Maharashtra has a very rich history. Right from the Satavahanas, Wakatakas, Shilaharas, Yadavas, even up to the Maratha Empire, Maharashtra saw many political changes. During this entire period, many foreign invaders invaded Maharashtra and the local heroes sacrificed their lives to liberate this land from foreign invaders from time to time. During the Peshwa period, the responsibility of defending the whole of India fell on the shoulders of Maharashtra.

This whole history of Maharashtra is often seen in different forms while roaming here!! Sometimes lofty forts, sometimes wonderful caves carved in Sahyadri and sometimes various temples with unique architecture! There are some sculptures carved on the stones that are very different from these but they tell us something interesting about our history. These stones are found in abundance in the western Maharashtra region. These sculptures are called as 'Virgal' in Marathi. In English, they are called 'Hero Stones'.

In order to know about 'Virgal', first, we need to understand the origin of this word. The main concept of Virgala came from Karnataka! In Karnataka, the word 'Kallu' is used to mean 'stone'. Therefore, the word 'Veer-Kallu' got the name 'Virgal' in Maharashtra. 'Veergal' is a carved stone erected in memory of a man who died on the battlefield or in any battle. Hero-Stones found in Maharashtra are characteristic. Some of them are 15-20 feet high and some have only one sculpture. But in general, these are divided into three or four rectangular parts.

In the lowest part, the battlefield is engraved where the hero fell. There may be a battle fought with just swords or the battle of the cavalry. If this hero died while defending the cows, it may also show a group of cows. In the middle part, the Apsaras are often seen taking the fallen hero to heaven. Most of the time in this part, the hero is shown asleep. At the top, you can see the image of the deity worshipped by the Veera. We can various deities being depicted on different hero stones. But since most of the time Lord Shiva is shown, it seems that almost everyone in Maharashtra at that time worshipped Lord Shiva. Sometimes the figures of the moon and the sun are also carved on this sculpture at the top. This means that this hero should be remembered forever. For this the term 'Yavachandra Divakarau' is used which means as long as there are moon and sun in the sky, the fame of this worrier will remain!

Apart from this, inscriptions are also found on some hero stones but there are very few such hero stones in Maharashtra. The topic of the hero stones will be discussed in detail in the following articles. Hero stones are the valuable resources of our history. Efforts should be made to preserve these. Convincing the people of the village where these hero stones are found is the important thing.