The Atakur inscription (sometimes spelt Athakur, Athagur, Athkur, Atkur or Atukur) dated 949-950 C.E. is an inscribed memorial stone (

hero stone A hero stone (Vīragallu in Kannada, Naṭukal in Tamil) is a memorial commemorating the honorable death of a hero in battle. Erected between the second half of the first millennium BCE and the 18th century CE, hero stones are found all over In ...

) in classical

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

composition.Fleet in Hultzsch (1900), p.51Datta (1988), p.1717 It was discovered at the Chelleshvara temple at Atakur village, about 23 km from

Mandya Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka. It is the headquarter of Mandya district, Sugar factories contribute to the major economic output. It is also called Sugar City (Kannada: ''Sakkare Nagara'') because sugarcane is a major crop grown ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The "motion packed" sculptured hero stone describes two events in poetic Kannada; the battle between "Kali" the hound and a wild boar, and the victory of Rashtrakuta Emperor Krishna III over the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...

of Tanjore in the

battle of Takkolam A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

.Sarma (1992), p.20Sarma (1992), p.28Sarma (1992), p.133Adiga (2006), p.307 According to historians I. K. Sarma and Singh, memorial stones for warriors are common in medieval India, but one erected in memory of an animal is considered unique.Sarma (1992), p.131

Content

The many battles fought between the

Rashtrakuta dynasty The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapu ...

(with the support of their vassal King Butuga II of the

Western Ganga Dynasty Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 999 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Ganga Dynasty, Eastern Gangas who in later centuries r ...

) and the Cholas of Tanjore have been the subject of many a medieval hero stone. It is known from this inscription, which is dated to 949-950 C.E (''saka'' 872),Campbell (1896), p.421Fleet (1907), p.60Kamat (1980), p.91Moraes (1931), p.86 that King Butuga II had a favorite hound called "Kali" which helped a warrior named Manlarata (or Manalera, an ''aid-de-camp'' of Butuga II) fight the Chola king Rajaditya on the battlefield. Manlarata, whom the inscription refers to as ''Valabhipuravaresvara'' ("Lord of Vallabhi"),Gopal in Adiga (2006), p.85 was able to drive the Chola armies away while King Butuga II, riding an elephant on the battlefield, killed the Chola King. In the inscription, the Rashtrakuta Emperor Krishna III showers high praise on Butuga II for his achievement (the ''Neralige'' inscription illustrates in more detail the battle of Takkolam). Manalarata, whose valor is poetically described in the inscription, requested Butuga II to give him the brave hound in return for his exploits on the battlefield. In a separate incident, during a hunt, the hound was involved in a fight with a wild boar in a trench near the village of Beltur, leading to the death of both animals in the conflict. This inscribed memorial stone was erected by a grief-stricken Manlarata in honor of the brave dog.Singh (2009), p.48Sarma (1992), p.21Fleet (1907), p.58 The inscription warns the local priest (''gorava'') of "sin" if he were to have his food before "offering worship to the memorial stone". According to historian

Shadakshari Settar Shadakshari Settar (11 December 1935 – 28 February 2020) was an Indian professor and scholar who had conducted research in the fields of Indian archaeology, art-history, history of religions and philosophy as well as classical literature. Ear ...

, the ''gorava'' mentioned in the inscription is a

Shaiva Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

priest, whereas

Ferdinand Kittel Ferdinand Kittel (7 April 1832 – 18 December 1903) was a Lutheran priest and indologist with the Basel Mission in south India and worked in Mangalore, Madikeri and Dharwad in Karnataka. He is most famous for his studies of the Kannada languag ...

considers him a Shaiva mendicant.Settar and Kittel in Adiga (2006), p.307, p.325 Commemorating his victory in battle, Emperor Krishna III gifted his vassal King Butuga II large areas of his kingdom, including the provinces of Banavasi-12000, Belavola-300, Purugere-300, Kisukad-70 and the Bagenad-70. Butuga II gifted his faithful warrior Manlarata the villages of Atakur-12 and Koteyur.Campbell (1896), p.421Adiga (2006), p.120

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * {{cite book , last=Fleet, first=John Faithfull, editor-last=Hultzsch, editor-first=E, title=

Epigraphia Indica ''Epigraphia Indica'' was the official publication of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1882 to 1977. The first volume was edited by James Burgess in the year 1882. Between 1892 and 1920 it was published as a quarterly supplement to ...

and Record of the Archæological Survey of India, Volume 6, year=2011 , orig-year=1900, publisher=Government of India Central Print, location=Calcutta, isbn=978-1-246-60547-1, chapter=Epigraphia Indica Kannada literature Literature of Karnataka Earliest known manuscripts by language Western Ganga dynasty Kannada inscriptions 10th-century inscriptions Rashtrakuta dynasty