Bellary

Bellary ( pronounced ) is a historic city in Bellary District in Karnataka state, India.

Origins of the city's name

There are several legends about how Bellary (ಬಳ್ಳಾರಿ) got its name.

• One of them is that a few devout travelling merchants halting in Bellary, could not find a Shiva Linga for their worship. They then installed a balla (ಬಳ್ಳ) (a measuring cup or seru (ಸೇರು) used to measure grain) upside down as a Shiva Linga and worshiped it. Eventually, that place was turned into a temple dedicated to Balleshwara (ಬಳ್ಳೇಶ್ವರ) or Shiva, which got distorted to Malleshwara (ಮಲ್ಲೇಶ್ವರ), and Bellary derives its name from this temple. This temple can still be found in the Fort area of the city, and an annual festival and fair dedicated to Shiva is conducted at the temple premises even today.

• Another legend is that the city is named after Indra, the king of Gods, who slew a Rakshasa (demon) named Balla who lived nearby. Balla-ari means 'enemy of Balla' (ari – enemy in Sanskrit).
  
  
  • The third legend derives the city's name from the old Kannada word Vallari and Vallapuri.
  
  
  

  History

  
  
  Numerous neolithic archeological sites have been discovered around Bellary, such as the ash mounds at Sanganakallu, Budhihal, Kudithini, Tekkalakote, Hiregudda and Kupgal. The Sanganakallu settlement, spread over an area......

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