ANANTAPUR: A rare ‘Hero Stone’ inscription belonging to the early period of Vijayanagara empire was found at Vanavolu village in Gorantla mandal of Sri Sathya Sai district on Saturday. Historian MyNaa Swamy, with the help of villagers, identified the rare Hero Stone inscription of Maha Sati Memorial (Veeragallu) dating back to 1405 AD. The inscription written in Kannada read ‘Swastisri Jayabhudaya Saka Varsha 12 (3) 27, Parthiva Samvatsra, Kartika, ba.10, Monday’.
Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) Director K Muniratnam Reddy, who deciphered the inscription, stated that it is a very interesting Hero Sati stone inscription that seems to be the record of the performance of Sati by Gangasani, wife of Ramadevanayaka and daughter of Bayannasetti of Pamidi.Further, the inscription records the death of the hero Ramachandra Deva Nayaka in a battle in Penugonda during the reign of Harihara Raya II of the Vijayanagara empire.
Speaking to TNIE, MyNaa Swamy said the Hero Sati inscription found at Vanavolu is the rarest, which was nearly 8 feet long, 5 feet wide and 2 feet thick. This type of inscriptions may be less than two if scouted in the entire Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he felt.
The ‘Hero Sati’ stone inscription was divided into four sections. In the first part, the hero is next to Shiva, while on the other side of Shiva, Nandi is seated. In the second part, there is an inscription. There is also an inscription in the last part.
In the lower part, a sculpture is depicted as bidding farewell to the hero by his wife through Sati before departing. They sit on a dais with a pillar on their right. The inscription also depicts the hero standing, while on the other side, he is holding a horse, the historian said.MyNaa Swamy, who visited Kasturi Ranganatha temple in Vanavolu at the request of some villagers, was shocked to find the rare inscription lying next to a garbage dump, which was littered.