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A rare 'Siditale' hero stone has been discovered at the Panchalingeshwara Temple in Barakuru (Barkur), Udupi district, Karnataka, during an epigraphical survey.
It is the first hero stone of this specific type reported from Tulunadu, the coastal Kannada-Tulu region.
The stone, about four feet tall, is carved in three panels depicting a self-sacrifice ritual, the hero's ascent to heaven and his presence before Shiva.
Barakuru was the capital of the Alupa rulers in the 10th-11th centuries CE and a busy port on the river Sita, about 5 km from the Arabian Sea coast.
Self-sacrifice hero stones dating from the 9th to the 15th centuries are found across South India, but this variety had not been recorded in the region before.
A memorial slab raised for someone who died in battle, in defence of cattle or people, or in a ritual act. Panels are read from bottom upward: the death, the ascent by celestial attendants, and the hero in the presence of a deity. Many carry inscriptions.
Simple Analogy: A stone comic strip that ends with the hero in heaven.
Barakuru lies in Udupi district on Karnataka's coastal plain, on the banks of the river Sita and about 5 km east of the Arabian Sea. The surrounding coastal Kannada-Tulu cultural region is called Tulunadu. The site later served the Vijayanagara period as a provincial centre on the west coast.
GS Paper 1 > Indian Culture: Art Forms, Architecture from Ancient to Modern Times
General Awareness > History and Culture
A memorial slab commemorating a death in battle, in cattle defence or in ritual self-sacrifice, usually carved in stacked panels
The self-sacrifice ritual in which the head, tied to a bent bamboo, springs upward on decapitation - the type of hero stone found at Barakuru
The coastal region of Karnataka and northern Kerala associated with the Tulu language, of which Barakuru was a leading historical centre