My Naa Swamy unearths Hoysala inscriptions

The inscription of Hoysala King Veeraballala II has been found in an old Siva temple located near tank bund, to the south of Hemavati (Capital of Nolamba Pallava kingdom) of Sri Sathya Sai district, according to Historian My Naa Swamy. In a statement on Tuesday, he said that as part of the research on Nolamba Pallava temples and architecture, he was visiting the temples in the vicinity of Hemavati and found that there was a pillar inscription,which used as door step for the old Siva temple.

The temple may be assigned to Hoysala dynasty and renovated by local devotees recently.A mandapam with 4 pillars is replica for Hoysala style of architecture, he added. MyNaa Swamy states that the inscription was written in the Salivahana Saka year 1111 Soumya samvataram (Common Era 1189), Veeraballala II may have donated land to the Siva temple. In fact, only half of the pillar inscription is visible horizontally. He explained that the other half was in support of temple door steps.

Meanwhile, another donation inscription dated 1206 CE of Veeraballala II can be found on the above doorjambs of Malleswara Temple in Siddeshwara Temple premises. Veeraballala II ruled the Hoysala kingdom with Dwarasamudram (present-day Halebidu in Karnataka) as its capital, from 1173 to 1220 CE.

Don't erase history

The inscriptions that give life to history are being erased at many places. The historian urged those who do not know the significance of the inscriptions to preserve them as it is not advisable to break them and use them for building houses or temples. Swamy believes that the pillar inscription may have been used for the temple door step due to a lack of understanding of the inscription.