Author:

Dr.Krishnegowda K N
Associate Professor
Department of History
Government First Grade College
Sakaleshapura,Karnataka,India

Email: knkrishnegowda42@gmail.com
Abstract: Epigraphs constitute one of the most significant primary sources for reconstructing the political, economic, religious and socio-cultural history of medieval Karnataka. The Hassan region, particularly the areas corresponding to present-day Alur Taluk and neighbouring parts of Belur, Hassan and Sakleshpur, formed an important geographical and cultural zone of the Hoysala kingdom. The inscriptions of this region preserve information concerning kingship, land grants, taxation, temple institutions, religious communities, village administration, warriors, merchants, artisans, women and patterns of social interaction. This review paper examines the historical depictions contained in the epigraphic records of the Hassan–Alur region with particular reference to the Hoysala period. It adopts a qualitative historical and interpretative research design based on the critical reading of published inscriptional corpora and recent scholarship from 2020 onwards. The analysis demonstrates that Hoysala epigraphs should not be understood simply as royal proclamations. They provide evidence of a complex social order in which state authority, local elites, temple institutions, agrarian communities, religious groups and occupational communities interacted. Recent scholarship on Hoysala agriculture, customary practices, artistic production, temple sculpture and hero-stones strengthens this socio-cultural interpretation. The study concludes that the Hassan–Alur epigraphic landscape represents a valuable archive for reconstructing the everyday structures of medieval Karnataka society.

Key Words: Alur, Epigraphy, Hoysala,Medieval Karnataka, , Temple Institutions, Kannada etc.