Unusual Kannada inscription found on farm boundary in Ballari
Researchers have documented a four-line Kannada inscription on a farm bund in Dodda Antapur, Ballari district. Tentatively dated to the post-Vijayanagara period, the stone refers to theft and invokes a curse, while its unusual sun-and-moon symbols and sculpted male figure have drawn historians’ attention.
Historians have documented a rare four-line Kannada inscription found on the bund of an agricultural field at Dodda Antapur in Sandur taluk of Ballari district. The Vijayanagara Thirugata Research Team found the stone during fieldwork on land belonging to a farmer, Tayappa. It is about three feet high and one and a half feet wide, and faces east.
Researchers have tentatively assigned the inscription to the post-Vijayanagara period on the basis of its script. The text refers to a person named Kadaba and his field, and warns of punishment for anyone who steals the “sedhe” associated with it. Historians described the wording as a traditional curse intended to deter theft.
They said the reference offers evidence about agrarian activity and social concerns, including the value attached to materials or implements kept in fields. The stone also has an unusual arrangement of symbols. The sun and moon, which are generally placed above inscriptional text, appear below it, with the sun on the left and the moon on the right.
Below the writing is a sculpture of a standing male figure with an exaggerated representation of the male form. Researchers said the motif required further study in relation to folk beliefs, social practices, symbolic traditions and sculptural conventions. The team said curse formulas were frequently used in medieval inscriptions, particularly in connection with land grants.
Similar examples have been recorded at Dodda Antapur and Moodaladinni, where curses addressed interference with land rights or grants. Researchers urged the authorities to document and conserve the stone. They said the inscription, though brief, provided clues about landholding, agricultural practices, theft, religious beliefs and social norms beyond accounts focused on rulers and wars.
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