Ancient inscription pushes back the history of Bonalu festival

A recently re-examined inscription has brought new insights into the history of the Bonalu festival, one of Telangana’s most important traditional celebrations. The inscription provides clear evidence that Bonalu existed much earlier than previously believed - dating back to 1516, well before the Qutb Shahi period.

The inscription was found near Gobbur village, close to the Telangana-Karnataka border. It belongs to the reign of Vijayanagara emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya. Written in Telugu script, the inscription is dated to Saka year 1438, Dhatu year, Jyeshta month, Shukla Paksha Tritiya, which corresponds to Sunday, May 4, 1516, according to the Gregorian calendar.

According to the text, tax exemptions were granted for conducting rituals such as rangam (oracle rituals), koona muggu, gadda pattinam, and Bonalu. This indicates that Bonalu was already a well-established religious practice during that period and was officially supported by the state.

The inscription also records that, following the orders of Rayasam Kondamarasayya, lands under the Pedda Cheruvu and Bollasamudram tanks were donated to conduct the Bonalu festival at the shrine of the Kondapalli deity. It further notes that the inscription pillar was installed by a person named Parvathayya during Krishnadevaraya’s rule.

Dr. K. Muniratnam Reddy, Director (Epigraphy) of the Archaeological Survey of India, said the inscription was first copied in 1961 but came to renewed attention during a recent review of estampages for the South Indian Inscriptions project. He explained that the tax exemptions reflect Krishnadevaraya’s farsighted policy of ensuring that festivals continued without placing a financial burden on the public. He also mentioned that a proposal would be sent to the state government to shift the inscription to a prominent location, such as the Ujjaini Mahankali Temple in Secunderabad.

Adding to this, Dr. M. A. Srinivasan, Assistant Professor at Suravaram Pratap Reddy Telugu University, described the inscription as the earliest known epigraphical reference to the Bonalu festival. He pointed out that until now, historians had largely attributed the origin of Bonalu to the Qutb Shahi era. “This inscription clearly shows that Bonalu existed even before the Qutb Shahis, during the pre-Qutb Shahi period,” he said.

Historians believe this discovery significantly reshapes the understanding of Bonalu’s origins and highlights the deep historical roots of the festival in the cultural life of the Telugu region.