While the great temples of Belur and Hampi speak of the grandeur and glory of the dynasties of Karnataka, the thousands of granite slabs spread across the region tell the story about society. Best examples of this are the Viragallu (hero stones) and the Mastigallu (Sati stones)— speaking the stories of village heroes who died while defending their honor.
These stones were a glimpse of valor and sacrifice in society. These were found across the state of Karnataka. Around 2,650 stones ranging from the 5th to the 18th century has bee discovered by historians till now. The stone bore a Kannada inscription, unlike the royal inscription, which had a Sanskrit inscription.
Viragallu and the narrative of death
A Viragallu is a vertical stone slab that is divided into three different panels. The stone is a glimpse of a comic afterlife narrating the journey of a hero from earth to heaven.
1. The Bottom panel
The lowest panel reveals the tragic event of death of the hero. It is the foundational section of the monument, which provides the narrative context for the warrior sacrifice. The panel is important because it documents the heroic act, showing the hero actively engaged in combat with weapons like spears, arrows, and swords.
Common themes of the bottom panel
Penbuyal or rescuing women: These hero stones portray the scenes where the hero dies while protecting the modesty of a woman during raids and kidnappings.
Turugol or Raids for cattle: Since old times cattles have been a sign of wealth. Turugol were some of the most common stones found across Karnataka, where the hero is portrayed defending the cattle during raids. The hero is seen holding a bow and an arrow with the scared cattle surrounding him.
The best example of this is the Begur hero stone, dated c. 890–900 CE. The stone is attributed to the Ganga dynasty, with the bottom panel depicting the battle of Bengaluru. The stone is currently kept in the Bengaluru museum. This stone has the earliest mention of the name Bengaluru. The stone gives a glimpse of the military tactics of the dynasty while portraying the armoured elephants, infantry, and cavalry.
2. The Middle Panel
The middle panel covers the stories from history to mythology. It shows the hero being magically lifted from the battlefield to heaven (Swarga)
Common themes of the middle panel
Apsaras and Vimanas: The hero is portrayed sitting in a vimana with two apsaras surrounding him in the middle panel. The apsaras are seen fanning him with chamaras. This scene gives legitimacy to the martial code of vira swarga, which says that if a man dies in a battle as a soldier, he is automatically freed from the cycle of birth and rebirth, like any ascetic who meditates
2. The Top Panel
The uppermost panel of the stone portrays the scene when the hero realizes he is in heaven. In this panel, he is seen sitting in front of the deity, mostly Shiva linga, or Jain tirthankaras, or lord Vishnu. The panel gives out the message that after a violent death in battle, even a common soldier can reach heaven same as an ascetic who meditates.
The Unique Hero: The Dog “Kali”
Not all heroes were human. The Atakur inscription, dated 949 CE, is a unique inscription erected in memory of Kali, a hunting dog of Manalera, who was a Ganga warrior. The stone portrays the hound fighting a wild boar, both of whom ended up killing each other in the struggle. The inscription suggests that the king granted the land for the memorial. This proves that regardless of what you are, loyalty is the biggest virtue.
Ritual of the springing head: Sidithale
While dying in battle was honorable, the medieval Deccan also witnessed a more extreme form of devotion: Atma-bali (self-sacrifice). This is captured in the rare and disturbing sculptures of Sidithale (The Springing Head). In the historical context, Sidithale, which is derived from Kannada words siddi, meaning blast/explode, and thale, meaning head.
The Mechanism of Sacrifice
The stone portrays the devotee sitting with their head tied firmly to a bamboo pole bent under tension. It also depicts the devotee severing their own neck with a sword. As the neck is severed, the head is pulled as the tension from the bamboo pole is released, throwing the head upward and landing directly into the feet of the deity. This is often seen as a votive offering, like a village chief might have promised to offer his head to Goddess Durga or Mariamma if his king won the war or if the village is saved from drought or plague.
The Garuda Warriors
Garudas were the elite warrior bodyguards of the Hoysala kings, who are often connected to the institution of self-sacrifice. The warriors pledged to live and die for their kings.
The Garuda pillars portray the scenes of when the king dies, his guards would commit mass suicide. One such example can be seen at the Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu, where the Garuda pillar honors Kuvara Lakshma, the commander of Veera Ballala II, who committed suicide along with his wife and 1000 soldiers upon his king’s death. These pillars often depict the men severing their own heads.
The raised arm of truth: Mastigallu
The Mastigallu or the Maha-Sati-Kallu were the memorials built upon the death of the women who committed sati upon their husband’s death. While the practice shows the patriarchal norms of that time, the stones themselves are the portrayal of feminine purity and strength.
Iconography of the Mastigallu
While the Viragallu were heroic and full of narratives, the mastigallu were more symbolic and abstract. The common themes of the sati stones were—
- Vyahasta: A primary rimary symbol with the right arm facing upward emerging from the post or pillar.
- Bangles: Another one is arms decked with bangles. showing her status as a wife during her death.
- The mirror and lime: Depicts the female holding a lime symbolizing fertility and cooling that persists even in fire. The mirror is also portrayed symbolizing the woman seeing her eternal soul.
Social representation
The stone found not just represents the sacrifice of the queens like the Dekabbe stone of Belathur, dated 1057 CE, but also the women of farming and mercantile classes. The inscriptions on the stones praised the woman’s courage and her truth in following her husband into death and transforming her tragic life into an act of the divine.
Conclusion
These hero stones of Karnataka are an important part of the social history of the common masses. This gives a perspective other than that of the king and takes us to the lives of their bodyguards and their families. These stones portray that honor was the highest currency. Whether depicting a soldier defending a cattle, a devotee doing atma smarpan, a dog fighting a boar, or a woman committing sati, the simple message of these stones is that death is not an end but a start of an ascent to heaven.
References
- Balakrishnan, S. (n.d.). Hero stones. e-pao.net. https://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=travel.Manipur_Travel_Log.Hero_Stones_By_S_Balakrishnan
- Memorial Stones – Karnataka Itihasa Academy. (n.d.). Karnataka Itihasa Academy. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from https://karnatakaitihasaacademy.org/memorial-stones/
- Veerendra, P. (2017, February 11). History enthusiasts want more research on ancient inscriptions. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/History-enthusiasts-want-more-research-on-ancient-inscriptions/article17289546.ece
- Veeresha, T. (2014, May). Memorial Stones in Karnataka, 7. https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT1134400.pdf