The Doddahundi nishidhi and inscription is a

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 BC and the 18th century AD, hero stones are found all over Ind ...

from Doddahundi, 18 km from

Tirumakudalu Narasipura Tirumakudalu Narasipura (''Tirumakūḍalu Narasīpura'') the temple city of Karnataka, commonly known as T. Narasipura or T.N. Pura, is a town in Mysore district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The first name refers to the land at the conf ...

in the

Mysore district Mysore district, officially Mysuru district is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division.Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the origi ...

, Karnataka state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It has an undated old

Kannada language Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native ...

inscription which historians J. F. Fleet, I. K. Sarma and E.P. Rice have dated by context to 840 or 869 C.E.Rice, E.P. (1921), p.13 The hero stone has a unique depiction in

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

of the ritual death (''

sallekhana ''Sallekhana'' ( IAST: ), also known as ''samlehna'', ''santhara'', ''samadhi-marana'' or ''sanyasana-marana'', is a supplementary vow to the ethical code of conduct of Jainism. It is the religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death by ...

'' and ''samadhi'') of the

Western Ganga Dynasty Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga (m ...

king Ereganga Nitimarga I (r. 853-869). The memorial was raised by the king's son Satyavakya. Such ''nishidhi's'' (memorial spot) were raised in medieval India in honor of important

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

personalities who ended their life voluntarily after following severe ritual vow.Sarma (1992), p.17Sarma (1992), p.204 The Western Ganga period produced not only imposing and well sculptured pillars (''stambha'') but also noteworthy hero stones (''virgal'') with exceptional relief.Kamath (1980), p.52 According to historian and epigraphist J. F. Fleet who edited the inscription, the names in the record are titles and not personal names. He dated the inscription to 840 C.E. with the opinion that the Nitimarga in the inscription is actually Ranavikrama, son of King

Sripurusha Sripurusha was a Western Ganga Dynasty king who ruled from 726 - 788 CE. According to the Javali inscription Sripurusha ruled for 62 years. He had marital relations with the Badami Chalukyas and used titles such as ''Muttarasa'', ''Rajakesari'', ...

(r. 726-788).Fleet (1905), p. 53

Background

Nishidhi stone with 14th century Old Kannada inscription from Tavanandi forest

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

, the term ''nishidhi'' (with variants called ''nisidhia'', ''nisadhi'' or ''nistige'') is the spot where the person, such as an ascetic, king or queen died voluntarily, or was cremated or bone relic buried. Such places were held in high regard, a pedestal (''vedika'') created and prayers (''puja'' and ''pratishtha'') offered regularly.Sarma (1992), p.202 Often, the ''nishidhigal'' (''lit'', ''nishidhi'' stone) was nothing more than a natural rock surface or a boulder. Inscribed on the ''nishidhigal'' were

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

s that immortalized and described the scholarly and saintly achievements of the deceased one, man or woman. ''Nishidhi's'' dated to as early as the 7th century exist in the

Shravanabelagola Shravanabelagola () is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas (pilgrimage de ...

hills. One memorial raised by King Sripurusha for Mahaprabhu Gopayya dates from the 8th century. The Doddahundi ''nishidhi'' is one of the most noteworthy examples found from the Western Ganga period.

Depiction

According to the historian Sarma, the Doddahundi ''nishidhi'' stone has its frieze set inside a square panel whose borders are etched to create the impression of flames that further accentuate the grave event. The dying king, who exudes a calm countanence, is lying on a couch with his head on a double pillow and is attended to by his personal guard Agarayya. An agitated Prince Satyavakya stands behind the king with a dagger and sword. The inscription below the frieze reads "bee at the pair of lotus feet of Arhat Bhattaraka" (referring to Jinasena, the kings guru and author of the Jain text ''Adipurana'').Sarma (1992), p. 204

Notes

References

* * * {{coord missing, Karnataka Kannada literature Literature of Karnataka Earliest known manuscripts by language Western Ganga dynasty Kannada inscriptions 9th-century inscriptions Jain temples in Karnataka

Background

Depiction

See also

Notes

References