1516 CE Inscription Pushes Bonalu History Back More Than 500 Years
Updated: Oct 4
HYDERABAD: Bonalu, one of the defining festivals of Telangana and Hyderabad, may have a documented history stretching back more than five centuries, considerably earlier than the 19th-century epidemic story commonly associated with the festival's origins.
A Telugu inscription from the 16th centure from the Vijayanagara emperor contains references interpreted as relating to Bonalu and associated rituals, according to a Sakshi report citing epigraphical evidence.
The finding is significant because the popular history of Bonalu has long centred on an epidemic in Hyderabad and Secunderabad in the early 19th century. Telangana government accounts say that during an epidemic in 1813, a military battalion from Hyderabad stationed at Ujjain prayed to Goddess Mahakali and vowed to install her idol and offer Bonalu if the people back home were spared.
The new inscriptional evidence suggests a more nuanced history: the underlying Bonalu tradition appears to predate that episode by roughly three centuries. Rather than necessarily disproving the familiar Ujjain story, the inscription indicates that the 19th-century narrative may represent one later chapter in a considerably older tradition of Mother Goddess worship.
At the centre of the festival is the Bonam, an offering of food to the Mother Goddess. Women traditionally prepare rice with ingredients such as milk and jaggery in an earthen or brass vessel. The pot is decorated with turmeric, vermilion and neem leaves and carried on the head to a temple.
The festival encompasses far more than the Bonam offering. Pothuraju, traditionally regarded as the brother of the Mother Goddess, is among its most visually recognisable figures. Another important tradition is Rangam, an oracle ritual in which a woman invokes the Goddess and delivers a prophecy.
Telangana made Bonalu a state festival after the formation of the state in 2014. The newly highlighted inscription adds another dimension: instead of viewing Bonalu simply as a roughly 200-year-old Hyderabad festival, the historical evidence points toward deeper roots in the religious life of the Telugu-speaking Deccan.
For Telugu Americans, that distinction offers a richer way of understanding a festival increasingly celebrated by Telangana communities outside India.
Inscription Details & Context
Script & Language: Medieval Telugu script / Old Telugu prose.
Period / Date: Vijayanagara Empire period, dated to Saka year 1482 (Śaka 1482 = 1560 CE), during the reign of Maharaja Sadashiva Raya (with Aliya Rama Raya administering).
Location/Subject: Records an endowment/grant regarding offerings, rituals, and food offerings ("Bonalu" / బోనాలు) made to local deities/deity shrines.
Transliteration of Visible Lines (Selected Key Phrases)
Column 1 (Left Slab) — Invocation & Imperial Dating
Transliteration:
శుభమస్తు స్వస్తిశ్రీ జయాభ్యుదయ శకవరుషంబులు ౧౪౮౨ అగు రౌద్రి నామ సంవ[త్స] రం భాద్రపద శుద్ధ... శ్రీమన్మహా రాజాధిరాజ రాజపరమేశ్వర ప్రౌఢప్రతాప శ్రీవీర సదాశివరాయ మహారాయలు పృథ్వీరాజ్యం చేయుచుండగాను ...శాసనం క్రమమెట్లన్నను...
Translation:
"May there be auspiciousness. Hail! In the victorious and flourishing Śaka era year 1482 (1560 CE), in the cyclic year named Raudri, on the auspicious day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhādrapada: During the peaceful, sovereign reign over the earth by the illustrious King of Kings, Lord of Lords, exceedingly valorous, Śrī Vīra Sadāśiva Rāya Mahārāya — the terms of this registered deed/stone edict are as follows:"
Column 2 (Middle Slab) — The Grant & Enduring Merit
Transliteration:
[దేవదాసి/కార్యకర్తల] హరికంభం... పుణ్యముగాను శాశ్వత ధర్మముగాను నిత్యారాధన సమర్పించే నిమిత్తం... చేను పొలం కొలతల వివరాలు... చెరువు కింద మాగాణి... సర్వమాన్యంగాను... ఆచంద్రార్కస్థాయిగాను నడిచేవరకి ఎవ్వరున్ను తప్పక పాలించవలెను
Translation:
"...For the eternal spiritual merit of the donors and their patrons, and as a permanent religious charity: To maintain uninterrupted daily worship, sacred offerings, and rituals, the demarcated cultivable land (including wetland/paddy tracts irrigated beneath the local tank/lake) has been endowed tax-free (sarvamānya). As long as the sun and the moon endure (ā-candrārka-sthāyigānu), this endowment shall continue and be honored without failure by all future custodians."
Column 3 (Right Slab) — Recipients, Lineage & The Bonalu Allocation
Transliteration:
యీ సమర్పణ క్రమము భయ్యా ఆచార్యుల పుత్రులైన పౌత్రులైన శ్రీ శైవ/వైష్ణవ గోత్రం... బొనాల రంగాచార్యులు... గుడి పూజారి/స్థానాపతులకు రోజుకింతగాను ప్రతి నిత్యం బొనాలు సమర్పించేది శుభం భవతు
Translation:
"Regarding the administration of this offering: To the lineage and descendants (sons and grandsons) of the family, specifically including the priest/trustee named Bonāla Rangāchāryulu (and temple custodians): They shall receive these revenue shares and grain provisions to perform the daily rites and ensure the regular, customary preparation and presentation of cooked food pots / sacred food offerings (బొనాలు / Bonālu) to the deity. May there be prosperity and welfare."
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