A mysterious Hero of Many Names

Finding Ravaleshwara  .

Veeragals , ( Hero stones ) turn up regularly in rural areas where development has not been fast and furious . Passing through countrysides , if one keeps eyes open , one is sure to stumble upon memorial  stones , lying by dried up tanks , near temples , in fields and wastelands , under trees or serving the village as a washing slab , a post to tie up cattle , as steps to a granery etc depending on size and thickness . Many a time they are also smeared with turmeric and vermillion in a show of respect . 

In oral tradition , folk lores are built around a heroic event that happened  in the history of the village  ; these  then grow into sacred mythology . In time , the much celebrated Hero turns into a Village Guardian whose spirit  protects the village  . Finally he becomes a god , an Ishvara .

Veeragals are generally rectangular  slabs with figures carved  in bas relief in narrative strips . Among the hundreds of sculpted stones found around the Old Mysore area are a few sculptures of standing heroes too,  which are called veeras . Those with a certain uniform  iconography , easily identifiable  as distinct from generic heroes, are labelled as Ravaleshwara . 

A deity in his own right . 

                         

A typical Ravaleshwara  figure is a dynamic representation of an energetic person, finely dressed , bejewelled , with hair done up in a fancy side knot ,  topped with an umbrella, the Chattri - denoting an exalted  status  . He stands on a peeta , feet turned sidewards , as though in motion . 

And he has four hands , belying a cursory assumption that  he is a king or chieftain. In his hands are , prominently,a discus, a bow with arrows, and a  club, while a large sword hangs from his belt.  
Sometimes he rides a horse, brandishing the sword. 

                    

When he rides , an attendent holds the chhatri over him. 

A "complete" set shows small  figures flanking him and two rams on the peetam . There are Chowri or Chattri bearing minions. And a horse / horserider alongside.

The female figure  is called Rakasamma, shown with a child, on hip or by side, and holding a sword. And if there is a second one , she is called Gangamalamma , both said  to be Consorts . 

Rakasamma  and Gangamalamma are names of Guardian Goddesses who have their own independent shrines and  followers in quite a few places  . Ravaleshwara figures are many times devoid of their company too . 

            

Who is Ravaleshwara ? 

There is a general belief that he is Ravana and that the name is a corruption of Ravaneshwara . But Ravaleshwara is not Ten Headed and his worship approximates that of  other native shivite icons like Beereshwara , Muneshwara etc with no reference , however tenuous , to the story of Rama . The scupltures of Ravana(eshwara) , also found in the countrysides , are quite  distinct , with ten heads and 20 hands . But Ravaleshwara is called the One- headed (Okathale) Ravana in some villages . Archeologists have reported finding  two, three and five headed  figures too , with similar posture and attributes,  which , for want of ID, go by the generic name , Ravaleshwara. 

                           

This heroic figure is so wide spread in Old Mysore region that his name has as many local variations as there as hoblis - Kalaraya, Ravalnayaka, Kalabantaraya , Veerappa , Mudikonda and many more .

The closest ID match for Ravaleshwara that one can think of is Ravalnath , a  Shivite divinity, a kshetrapala , popular in Uttara Karnataka , Goa and Sindhudurg (Mah) regions , who is sometimes referred to as Ravaleshwar , to denote that he is a form of Shiva. Ravalnath is also shown  standing , holding similar weapons in his four hands . But he has well defined and set rituals, richer shrines and a much wider following cutting across social strata. It is difficult to imagine that such a popular and influential god , when assimilated elsewhere would get reduced to a  minor , and often neglected, deity . And this  is what our Ravaleshwara is today - totally low profile , often renamed and frequently recycled into whatever identity  the village  community wants.                      

We do not know when the Ravaleshwara icon first appeared on the scene . But references are available from after the decline of  Ganga eminence ( ie , after Rachamalla-4 and  Commander Chavundaraya ) . One theory is that the King of the long ruling dynasty was deified as Ishwara ( as was common then) and the belief got blended with the worshipful reverence shown to any valiant local Hero(s) who got martyred in the wars.  Given  the socio cultural mores of the time , it is a strong probability .                      

However that may be , it looks like the cult of Ravaleshwara was quite healthy during the subsequent Chozha interlude in this region . The cult had good many followers who organised themselves into  gotras, avoided endogamous marriages  and observed festivals, feasts and fasts in his name . He had became an Ishwara and in a couple of instances , was also represented by Lingas . 

When Ruling dynasties changed, social change also followed .  Religious reformers patronised by successive kings  brought revolutionary changes in the Faith of  the general populace.  Village gods lost sheen , were absorbed into the larger narrative or just got thrown out .

          

Some Ravaleshwara icons were reinvented as Shiva(Kirata) and Veerabhadra . Many were put aside with memorialised battle heroes . Some went underground - to be unearthed in modern times by the tractors of  farmers . 

But, the spirit of Ravaleshwara has survived and he continues to be  Kula  Devata of certain clans ( Okkalu).

The name ‘Ravaleshwara’ can be seen on signboards / labels of random lorries , autorickshaws , automobile service centers and small businesses. Though info on  his mythology is as scanty  as ever.  

                     

There are a handful of small Ravaleshwara temples scattered around but by and large, the icons are seen in the open , in fields  and under trees.

There is a curious legend that if a shrine is planned for him, it has to be completed within a day  or else not built at all - a condition reportedly  given out by the God himself , in an ancestor’s dream . How the shrines that do exist came by are (reportedly) explained away with some complicated  sub-legends. 

                       

 The icons may be seen around Bangalore Rural , Mandya Jilla  , Chamarajanagar Jilla , Kollegal and Mysore. 

Modernised People who see them , often  pass by thinking thats a Veerabhadra or a Bhaira or Byate-Veera ( A Hunter Hero ). 

Gods have identity crises too.

On my wanderings , I have seen random icons  of this  mysterious deity and have tried to learn from the rustic folk a least a little bit about this sampradaya . With not much success . ‘He is a protecting Guardian’ . That's all one can get from them.  Period. 

They know him as Dyavru ( god) which seems to suffice for them . Faith can be  as simple as that ! 

My personal view is that , he is distinct from Ravana , who , as Ravaneshwara , is also worshipped in the countrysides.                                         

References :
1 Karnataka Itihasa Akademi journals
2 Mandya Jilleya Itihasa mattu puratattva -Ed. Dr.R.Gopal
3 Sri Nanjundaswami"s Blog
5 Info from villagers

( All photographs by me)