Basavanagudi is a residential and commercial locality in the Indian city of Bengaluru. Basavanagudi is one of the oldest localities of Bangalore evidenced by the fact that it is home to four inscriptions, three Kannada and one Tamil and also one of the poshest areas of Bangalore. It is located in South Bangalore, along the borders of Jayanagar and Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. The name "Basavanagudi" refers to the Bull Temple, which contains a monolithic statue of the Nandi Bull. The word Basava in Kannada means bull, and gudi means temple. The main commercial street in Basavanagudi is DVG Road, which is home to numerous retail businesses - several of them dating back to the 1920s and 1930s. Towards the middle of DVG Road is Gandhi Bazaar, known for its market which sells fresh flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The neighbourhood includes several historic restaurants, notably Vidyarthi Bhavan, a vegetarian restaurant which opened in 1943.
Old Kannada or Halegannada is the Kannada language which transformed from Purvada halegannada or Pre-old Kannada during the reign of the Kadambas of Banavasi.
Epigraphia Carnatica is a set of books on epigraphy of the Old Mysore region of India, compiled by Benjamin Lewis Rice, the Director of the Mysore Archaeological Department. Over a period of about ten years between 1894 and 1905, Rice published the books in a set of twelve volumes. The books contain the study of about 9,000 inscriptions from lithic surfaces and copper plates, which were found in the region. Apart from the original inscription, an English translation and a Roman transliteration are also provided.
Benjamin Lewis Rice, popularly known as B. L. Rice, was a British historian, archaeologist and educationist. He is known for his pioneering work in deciphering inscriptions, especially in Kannada, and in Sanskrit inscriptions in the Kingdom of Mysore and is eulogized as Shasanapitamaha or Purathathva Pitamaha Rice's researches were published as the voluminous Epigraphia Carnatica which contains translations of about 9000 inscriptions he found in the Old Mysore area. Rice also compiled the much acclaimed Mysore Gazetteer which still remains the primary source of information for most places in Mysore and neighbouring Coorg. Rice served with distinction in the Mysore civil service and as first Director of the Mysore State Archaeology Department.
Kalya (Kalavathi pattana) or Kalya is a historic settlement located in Magadi Taluk, Bengaluru South district of Karnataka, India. Kalya as an early settlement can be attested by prehistoric rock art and tools reported from Kalya and inscriptional evidence in the village starting from 550 CE to the early 17th century CE, making it one of the few places in the country that has been continuously inhabited for 3000 to 3500 years.
Mysore Hatti Krishna Iyengar was an Indian historian, archaeologist, epigraphist and authority in Indian numismatics. He pioneered the new field of Indology involving the study of Indian culture, history, music and traditions from a historical perspective. He is credited with the discovery of one of the oldest Kannada inscriptions, the Halmidi inscription, dating back to 350 A. D. He also discovered the remains of the city of Isila near Brahmagiri during his excavations at Chandravalli, Chitradurga. The forgotten tomb of Shahaji was traced by M. H. Krishna during his years at the Mysore Archaeological Department. His years at the Archaeology Department saw him churn out many of excavation reports and these were later published in successive volumes of Epigraphia Carnatica. During Krishna's tenure at Bangalore, he was instrumental in cataloguing close to 6000 coins in the archives of the archaeology department there. He was trained at the University College, London under Ernest Arthur Gardner. and would later accompany Sir Flinders Petrie in his excavations in Egypt.
Ivara Kandapura is a small hamlet adjoining Hesaraghatta on the northern outskirts of Bangalore, in Karnataka, India. Ivara Kandapura is famous for a 10th-century temple complex that is home to five temples, named after the pandavas as The Dharmeshwara, Nakuleshwara, Bheemeshwara, Sahadeshwara, Arjuneshwara and Kunti Gudi.
Domlur is a locality in the eastern part of Bengaluru city in India. Domlur is a historic places as indicated in the 18 inscriptions spanning the period 1200-1440CE found there. Of these, 16 inscriptions are at the Chokkanathaswamy Temple dedicated to the deity Chokkanathaswamy or the Chokka Perumal [the Hindu God Vishnu]. Of these eleven inscriptions are from the period 1200-1440 CE and have been documented earlier in Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol 9, these are mostly donatory inscriptions for the deity Chokkanathaswamy and for the Someshwara temple (non-existent).
Singapura is a historic locality in northwestern Bengaluru, with evidence indicating human habitation dating back to 2,500 to 3,000 years. Singapura is renowned for the Varadarajaswamy Temple. Historically, it was referred to as the Tiruvengalanatha Temple. This revered temple has a history spanning over 500 years, documented in inscriptions found in neighboring villages of Chikkabettahalli and Harohalli, dating to the 16th century. These inscriptions, along with others from Singapura itself, record grants made to the Ramanujakoota, a prominent Sri Vaishnavite religious organization established in honor of Ramanujacharya.
Jakkur, a suburb in Bengaluru is an old locality that has an historicity of about 700 years. The locality is home to four inscriptions and several hero stones. The earliest inscriptions of the area can be paleographically dated to 9th - 10th century CE. These inscriptions also indicate that Jakkur Lake, regarded as one of the biggest lakes of Bangalore, existed as old as seven centuries ago.
Allalasandra is a historic locality in North Bengaluru adjoining the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK) campus on Bellary road. Allasandra's historicity tracing back to about 500 years can be attested from the Rachur Narasappiah's Donation Inscription mentions the donation of the entire village of Allalasandra to the Allalanatha temple at Jakkur.
The Basavanagudi Inscriptions are a set of three Kannada and one Tamil inscriptions that can be found in the locality of Basavanagudi. Of the four, three Kannada inscriptions are physically present and the fourth Tamil inscription's physical status remains unknown. The available Kannada inscriptions can be found in Bugle rock park and Dodda Basavana Gudi or Big bull temple. Two inscriptions found in the vicinity of Dodda Basavana Gudi or Big bull temple, both describe the Vrishabhavati river's origin as coming from the feet of the Basava idol in the temple's sanctum and flowing westwards thereon as Paschimavahini. The two inscriptions can be found: one on the pedestal of the Basava deity in the sanctum and the other on a boulder in the shrubbery surrounding the temple. Two more inscriptions that are published, one is a one line Tamil inscription in Grantha script published in Epigraphia Carnatica and is about possible donatory inscription to the Chokkanathaswamy Temple in Domlur, a locality in Bengaluru, its physical status is not known at present and the other is a one line Kannada inscription in the Kannada script published in Itihasa Darshana Journal and is present on a boulder in the Bugle rock park in Basavanagudi is about one Deevatige Soma.
Begur is a locality in Bengaluru South which stands as a testament to ancient Bengaluru, with historical evidence dating back to c. 6th century CE. It was formerly known as Bempur, Veppur, and Behur, and served as a significant administrative center, playing a vital role in the evolution of Bengaluru to a modern global metropolis.
Kodigehalli inscriptions and herostones are a set of three Kannada inscriptions and two herostones located in Kodigehalli and its sub-localities Tindlu and Doddabommasandra in Bengaluru. Among them, the Kannada inscription of Prataparaya is very significant as it records a generous grant made by Prataparaya during the sacred hours of a Solar eclipse. The grant was given to the Someyadeva temple situated in Sakanasamudra. This inscription is significant to Indian Astronomical history as it mentions the precise date of the donation being made that is 08-Aug-1431CE Julian - 09-Aug-1431CE Julian and also mentions the day to be a solar eclipse which can be confirmed by the NASA Five Millenium Catalogue Of Solar Eclipses. This inscription has been published in Volume 9, Epigraphia carnatica and has been digitally archived by the Mythic Society in "Bengaluru Inscriptions 3D Digital Conservation Project". Two other inscriptions of Tindlu and Doddabommasandra belong to the 14th and the 15th century CE respectively. The inscription in Tindlu documents a donation made by medieval merchant guilds of the region called Ubhayananadesis and Salumule, while the Doddabommasandra inscription is a donatory inscription to a Agrahara. Kodigehalli is also home to two Herostones also called Viragal in Kannada, which are erected in the memory of people who die in battles or other conflicts, the herostones present here are only with sculptures without any inscription.
Agara is a Panchayat-village in Bengaluru located on the Outer Ring Road, near Koramangala and HSR Layout. Three inscriptions were documented and published from the Agara locality, two of which are documented but the physical status is not known. The inscriptions range over a period from the 9th Century CE to 16th Century CE. The inscriptions records various donations done by individuals during the reign of the rulers of the Western Ganga and Karnataka (Vijayanagara) kingdoms. The 9th century CE Sriyamayya inscription mentions the fixing of Sluices of a tank, though it doesn't explicitly mention Agara Tank, the location of the inscription as documented in the Volume 9 of the Epigraphia carnatica as near the tank embankment is a sufficient affirmation to infer that the inscription was indeed referring to the Agara Tank, making it one of the earliest documented tank of Bengaluru, approximately 1150–1200 years old.
Balepete is a sub-locality in the Pete area of old Bengaluru. The Pete area is one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas of commerce in Bengaluru and is presently Bengaluru's largest Informal Economic cluster. It was roughly constructed in the 16th century, said to be by Kempegowda I, the then chieftain of the Bengaluru area and a vassal of the Karnataka Empire. The Ranganathaswamy Temple is Balepete, said to be constructed by the Kempegowda Chieftains, houses a Telugu language donatory inscription in the Kannada script.
Belathur, a sub-locality in Kadugodi, is home to a 15th-century CE Kannada donatory inscription that records a donation by a Devijeeya who erected a pillar for the Tirumala deity and also that he donated four Khandugas of land for the purpose of neivedya (food) offerings to the deity, it was commissioned during the rule of Saaraki's Pemayanayka's son Pemeyanayaka, a feudal chief under the king Devaraya II of the Karnataka Empire. Saraki as mentioned in this inscription is a suburb in Bengaluru city. This inscription gives a genealogy of four generations Toravali naadu's rulers as Maachideva-Devijeeya-Chokkijeeya-Devijeeya, Toravali naadu is an administrative in the erstwhile empire, the geographic boundaries of this region remains unknown. The inscription mentions the grant of certain khandugas of land, khanduga is a unit of area measurement. The donation to the Tirumala deity of Belathur is also recorded in an inscription in the Domlur Chokkanathaswamy Temple 16th-century Allapan Inscription, an inscription among the Domlur Inscriptions. This inscription has been documented in Epigraphia Carnatica Vol-9 as Hoskote Inscription Number 155. The Inscription is found at the Radha Rukmini Venugopala Swamy Temple in Belathur.
Kattigehalli is a locality in North Bengaluru, near Yelahanka, The name Kattigenahalli finds its first historical documentation verbatim in a 14th-century CE Kannada donation inscription, this inscription was found in Katigenahalli but presently housed in the Government Museum, Bengaluru records the donation of Kattigenahalli village to Kacheyanayka, son of Bairisetti by Mahasavatadhipati Maileyanayka and Yelakka's(Yelahanka) naadaprabhus namely Bairideva, Macideva, Maragonda, Tamiyappa, Kanagonda, Devanna, Allalajiya and other Gavundas. This donation happened during the reign of kings Harihara and Bukka of the Karnataka Empire. Savantadhipati as mentioned in the inscription is same as Samantadhipati, a feudatory chief. The kingdom was divided into many Naadus presided by a Naadaprabhu, chief of a Naadu. The names of most of the persons mentioned in this inscription also occurs in the Ganigarahalli inscription. The inscription mentions that the donations are Sarbamaanya (Sarvamaanya), Sarvamaanya can be broken down into "sarva" (all) and "maanya" (exempt), meaning that all revenues were exempt from taxation.
Yelahanka is a locality in North Bengaluru, the historical administrative unit Yelahanka Naadu is mentioned variously in inscriptions as Ilaipakka, Elava, Yelavaka corresponds to the same Yelahanka. Yelahanka had been in existence prior to the 12th century. The region was called 'Ilaipakka Naadu' in Tamil during the rule of Cholas. An inscription of 1267 CE found in Doddaballapur mentions Dechi Devarasa, ruling the region with Yelahanka as his capital under the aegis of Hoysala monarch 'Narasimha III'. Later, during Hoysala reign, the city came to be known as 'Elavanka' and gradually shifted to 'Yelahanka'.
T Dasarahalli is a locality in North Bengaluru, it is home to four Kannada inscriptions that are dated to a period from 8th century CE to 10th century CE; all the inscriptions refer contextually to the deaths of heroes who fought in fierce battles. The inscriptions mention the historical name of T Dasarahalli as Injatur and mention several administrative divisions like Palikkarinad, Kukkalanad and Karikanad. Of the four inscriptions, two inscriptions - Kosigaramalta Guramareya's Turugol herostone and Marasinga Turugol herostone are physically present while the physical status of the latter two - Kukkara Inscription and the Dharmagudu inscription remains unknown. The inscriptions were published in Epigraphia Carnatica and Journal of the Mythic Society.
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