HYDERABAD: Two pairs of weathered stone pillars and a veeragallu (hero stone) in Keesaragutta, Medchal-Malkajgiri district, near Shahikamana, quietly preserve a story of medieval warfare and sacrifice. Believed to date to the 14th–15th centuries, these structures offer a glimpse into the memorial practices of the period.
Kotha Telangana Charitrika Brundam president Sriramoju Haragopal told TNIE that the pillars appear to be memorials associated with warriors and their wives. The two pairs are located at separate spots, with each comprising two pillars set on a rectangular platform made of stone slabs.
A veeragallu near the first pair was identified on examination as a sati stone. The sculpture depicts a warrior facing north, holding a sword and shield, with two women behind him, one carrying a kamandalu (water pot).
Haragopal said the warrior is believed to have died in battle, after which the two women, believed to be his wives, followed him in self-sacrifice. The sculpture has been dated to the 14th-15th centuries based on features such as the warrior’s topknot (siga), attire, including the veerakase, and the clothing of the women.
The upper portions of the two pillars bear different carvings. One features a temple vimana, or tower, while the other has a Nandi. Both stand on the same rectangular stone platform.
The arrangement suggests that the platform may have marked the burial place of the warrior and his two wives. Given its Shaivite association, the Nandi pillar may have served as a memorial, he said.
The second pair, located separately, has Nandi carvings on both pillars. One also bears half-relief sculptures of a warrior and his sati on its middle section and has similarly been identified as a sati stone.
The pair is likewise believed to have marked the burial place of a Shaivite husband and wife, with the Nandi pillars serving as memorials. A Banalinga installed between the pillars further reinforces their Shaivite association.
According to Haragopal, Nandi stones were erected in honour of Shaivites to people who held positions of importance, including acharyas (teachers) and prabhus (rulers).
Similar Nandi stones have been documented at Tripurantakam, suggesting that the practice of erecting such memorials extended beyond Keesaragutta to other Shaivite sites.
The structures were documented during a field visit by Sriramoju Haragopal, Tribhuvana Vikramaditya, Nalla Madhusudan Reddy, Ramakrishna, Ramesh and Sai.