Dolmens, Koil Houses, Hero Stones, Veerakallu / நடுகற்கள் /வீரகல்லு, at Melur, Nilgiris of Kongu Nadu, Tamil Nadu.

It was a long wish to see the Hero stones of Melur in Nilgiris District has come true through Mr Kumaravel's information. There are about 15 Hero stones with Dolmens. Most of the hero stones are housed in “Koil Houses”. In that the Hero stones are erected either on the back or on all their sides, and the top will be covered with stone slabs. Hence, these Dolmens may be of Koil Houses, and experts are requested to comment on this.

Almost all the hero stones are sati stones. Out of 15 Hero stones, 2 Hero/sati stones seem to be interesting, and the rest are of very crude finish. These two hero stones are a little different from the Hero/sati stones with 3 tier/4 4-tier found at Thalavadi and Mysore regions. In this, the heroic action, sati and other details are shown keeping the Hero at the centre and the rest around him without segregation. 

PULIKUTHI HERO STONE - 1

In this, the hero is holding a long spear and pointing at the Tiger. The hero is wearing ornaments on the neck and ears. The ears are shown as elongated. The moustache is not shown to the hero. The hero wears a half dress below his hip and a kattar is tied to his hip. The hero’s tuft or the hairstyle is the speciality of this Hero stone. This Hero is shown at the centre. On the right, A male and a Female are shown. This signifies that the hero’s wife might have taken sati. On the left, a Horse and  a Man with a woman are shown. In addition, there is a boy shown with a different type of Legs. The top three persons are shown in a sitting posture.

PULIKUTHI HERO STONE - 2

This is another Hero stone similar to the above. In this, the hero with a big moustache is shown in the centre killing a Tiger with a spear. On his left top, the hero’s wife, who took sati after the hero’s death, is shown. The Hero’s wife is shown with her right hand raised, holding a lemon similar to the sati stones found in the Thalavadi and Mysore regions. The Hero wears ornaments, and the half dress is shown neatly with decorations. The hero’s tuft and the Moustache remind the Nayakas' style.  

On his right, two men are shown, with one man holding a bow with an arrow. At the top Sun and the Moon are also shown. Based on the style inscriptions, this hero stone belongs to the 17^th to 18^th century.

One of the Koil Houses was whitewashed. It was learnt from the nearby Shiva temple caretaker that every year pooja will be conducted at the Shiva temple. During that time, pooja will be conducted at this Koil House first and then taken to the Shiva temple.

LOCATION OF THE HERO STONES:  CLICK HERE

---OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---