|
 A chieftain of the Vijayanagar Empire, Kempe Gowda in 1537 AD, founded the city of Bangalore. He built four towers in four directions to signify the boundaries of the new city. He named it Benguluru.
Origin of Name
Bangalore was first known as 'Benguluru'. The earliest reference to the name Benguluru was found in a 9th century Ganga inscription on hero stone. This inscription was found in Begur and Benguluru is referred to as a place in which a battle was fought. Most scholars believe that the name has a floral origin and is derived from the tree 'Benga', also known as the Indian Kino.
According to one of the stories associated with it, in the year 1120 AD, the Chola King, Veera Ballalla ruled the Deccan plateau or the South of India. On a hunting trip deep in the forest, he lost his way. Famished and exasperated, after a long search, he met an old lady in the forest who offered him shelter for the night and served him baked beans for dinner. To show his gratitude to this lady for having helped him out, the King constructed a town and named it as 'Benda Kalooru', which means 'Baked Beans'.
The place that was referred to as 'Benguluru' in the Ganga inscription was originally a hamlet and is found even today in a place called Kodigehalli, which is not too far away from Hebbal. Today however, this hamlet is called 'Halebenguluru' or 'Old Bangalore'.
It is believed that when Kempe Gowda built the new capital in the 16th century, he used a more anglicised version of the name Benguluru and called the town Bangalore. Kempe Gowda’s mother and wife both belonged to the township that is known as Halebenguluru today.
|
