Rare ‘Veeragallu’ discovered in Sangareddy

The sculpture probably belonged to 12th century AD when Kalyana Chalukyas ruled these parts of the State

Sangareddy: Historians have discovered a rare ‘Veeragallu’ (warrior’s sculpture), who appears to have died in a battle with rivals while protecting a herd of cows, at Kohir in Sangareddy district recently.

Sanat Reddy, an archaeology enthusiast and a resident of Hyderabad, photographed the sculpture and sent it to Kotha Telangana Charitra Brundam (KTCB), which has been continuously working to identify historically important places and sculptures across the State.

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Identifying it as a rare sculpture, historian Sriramoju Haragopal, founder of KTCB, told Telangana Today that the hero, who died in the battle, was capable of using multiple weapons at one time. The noted historian said the hero was capable of using sword, bow and arrow, spear and other weapons in war. He said they were referred to as ‘Ekkati’ (Commando), who attained mastery in using multiple weapons in warfare. Laying of a stone in memory of heroes who laid down their lives for various causes was a tradition in many parts of India in ancient days.

The sculpture probably belonged to 12th century AD when Kalyana Chalukyas ruled these parts of the State. The sculpture was skillfully engraved on a black stone. The hero, seen riding a horse, was attacking a rival’s horse with a sword while holding a bow in another hand. This depicted that he had fought many persons in the battle single-handedly and died at the hands of the rivals.

In the three-floor sculpture, the hero can be seen fighting with the rivals and winning back his cows in the first floor. Since he was seen wearing multiple ornaments on his hand and neck, Haragopal said he may have held a strong position in the hierarchy.

In the second floor, according to another historian R Sesha Sastry, ‘Apsaras’ can be seen taking the hero to heaven in ‘Pushpaka Vimana’ while a ‘guru’ and the hero are seen offering prayers at Shivalinga, which indicates the people of this area practised Shivam, in the third floor.

Another member of KTCB Vemuganti Murali said that Kohir was a cultural centre in those days. Kohir was named after a distinctive red soil found in these parts of Sangareddy. The meaning of Kohir is red diamond in local parlance. Saying that a number of sculptures and temple ruins were found in Kohir, they appealed to the State government to initiate steps to protect them.

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