Not just ‘city of boiled beans’: Researchers question legend
Researchers say the folklore on city being named after boiled beans not backed by facts, call for in-depth study into the subject
BENGALURU : The story goes like this. In the 13th century, Veera Ballala II, a king from the Hoysala dynasty, was on a hunting expedition and lost his way. He aimlessly wandered the forest for hours, hungry and thirsty Ballala finally spotted a small hut. Seeing a visibly tired king, an old woman came out of the hut and offered him boiled beans and water. She gave him all the beans she had.
As he was about to return, to express his gratitude he named the forest “Benda Kaalu Ooru” or “Bendakaalooru”, which translates to the “city of boiled beans”. As this forest grew into a town and a city over the centuries, “Bendakaalooru” became Bengaluru or Bangalore.
This folklore has been passed on to generations as the story behind the name of this city. It often finds its way into the speeches of politicians, about the hospitality of the garden, or in the trivia shared with the migrants who came to the Silicon Valley in search of opportunities. But researchers and historians say the story is more of folklore and isn’t backed by research. They want the research-backed theories to come to the fore, but there is a small problem – there are multiple theories.
Chidananda Murthy proposed one of the popular historical theories behind the name. According to Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) officials, Murthy claimed that the name Bengaluru may have derived its name from the geology of the city. After studying the city’s geological record, he said that several areas in the city like Balepet, Nagarthpet, and Chikpet were known for the white quartz stones. This led to the name ‘Biliya Kallina Ooru’ or a city of white quartz stones. Over the years, it became Bengaluru.
Another theory that has been doing rounds in historical circles is that the name originated from ‘Bengawaluru’, which means the location of the bodyguards. The theory claims that the army of the Hoysala empire especially ‘Bengawalu Pade’ or the bodyguards of the rulers had their garrison in Bengaluru.
Over a while, Ooru was added to Bengawalu, which is a term generally used for names of villages, towns, and cities. However, this theory doesn’t have any historical data to back it.
SK Aruni, director of the ICHR south regional centre and leading scholar of the city, has a different take on Bengaluru’s name.
According to him, in south India, especially in Bengaluru, Venkatanatha or Venkateshwara of Tirupati is an important deity.
“If you look at any old homes from Bengaluru, several houses will be named after Venkatesha. He was a local deity, and over a period of time, Venakanaooru became Bengaluru. This is my theory,” said Aruni.
Rajesh HG, a scholar, and editor of Itihasa Darapana pointed out that there is one more theory about Bengaluru’s name originating from that of a tree. Benga tree is known as Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb, widely seen in the erstwhile city. He said that is argued that the city was called Benganooru (land of Benga), which became Bengaluru.
However, Rajesh added that there is no evidence for this theory as well.
But all the experts agree that one theory could claim to be the closest to the truth because it has a historical scripture to back it.
In Begur, located around 15 km from Bengaluru city, a temple holds keys to unlock this theory. Researchers discovered some inscription, specifically a ‘Veera Kallu’ or “Heroic stone”, which is a slab depicting heroic acts of people of that time. This stone dating back to the 890 AD talks about a battle scene, and it reads ‘Bengaluru Yuddha’ or the ‘battle of Bengaluru’
It tells the story of Nagattara, who pledged his allegiance to Ereyappa Arasu, the Ganga ruler at the time. According to the inscription, in the battle of ‘Benguluru’ in 890 AD, Nagattara’s son Buttanapati and adopted Pervonasetti dies.
The Begur hero stone, carvings of battle scenes, and war techniques, prepared by Ereyappa Arasu, says Nagattara, too, died in the battle of Tumbepadi, fought between the dynasties of Gangas and Rashtrakutas. The inscription also mentions 10 localities in Bengaluru, which were villages back then and donated to another chieftain after Nagattara’s demise.
Suresh Moona, a renowned historian in Bengaluru, said that this is one of the most researchbacked theories about the city’s name.
“The theory is that a city called Bengaluru existed as early as 800 AD, but it is not the city we know today. It is claimed that the mother of Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru city, was from old Bengaluru and when he decided to build a new city, he named it after his mother’s birthplace, Bengaluru,” said Moona.
“Once again it is a theory and we think because of the inscriptions it is closer to the truth. Will we ever know where the name comes from? I don’t know. But what is important is that these theories backed by a study of history should be promoted more and even made it to modern folklores, instead of a story about baked beans,” Moona added.