An emperor's death, inscribed

The inscription at Honnenahalli in Tumakuru district.

An inscription discovered at Honnenahalli in the outskirts of Tumakuru, by a group comprising archaeologists, researchers and history enthusiasts throws light on the exact date of Krishnadevaraya’s demise, the legendary king who ruled the Vijayanagara Empire between 1509–1529.

Krishnadevaraya is believed to have passed away on October 17, 1529.

“The Samvatsara Karthika Shuddha 15 indicates the date of October 17, 1529. The expression, Shri Veerapratapa Shri Krishnarayaru Yee Thatha Thithiyalu, indicates the definiteness of the date. The term Asthamayaragiralu in the inscription refers to Krishnadevaraya’s death,” explains Prof K R Narasimhan, a historian and researcher who was part of the team that found the inscription.

Narasimhan also terms the discovery as one of the major developments in the history of Karnataka.

The inscription at Honnenahalli, on the border of Tumakuru, has pictures of the conch, wheel, moon, sun and Anjaneya. The text used is medieval Kannada.

The village was given as a grant by Biramanna (also presumed to be Virupanna) Nayak in memory of Krishnadevaraya’s death so that rituals at the nearby temple could be carried out in his name.

Narasimhan says that based on the available inscriptions, a copper plate and literary compositions, the historians had concluded that the death occurred between November 1529 and January 30, 1530, but there was no consensus on the exact date.

“The content of the inscription calls for reexamination of the inscriptions and copper plate referring to Krishnadevaraya’s death discovered in the past in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,” he points out.

Achyutaraya’s three coronations

According to scholars, the coronation rituals of Achyutaraya, Krishnadevaraya’s brother who ascended the throne after him, took place thrice — at Tirumale, Kalahasti and Vijayanagar.

The inscriptions about Achyutaraya’s coronations shed light on the possible dates of Krishnadevaraya’s demise.

“An inscription discovered at Kalahasti indicates that the coronation took place on October 21, 1529. Achyutaraya was not at Vijayanagar but was at the Chandragiri fort near Tirupati-Kalahasti when Krishnadevaraya died. Hence, coronation rituals were held at Kalahasti,” Narasimhan explains, quoting historians.

Achyutarayabhyudayam composed by Rajanatha Dindima refers to the third coronation at Vijayanagar. The work has been translated into Kannada by Suchetana Navaratna of Hampi Kannada University.

“Available documents indicate that Krishnadevaraya was suffering from abdomen pain and he was making preparations to wage a war against Belagavi when he died,” he adds quoting Paramashivamurthy, a historian who has studied the inscriptions of Krishnadevaraya.

Quest for a mausoleum

Another team member, K Dhanpal, works as a conductor with the Bengaluru Darshini bus. He is passionate about the graves of celebrities and noted personalities. His interest in history also led him to complete a Diploma in Epigraphy.

Dhanpal got in touch with Narasimhan three years ago and since then, the duo has discovered about 50 inscriptions in Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, and Tumakuru districts and have protected them.

They also translate the content into simple language to make it easy for people to read and understand history.

“I wanted to explore the mausoleum of late actor Manjula trying to know more about her a year ago. A friend who went to Honnenahalli told me about an inscription there,” Dhanpal says.

Both of them visited Honnenahalli to study the inscription about three weeks ago.

“My joy knew no bounds after going through the content as it ended all speculations about the date of the death of Krishnadevaraya,” adds Narasimhan.