240 MANUAL OF THE NtLAGIRI DISTRICT. 



CHAP. X. They are armed with spears and bows and arrows, and 



ANxTuiTiEa ^^^ figure is on horse-back. The women on the second 



stone are naked above the waist^ and their hair is 



dressed in a knob on one side. 

 (2.) Mehir. On one of the stones in this group at the back 

 is the only inscription of any importance on the 

 Hills. A description of it by Sir Walter Elliot will be 

 found in Mr. Breeks' book. He regards the subject as 

 a virgal {vira-hal or hero-stone) and a Mastilikal 

 {Mnha 8ati hal, great Sati stone). It represents the 

 death of a hero who was killed by a tiger, and whose 

 wives performed sati. The inscription which is in 

 modern Tamil has been deciphered by Dr. Pope as well 

 as the broken condition of the stones would admit. 



He says : " It reads thus : — ' In the Vegudanya of the month 

 Sittirai (April-May) in the Aswini Nak shetra the 42nd cycle of 

 the Sakayear 1518 (the character which I suppose to be 5 is 1^ 



which as a numeral is unknown) for a gift .... for a 



tiger this writing.' Dr. Pope seems to think, it is a grant ; 



and he adds : " Saka 1518, i.e., A.D. 1596, is late enough for the 

 Badagas, but they do not seem to know anything of the crom- 

 lechs, and were or professed to be ignorant even of the second 

 group which was hidden among some bushes. '' 



The Badagas, however, do reverence some of the hira kaJlu, and 

 offer fruit and flowers before them. This may only be because 

 the '' subjects have generally some reference to the worship of 

 Siva. They oddly enough never claim these stones, but say 

 sometimes that the unsculptured cromlechs were the work of their 

 ancestors." 



The other groups of cromlechs are as follow : — 



(3.) Group at Meliir. Only one of these sculptured, the 



subject being a double sati. 

 (4.) A single sculptured cromlech at Jakata Kambe. Here 



the Badagas perform an annual sacrifice. 

 (5.) A very fine group of cromlechs at Achenua. Some are 



built into the village kraal and used as pens for 



calves. 

 (6.) Group at H'laiuru between Kotagiri and Kodandd. 



The sculptures represent a hunting memorial. 

 (7.) Group at Kakusi. 



(8.) Group of sculptured cromlechs on Major Sweet's planta- 

 tion near Kdt^ri. 

 (9.) One large cromlech sculptured and some small unsculp- 



tured ones at Melkunda. 



