hero-stone is carved in granite and is 1.5 metre long and 65 cms wide. The inscription is in Hale-gannada (old Kannada). There are three panels depicting the death and ascendency of the hero to heaven,” Nayak said.
The first panel shows the hero fighting wielding bows and arrows. There are cows depicted around him. One enemy fighter is lying dead at his feet while another enemy is fighting against him. The second panel shows ‘apsaras’ carrying the hero in their arms to heaven. The third panel shows the hero seated on a pedestal in heaven. “Usually, it is the image of a God shown seated on the pedestal in hero-stones of the Rashtrakuta period. Here the person himself is on the pedestal,” he said. Unfortunately, the inscription on this stone could not be read. Only a few letters of the alphabet are legible.
The second inscription discovered is a ‘Nandi Peeta’ inscription. This is made from schist (a coarse grained rock) and is 58 cms long and 22 cms wide. It has a Nandi (bull) on a pedestal. Based on the style of the script, it is dated to the 13th Century.