HYDERABAD: An inscription dating back to the reign of Vijayanagara Emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya has emerged as the earliest known epigraphical evidence of the Bonalu festival in present-day Telangana, pushing the documented history of the popular folk celebration back by more than three centuries.
The inscription, now preserved at the State Archaeology Museum in Hyderabad, was originally discovered at Gobbur, near the border between Telangana and Karnataka. Written in Telugu language and script, it is precisely dated to Saka 1438 (1516 CE), Dhatu year, Jyestha month, Sukla Paksha, third day (May 4, Sunday).
Speaking to TNIE, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Director (Epigraphy) K Muniratnam Reddy said that Bonalu has long been linked to the early 19th century, when a severe plague struck Hyderabad and Secunderabad. A Hyderabad military battalion stationed in Ujjain is believed to have prayed to Goddess Mahakali, vowing to install her idol and offer a ritual meal if the plague ended, he said.
However, the newly identified inscription establishes that Bonalu was celebrated as early as 1516 CE. Muniratnam Reddy said the record also shows that taxes were being collected for Bonalu-related rituals prior to the date mentioned in the inscription, and that Emperor Krishnadevaraya later exempted these levies to support the festival. He added that the inscription was shifted to the State Museum during the Nizam period for better preservation.
The record offers insights into the administrative and ritual framework surrounding Bonalu in the 16th century. It mentions tax exemptions on levies payable to the state for various ritual practices, including Rangam (ritual foretelling), Kunamuggu, Gaddapattana and Bonalu.
The inscription further refers to land grants made as sarvamanyam under the irrigation tanks of Pedacheruvu and Bollasamudram, in addition to previously endowed lands, to facilitate the celebration of Bonalu in the presence of the deity at Kondapalli. These grants were issued on the orders of Rayasam Kondamarasayya.
The inscription also records that the commemorative pillar was erected by Parvatayya during Krishnadevaraya’s reign from Vijayanagara, indicating that these rituals and festivals predate the period formally documented in the record. Recognising its historical and cultural significance, the state government is likely to shift the inscription to a more prominent location, Muniratnam Reddy said.
This story is reported by Siddhardha Gattimi of The New Indian Express.
