Agara inscriptions and hero stones

The Agara inscriptions and hero stones are three passages of Kannada text inscribed on memorial stones found in or around Agara, a Panchayat-village located on the Outer Ring Road near Koramangala and HSR Layout in Bengaluru, India. More generally, hero stones are memorial stones commemorating the honourable death of a hero in battle, and are located all over India. The Agara inscriptions date from the 9th to the 16th century CE and record donations made during the reigns of the Western Ganga dynasty and Karnataka (Vijayanagara) empire. One of them, the 9th-century Sriyamayya inscription, refers to the fixing of sluices for a tank, and although the inscription does not explicitly name the Agara Tank its documented location supports the conclusion that it does refer to the Agara Tank. As the inscription is approximately 1150–1200 years old, this makes it one of the earliest documented references to a tank in Bengaluru. All three inscriptions and hero stones from the Agara area have been documented and published, and two are recorded in scholarly sources. However, the physical condition of two of them is unknown.

This hero stone inscription is written in the Kannada script and has been paleographically dated to the 10th century CE. It records the repair of two sluices for the Agara Tank, the construction of a new tank, and the securing of lands for its upkeep by Sriryamayya, son of Irugamayya. The inscription was issued during the reign of Nagattara, a feudal chieftain serving under the Western Ganga ruler Satyavakya Permmadi, who ruled the region from his administrative seat at Begur. Nagattara is mentioned in about 15 inscriptions from the Bengaluru region during this period and is also credited with constructing the Begur Nageshwara Temple, the earliest documented temple in the Bengaluru region. The inscription describes Nagattara as Kaliyuga Hanumanta and praises his strength and prowess. The inscription was first documented in Volume 9 of Epigraphia Carnatica, but its current physical condition is unknown.

The transliteration of the inscription has been published in Volume 9 of Epigraphia Carnatica. The exact transliteration of the inscription in Kannada and IAST is as follows. (The line numbers are not part of the original inscription - including them is a default practice with inscriptions.)

The text has been published in Volume 9 of Epigraphia Carnatica. It reads as follows: "Be it well. In the victorious year of the Srirajya, under Satyavakya-Permmadi's Kali-yuga Hanuman, Nagattara, — the Iruvvuliyur odeya, Irugamayya's son Sriyamayya, fixed sluices to the two tanks, had the eastern tank built, and obtained the bittuvatta of the three tanks. Imprecation."

This hero stone inscription is written in the Kannada script and has been dated to the 14th-century CE. It is a donatory record made during the reign of Kamaiya Nayaka's father, Kampanna Odeya, the son of Mahamandaleshwara Veera Bukkana Odeya (Bukka Raya I) of the Vijayanagara Empire. Kampanna Odeya was ruling from Mulubaagil (Mulabagilu) at the time the stone was made. The inscription documents a tax-exempt perpetual grant (i.e. a donation) bestowed by Kamaiya Nayaka to Taniappa, the son of Allalajeeya. The grant encompassed the village of Belattoor – situated in Torevalinaadu, south of Sannenaadu – and all dry and wet lands within its four boundaries. The donation was made in the presence of the Gavundas (village heads) of the kingdom, a term which has changed to related forms such as Gamunda, Gavaunda, Goundar, and Gauda since the 7th century. The inscription also reveals that Taniappa's father Allalajeeya originated from Yelahanka. The inscription was first documented in Volume 9 of Epigraphia Carnatica, and as of May 2026 is housed in the Government Museum, Be

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