The earliest known record of the Bonalu festival has been found in an inscription dating back to 1516 CE, during the reign of Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevaraya. K. Munirathnam Reddy, Director of Epigraphy at the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), announced that this inscription provides the oldest epigraphical evidence of the popular Telangana folk festival. The record states that Bonalu and related rituals like Rangam, Kunamuggu, and Pattnam existed even before the date on the inscription, proving the festival’s much older origins. The inscription was found at Gobbur, near the Telangana-Karnataka border, and is now kept at the State Archaeology Museum in Hyderabad. Written in Telugu, it is dated Saka 1438 (May 4, 1516 CE). It shows certain taxes on rituals such as Rangam and Bonolu were exempted, and land grants were made to support the festival near Kondapalli. These grants were ordered by Rayasam Kondamarasayya. Bonalu is a Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Mahakali, celebrated mainly in Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and parts of Telangana during Ashada Masam (July-August). Key rituals include Rangam, where a woman enters a trance to act as the goddess’s oracle, sharing messages with devotees. The 2024 Bonalu celebrations at the Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Temple attracted large crowds, with the oracle giving blessings and warnings for the year ahead. This inscription deepens our understanding of the festival's long-standing cultural importance in Telangana.