Epigraphical Heritage of Raichur Town

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Raichur town is very rich from the epigraphic Point of view and has yielded several inscriptions. They are located mainly on the Gateways of the Fort, in the mosques and dargahs of the saints, in gardens and on the tombs, and also on the tanks and wells. These epigraphs contain a variety of important historical, economic, cultural, and personal data of the Times and The ruling dynasties and are considered first- hand source material to study the History & Epigraphical Heritage of the Raichur town and also its suburbs.

This volume consists of seventy inscriptions, forty-four were found within the Fort, and seventeen were from outside the fort area in Raichur town. (See Location Index). Though many of the inscriptions are published, there is no publication about the Inscriptions of Raichur town till today.

Hence, this study would fulfill the epigraphical void of the region. The study helps in preserving and presenting the rich "EPIGRAPHICAL HERITAGE OF RAICHUR TOWN" to Posterity. Eleven inscriptions were shifted to the Hyderabad State Museum during the erstwhile Nizam Period. Since Raichur was a part of the Nizam dominions.

In the First Chapter, the Introduction is followed by a Glimpse of today's Raichur. The Fort and structures renovations to the older ones the new look of the town with. modified roads and buildings- mosques, dargahs, the fort's rampart walls removed at several places, the huge gateways modified to suit the movement of vehicles, etc.

In the second chapter of the book is the main content i.e.. the Epigraphical Heritage which studies all the available Inscriptions. The present location, the ruler and the dynasty, the date and period, the language and script, and the gist of each inscription are studied vividly. Besides the chapters, there are four main Indices Location, Dynastic, and Language with an Abstract with an Abstract for each Index.

The book is well illustrated with Photographs with old and new Maps of the District, Photographs of old and new Structures and Monuments, Photos of linear Drawings and Engravings on the Ramps walls how they look now (weathered away and worn out), etc. The most interesting monuments and Structures are cannons on the summit of the Balahisar or the Citadel which is the most imposing Hillock in the Raichur town and its suburbs. At the end of the book, we can see the glossary of select terms about the study.

V. SUGUNA SHARMA, Assistant Director, Dr. YSR State Museum, Hyderabad, has had a brilliant Academic career, she obtained and M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degree from Osmania University, Hyderabad. She is associated with several Academic bodles, Institutions, and Universities and is a life member of the Indian Art Historical Society and Andhra Pradesh Historical Congress. She is rendering services as an External Jury to Vishwa Bharati University, Shantiniketan, Bolpur (West Bengal).

She has attended several National and International Seminars and presented informative research papers. She has also contributed interesting Articles to well-known Research Journals both within the country and abroad. The author has traveled widely within the country and also visited the north-eastern Himalayan Belt of Nepal and Tibet in pursuit of Buddhist Studies and brought out some rare outstanding Publications. The subject and content of the present work "EPIGRAPHICAL HERITAGE OF RAIVHUR TOWN" are in sequence with her previous book.

Former Vice-Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education, Govt. of Telangana.

The title of the book on "Epigraphical Heritage of Raichur Town" is extremely captivating. Dr. Suguna Sharma is Committed and dedicated writer. I am very happy to give my Foreword to the book.

She has concentrated on all available inscriptions and it seems today Raichur is modified and many changes for the convenience of the public have been made with most of the structures destroyed and cleared for the roads and pathways.

This book is well illustrated with photographs, with old and new Maps of the District. The photos of linear drawings on Ramparts are excellent. She concentrated on Epigraphical Studies and Calligraphy of the area. The most interesting monuments and Structures, Canons on the Citadel which is imposing on the Hillock in the Raichur town and its suburbs. She put her personal experience about the town and written this book.

The present volume 'EPIGRAPHICAL HERITAGE OF RAICHUR TOWN" contains seventy Inscriptions from Raichur within the fort and outside the fort area. While I was collecting data for my M. Phil dissertation pertaining to Raichur Fort, I noticed several Inscriptions on the gateways, on the mosques and dargas, on tombs and tanks etc., (within and outside the fort area) scattered in the entire town. Later on, the modified version of my dissertation was published with the title - 'History & Antiquities of Raichur Fort'. In this publication seventeen inscriptions preserved/displayed in the Hyderabad State Museum have been studied in a detailed manner. However, most of these inscriptions were already published in the early series of the Annual Reports of the Archeological department of the H.L.H.NIZAM'S Dominions. But so far there is no exclusive publication of these valuable epigraphical records belonging to the Raichur Fort and Town as a whole, which was once known as the bone of contention between the different political kingdoms which wanted to claim supremacy over the region. Most of the inscriptions, published earlier, belonged to the entire Raichur district are scattered in different series and volumes, are not easily accessible and known to the researchers, scholars and those interested in the subject.

The Raichur doad is situated in the north-eastern part of the present Karnataka State. The whole of Raichur district lying between the two great rivers, the Krishna and the Tungabhadra, had always been the home of history and legend. It was also known as the city of two rivers in the past. In the heart of the doab lies the Raichur Town which also has had a rich and eventful history. The river Krishna enters the Deodurg Taluk and flows in the south- eastern directions (Plates). The Tungabhadra River (Plates) forms the southern boundary up to the point of its confluence with the river Krishna in the Alampur / Kurnool Taluk in Andhra Pradesh State. The river Bhima enters the Yadgir Taluk and falls into the river Krishna few kilometers north of Raichur. These rivers make the soil fertile. Thus Raichur is called The Rice Bowl of Karnataka. It has also the nick name of cotton city. The first Thermal Power Station in the entire South India is at Shaktinagar in Raichur (Plates).