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There are thousands of inscriptions in Tamil in the Southern Karnataka districts of Bangalore, Mysore, Kolar and Mandya in India. Nearly one third of these inscriptions are found in the Kolar District. Only about 25% of the total Tamil inscriptions found in the Kolar District have been recorded in the Epigraphia Carnatica Volume X. The Tamil inscriptions start to appear around 1000 AD, after the conquest of the region by the great Chola dynasty king Rajaraja Cholan. Even after the Cholas left, the Hoysala and later the Vijaynagar kingdoms continued to use Tamil in the inscriptions.
Contents
- Temple Inscriptions
- Chokkanathaswamy Temple Domlur
- Someshwara Temple Madivala
- Dharmeshwara Temple Kondarahalli Hoskote
- Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple Nandi
- Kolaramma Temple Kolar
- Mukthi Natheshwara Temple Binnamangala
- Someshwara Temple Ulsoor
- Kaadugodi
- Marathahalli
- Madras Sappers War Memorial Brigade Road
- Broadway Shivajinagar
- References
Tamil inscriptions are found south of the Pennar-Ponnaiyar divide, running south west from Bangalore to Mysore. Several Tamil inscriptions are found in the Honnu-Hole basin.
Numerous Tamil inscriptions can be found in the Bangalore Rural district, especially in the Nelamangala and Hoskote taluks. The Mukti Natheshwara temple at Nelmangala have Tamil inscriptions of Kulothunga Chola I, dating back to the 11 Century. At Kadugodi, there are inscriptions of Rajendra Chola, describing the funds for developing the Pattandur lake.
Temple Inscriptions
The list of ancient Tamil inscriptions in Bangalore was compiled by Benjamin Lewis Rice and appear in the Epigraphia Carnatica: Volume IX: Inscriptions in the Bangalore District
Chokkanathaswamy Temple, Domlur
The Chokkanathaswamy Temple is a 10th-century Chola temple, located in Domlur. There are a number of Tamil inscriptions in the temple. Domlur is called as Tombalur or Desimanikkapattanam in these inscriptions. Chakravarthi Posalaviraramanatha Deva has left inscriptions with directions to temple authorities of his kingdom. Further some inscriptions record the tributes, taxes and tolls made to the temple by Devaraya II of Vijayanagar Empire, which state the houses, wells, land around Tombalur were offered to the deity Sokkapperumal. Another Tamil inscription dated 1270 talks about 2 door posts being donated by Alagiyar. Yet another inscription in Tamil details Talaikkattu and his wife donating lands from Jalapalli village and Vinnamangalam tank to the deity. A 1290AD inscription talks about donation of ten pens from the revenue of Tommalur by Poysala vira Ramananda.
Someshwara Temple, Madivala
The Someshware temple at Madivala is one of Bangalore's oldest, dating back to the Chola period. There are a number of Tamil and Grantha inscriptions on the outer walls of the temple. The oldest of these inscriptions dates to 1247 AD talks about a land grants “below the big tank of Vengalur” by a Veppur (modern Begur) resident. Other inscriptions also talk about other land grants including those done during the reigns of Ballala III and Rajendra Chola. Another instrciption dated 1365 talks about land grand at Tamaraikkirai (which translates to 'lotus pond bank' in Tamil), and according to HS Gopala Rao, Secretary of the Karnataka Itihasa Academy refers to the present day Tavarekere suburb.
Dharmeshwara Temple, Kondarahalli, Hoskote
Vijayanagar period copper plates in possession of the temple priest written in Grantha script:
Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple, Nandi
The Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple, on Nandi Hills (Nandidurg), 50 km from Bangalore has Chola period Tamil inscriptions on the walls
Kolaramma Temple, Kolar
The Kolaramma Temple, at Kolar, 60 km from Bangalore, was built by Rajendra Chola - 1 (A.D.1012-1044) and has his statute and Tamil inscriptions on the walls of the temple.
Mukthi Natheshwara Temple, Binnamangala
The Mukthi Natheshwara Temple, at Binnamangala, Nelamangala Taluk, 60 km from Bangalore was built by period of Kulothunga Chola - 1 (A.D.1069-1120). The inscriptions in Tamil talk about the endowments of surrounding villages to the deity Muththeeswarem Udaiya Mahathevar (Lord Shiva), referring to the place as "Vinmamangalam of Kukkanur Nadu of Viikkiramachola Mandalam"
Someshwara Temple, Ulsoor
The Someshwara Temple, at Ulsoor was originally built by the Cholas, and later renovated during the Vijaynagar Period. The Vijanagar inscriptions are in Tamil.
Kaadugodi
A Tamil inscription from dating 1043AD exists in Kadugodi, [1] from the period of Rajendra Chola I, which describes the construction of the Pattanduru Lake, and Ganesh, Durga and Kshetrapaala temples by Chola chieftain Raja Raja Velan son of Permadi Gavunda.
Marathahalli
Doddanekkundi village,[2] located North of Marathahalli,[3] and much older than Marathahalli, has two ancient inscriptions in Tamil. The first inscription dated 1304, mentions the village name as Nerkundi and talks about the existence of a fort around the village constructed in 1304. The second inscription talks about the Hoysala king Ballala III granting the entire revenue of the Doddanekkundi village to the Shivagange Temple. There is also a Telugu inscription in Marathahalli. According to scholars, this shows the use of Tamil and Telugu in Bangalore, much before the reign of Krishnadevaraya of the Vijaynagar Kingdom.
Madras Sappers War Memorial, Brigade Road
A war memorial raised by the British to commemorate the lives lost in different wars by the Madras Sappers Regiment. It details the number of British officers, Indian officers and soldiers who died fighting during Second Opium War in China, Third Anglo-Burmese War(1885–87), World War I, Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) (1916–18), East Africa (1914-18) and the North West Frontier (1915). The soldiers fell during the Indian wars of Assaye, Seringapatam, Seetabuldee and Sholinghur are also acknowledged. The inscriptions are both in English and Tamil.
Broadway, Shivajinagar
When an encroached storm water drain was cleared in Shivajinagar, a huge plaque dating back to the 19th century was found. The stone, shows the progress of the building of the British Bangalore Cantonment. It reads 'This stone laid across the main channel in 1868 and worn by the feet of two generations was set up to mark the opening of this bridge and road on 16 February 1922'. The inscription is in English, Tamil and Urdu. According to SK Aruni, deputy director of the Indian Council of Historical Research, Tamil was used as all the workers of the British were Tamil people, and Urdu to communicate to the Hindustani men working for the British.