Yelahanka inscriptions and hero stones

Yelahanka is a locality in North Bengaluru. The historical administrative unit, Yelahanka Naadu, is mentioned variously in inscriptions as Ilaipakka, Elava, and Yelavaka, all corresponding to Yelahanka. The settlement had been in existence prior to the 12th century. During the Chola rule, the region was referred to as Ilaipakka Naadu in Tamil. An inscription dated 1267 CE, discovered in Doddaballapur, mentions Dechi Devarasa ruling the region with Yelahanka as his capital under the aegis of the Hoysala monarch Narasimha III. Later, during the Hoysala period, the city came to be known as Elavanka, which gradually evolved into Yelahanka. T. V. Annaswamy, in his book Bengaluru to Bangalore, suggests that the name Yelahanka is derived from the word Valipakka, meaning "along the highway". Yelahanka also holds historical importance as it was the seat of power of the feudal chiefs of the Karnataka Empire, known as the Yelahanka Mahanaadaprabhus, to whom Kempegowda belonged. It is believed that Hiriya Kempegowda built a fort in the locality; however, the only surviving reference today is toponymic, in the form of a road named Kote Beedi (meaning "fort road" in Kannada). The suffix naadu referred to a historical administrative unit, with states divided into naadu, which were further subdivided into seeme. Present-day Yelahanka houses four Kannada inscriptions, which have been documente

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).