The Unlikely Warrior : Onake Obavva

Onake Obavva (Kannada: ಒನಕೆ ಓಬವ್ವ, 18th Century) was a Karnataka warrior who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a pestle (Onake)[1] in the kingdom of Chitradurga of Karnataka, India.[2] Her husband was a guard of a watchtower in the rocky fort of Chitradurga.[3] In the state of Karnataka, she is celebrated along with Abbakka Rani, Keladi Chennamma and Kittur Chennamma, as the foremost women warriors and patriots. She belonged to the Holaya (Chalavadi) community.[4] Government of Karnataka has taken up initiative to celebrate November 11 as Onake Obavva Jayanti since 2021.

During the reign of Madakari Nayaka, the city of Chitradurga was besieged by the troops of Hyder Ali (1754-1779). A chance sighting of a man entering the Chitradurga fort through a hole in the rocks led to a plan by Hyder Ali to send his soldiers through that hole. The Guard (Kahale Mudda Hanuma, who was on duty near that hole) had gone home to have his lunch. During his meal he needed some water to drink, so his wife Obavva went to collect water in a pot[3] from a pond which was near the hole in the rocks, halfway up the hill.[5] She noticed the army trying to enter the fort through the hole. 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. Later, the same day, she was found dead either due to shock or having been killed by the enemy soldiers.[1] Though her brave attempt saved the fort this time, Madakari could not resist the attack by Hyder Ali during 1779, when the fort of Chitradurga was lost to Hyder Ali.[6]