Onake Obavva

During the reign of Madakari Nayaka, the city of Chitradurga was besieged by the troops of Hyder Ali (1754-1779).

She used the Onake or pestle to kill the soldiers one by one by hitting them on the head and then quietly moving each corpse without raising the suspicions of the rest of the troops.

Mudda Hanuma returned from lunch and was shocked to see Obavva standing with a blood stained Onake and several of the enemies' dead bodies around her.

[4] Her heroic effort is depicted in a famous song-sequence in the film Nagarahavu, directed by Puttanna Kanagal.

She was played by Ms Neha Gokhale, the younger daughter of veteran actor Vikram Gokhale during Art of Living's Kala Arpan 2023 festival at Bangalore, India in a play called Adnyaat Shalaka directed by Sheetal Talpade which showcases unknown female warriors of India lost to annals of history.