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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Virgal (hero stone) in Kedareshvara temple at Balligavi 3.JPG|thumb|Hero stone with 1286 AD [[Old Kannada]] inscription during rule of Yadava King Ramachandra in the [[Kedareshvara Temple, Balligavi]] in Shimoga district, [[Karnataka]]]]
A '''hero stone''' ('''Naṭukal''' in [[Tamil language|Tamil]], '''Virakallu''' in [[Kannada language|Kannada]])<ref name=Filliozat/> is a [[memorial]] commemorating the honorable death of a hero in battle. Erected between the 6th century BC<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.brainkart.com/article/Sources-for-the-study-of-early-Tamil-society_35692/
|title= Hero Stones
}}</ref> and the 18th century AD, hero stones are found all over India. They often carry inscriptions displaying a variety of adornments, including [[bas relief]] panels, frieze, and figures on carved stone.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.kamat.com/database/content/hero-stones/index.htm
|title=Hero-stone Memorials of India
|publisher=Kamat Potpourri
|access-date=2007-03-15
}}</ref> Usually they are in the form of a stone monument and may have an inscription at the bottom with a narrative of the battle. The Earliest and oldest of such memorial Hero stones is found in the Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]] is more than 2400 years old that is 4th Century BC.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/herostone-discovered-in-tamil-nadu/article5849823.ece
|title= Hero-stone discovered in Tamil Nadu
|publisher= T. S. Subramanian
|access-date=2014-03-30
}}</ref> According to the historian [[Upinder Singh]], the largest concentration of such memorial stones is found in the Indian state of [[Karnataka]]. About two thousand six hundred and fifty hero stones, the earliest in Karnataka is dated to the 5th century AD.<ref name="singh">Chapter "Memorializing death in stone", Singh (2009), p48</ref> The custom of erecting memorial stones dates back to the Iron Age (400 BC) though a vast majority were erected between the 4th century BC to 13th centuries AD.<ref name=Pandya2014/>

==Description==
[[File:Hero stone with old Kannada inscription at the Tarakeshvara temple at Hangal 1.jpg|thumb|150px|right| Five panel Viragal from 12th century with Old Kannada inscription]]
A hero stone was usually divided into three panels, but occasionally, into four or five panels depending on the event. The upper panel depicts the subject worshiping a deity such as a Shiva ''[[linga]]'', the middle panel depicts the hero sometimes seated in a palanquin or a shrine being lifted toward the heavens by ''apsaras'' (heavenly nymphs), and the lower panels would display battle scenes<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/h/019pho0000965s1u00089000.html
|title=Hungul. Sculptured memorial stone.
|access-date=27 October 2014
}}</ref> One of the largest Viragallu, about 12 feet high is found in [[Gadag-Betageri|Betageri]], [[Karnataka]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/c/019pho000001003u01902000.html
|title= 12 feet high Viragal
|access-date=27 October 2014
}}</ref>
In [[Tamil Nadu]] Department of Archeology found several hundred hero stones that had been erected in the memory of warriors who sacrificed their lives defending their community or region. Those that are carved with inscriptions narrate the act of the hero, the battle, and the name of king who fought the battle. The stones are found alone or in groups, often near an [[irrigation tank]] or lake outside a village.
<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://tamilnation.co/heritage/dolmens.htm
|title=Dolmens, Hero Stones and the Dravidian People
|access-date=2009-06-30
}}</ref>
One hero stone dating to the 9th century [[Pallava]] King Dantivarman, depicts the hero riding a galloping horse beautifully dressed and carrying a spear.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/11/24/stories/04242238.htm
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126202655/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/11/24/stories/04242238.htm
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=2013-01-26
|title=Pallava period 'herostone' unearthed in Vellore dt.
|access-date=2007-03-15
}}</ref>
Another was recovered at Pappapatti in [[Usilampatti|Usilampatti taluk]] and probably dates from the 18th century. This stone shows a warrior posed heroically, accompanied by his wife who holds a flower. Creating hero stones had been prevalent since the [[Sangam period]] dating back 2300 years,<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/05/stories/2006040518340600.htm
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060409053927/http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/05/stories/2006040518340600.htm
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=2006-04-09
|title= 2,300-year-old hero stones found in Theni district
|access-date=2008-05-14
|location=Chennai, India
|work=[[The Hindu]]
|date=2006-04-05
}}</ref> and continuing until the Nayaka and post-Nayaka period to about 19th century.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/22/stories/2006072202680200.htm
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001023228/http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/22/stories/2006072202680200.htm
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=2007-10-01
|title='Hero stone' unearthed
|access-date=2007-03-17
|location=Chennai, India
|work=[[The Hindu]]
|date=2006-07-22
}}</ref>
In March 2014, a hero stone dating to the 8th century Pandya country, with an inscription in Tamil ''vatteluttu'' script was found in Vellalankottai in the Tuticorin district.<ref name=Pandya2014/> and another that was installed by a woman in memory of her husband who killed a leopard preying in cattle that strayed into the hamlet.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/a-hero-stone-tells-a-tale-from-eighth-century/article6494077.ece
|title=A hero stone tells a tale from eighth century
|access-date=2014-10-13
|location=Chennai, India
|work=The Hindu
|date=2006-07-22
}}</ref>
In 2017, two rare hero stones raised in honor of [[warrior|warrior-women]] riding to a battle were found, dating back 13th century.
<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dtnext.in/News/TamilNadu/2017/04/03005110/1030460/Hero-stones-of-women-warriors-found-in-Krishnagiri.vpf?TId=112131
|title=Hero stones of women warriors found in Krishnagiri
|access-date=2017-04-03
}}</ref>

Hero stones were not always made in honor of a persons. The [[Atakur inscription]] (also spelt Athakur) is one such hero stone. It is dated to 939 A.D. and includes classical Kannada poetic inscription commemorating the death of the favorite hound of [[Western Ganga Dynasty|Ganga]] King [[Butuga II]] (the hound died fighting a wild boar).<ref name="caste28">Altekar (1934), p351</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Pulimo-Kombai.jpg|Hero stone that is 4th Century BC [[Tamil-Brahmi]] inscription during Tamil Sangam age in Theni district, [[Tamil Nadu]]
File:Hero stone with old Kannada inscription at the Tarakeshvara temple at Hangal 1.jpg|Hero stone from 12th century with Old Kannada inscription from the Tarakeshvara Temple at Hangal, [[Karnataka]]
File:Hero stone (virgal) with old Kannada inscription at the Tarakeshvara temple at Hangal.jpg|Hero stone from 12th century with Old Kannada inscription from the Tarakeshvara Temple at Hangal, [[Karnataka]]
File:Hero_stone_with_old_Kannada_inscription_in_the_Tarakeshvara_temple_at_Hangal_2.jpg|Hero stone from 12th century with Old Kannada inscription from the Tarakeshvara Temple at Hangal, [[Karnataka]]
File:ಬೇಡ್ಕಣಿ ವಿರಗಲ್ ೧.JPG| Seven panel Hero Stone from 12th century with [[Old Kannada]] inscription from Siddapur taluk, [[Karnataka]]
File:ಬೇಡ್ಕಣಿ ವಿರಗಲ್ ೨.JPG| Seven panel Hero Stone from 12th century with [[Old Kannada]] inscription from Siddapur taluk, [[Karnataka]]
File:Herostone - 3.jpg|Seven panel Hero Stone from 1152 AD Old with [[Old Kannada]] inscription from Shimoga taluk, [[Karnataka]]
File:Herostone - 5.jpg|Seven panel Hero Stone from 1152 AD Old with [[Old Kannada]] inscription from Shimoga taluk, [[Karnataka]]
File:Virgal (hero stone) in Kedareshvara temple at Balligavi 1.JPG|Hero stone with 1160 AD Old Kannada inscription from the rule of Kalachuri King Bijjala in Kedareshvara temple at Balligavi in Shimoga district, [[Karnataka]]
File:Hero stone (virgal) with Kannada inscription in Kalleshvara temple at Bagali.JPG|Hero stone with 11th- or 12th-century Old Kannada inscription in Kalleshvara temple in Bagali in [[Davangere district]], [[Karnataka]]
File:Virgal (hero stone) in Kedareshvara temple at Balligavi 2.JPG| Hero stone with 1180 AD Old Kannada inscription from the rule of Kalachuri King Ahavamalla in Kedareshvara temple at Balligavi in Shimoga district, [[Karnataka]]
File:A virgal (herostone) in Kaitabhesvara temple at Kubatur.JPG|Hero stone with old Kannada inscription dated 1235 AD from the rule of Yadava King Singhana II in Kaitabeshvara temple at Kubatur in [[Shimoga district]], [[Karnataka]]
File:Herostones at Bandalike Trimurti Narayanagudi 1.JPG|Hero stone from 10th century with Old Kannada inscription at Trimurthi Narayana Gudi, [[Karnataka]]
File:Herostones at Bandalike Trimurti Narayanagudi 3.jpg|Hero stone from 10th century with Old Kannada inscription at Trimurthi Narayana Gudi, [[Karnataka]]
File:Herostone - 1.jpg|Hero stone with 1152 AD Old Kannada inscription, Shimoga district, Karnataka
File:Herostone - 2.jpg|Hero stone with 1152 AD Old Kannada inscription, Shimoga district, Karnataka
File:Herostone - 4.jpg|Hero stone with 1152 AD Old Kannada inscription, Shimoga district, Karnataka
File:Herostone - 6.jpg|Hero stone with 1152 AD Old Kannada inscription, Shimoga district, Karnataka
File:Herostone - 7.jpg|Hero stone with 1152 AD Old Kannada inscription, Shimoga district, Karnataka
Image:Herostone in Siddhesvara Temple at Haveri.jpg|Hero stone from Later Chalukya period at Siddhesvara temple at Haveri in [[Haveri district]], [[Karnataka]]
Image:Hero Stone with old-Kannada inscription at Arasikere.jpg|Hero stone with old Kannada inscription, 1220 AD, [[Arasikere]], [[Karnataka]]
Image:முருகமங்கலம் நடுகல்.jpg|Murugamangalam hero stone, [[Tamil Nadu]]
Image:நரசிங்கபுரம் நடுகல்.JPG|Narasinga Puram hero stone, 12th century AD, [[Tamil Nadu]]
Image:தச்சாம்பாடி நடுகல்2.jpg|Tatchampadi hero stone, [[Tamil Nadu]]
Image:கொளக்கரவாடி நடுகல்.JPG|Olakkaravaadi hero stone 12th century AD, [[Tamil Nadu]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Commons category|Hero stones}}
* [[Paliya]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=Filliozat>{{cite book|last=Filliozat|first=Jean|title=Religion, Philosophy, Yoga: A Selection of Articles|year=1991|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=151|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2av2SuI8PpoC&pg=PA151&dq=natukkal&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4aiRUfXdI-qQ4ASKyIHgDg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=natukkal&f=false}}</ref>
<ref name=Pandya2014>{{cite news | url = https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/herostone-discovered-in-tamil-nadu/article5849823.ece | first = T. S. | last = Subramanian | title = Hero-stone discovered in Tamil Nadu | date = 30 March 2014 | newspaper=The Hindu | access-date=10 December 2019}}</ref>
}}

==References==
*{{cite book |last= Singh|first= Upinder |title= A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India:From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|year=2009|publisher= Pearsons Education|location= India|ISBN=978-81-317-1120-0}}
*{{cite book |last= Altekar|first= Anant Sadashiv |title= The Rashtrakutas And Their Times; being a political, administrative, religious, social, economic and literary history of the Deccan during C. 750 A.D. to C. 1000 A.D|url= https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.8147|orig-year=1934|year=1934|publisher= Oriental Book Agency|location= Poona|oclc=3793499}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Hero stones}}
* [http://www.brainkart.com/article/Sources-for-the-study-of-early-Tamil-society_35692/ Hero Stones]
* {{cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/herostone-discovered-in-tamil-nadu/article5849823.ece |title= Hero-stone discovered in Tamil Nadu |publisher= T. S. Subramanian |access-date=2014-03-30}}
*[http://www.kamat.com/database/content/hero-stones/index.htm Hero-stone Memorials of India]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071001063100/http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/28/stories/2006092808360500.htm Rare Hero stone found near Erode]
*[https://archive.today/20130126202655/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/11/24/stories/04242238.htm Pallava period 'herostone' unearthed in Vellore dt.]
*[http://www.chennaimuseum.org/draft/gallery/01/04/stone.htm Government Museum Chennai]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060905191534/http://huntington.wmc.ohio-state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=30033611 Huntington Archive Hero Stone]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110710124901/http://www.digitalgoa.com/ca_disp.php?id=1529 Ancient Hero stone goes missing in Goa]

[[Category:Monuments and memorials in India]]
[[Category:Inscriptions by type]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Karnataka]]

Hero stone - Revision history

>GreenC bot at 20:19, 21 April 2021