Team G Square Karnataka blog 8

 

 Balagondarayanadurgam Fort, Krishnagiri, A Trek nearby Bengaluru

As I was researching on 'Baramahal' or the 'Twelve Forts' built around Krishnagiri during the reign of the Vijayanagara Kings, I stumbled upon the fort of 'Balagondarayanadurgam'/'Balakondarayadurga'. 'Balagondarayanadurgam' is located between the towns of Shoolagiri and Krishnagiri. On a Saturday morning, we decided to trek this hill and explore it. It is a fairly big hill with the Bala Kondarayaswamy Thirukkoil (temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu) at its top. We reached the hill base without any difficulty and found a series of well laid steps up to the hill top. There was a small hut at the base of the hill where we could see the fort remains. An elderly couple lived here and as we conversed, we realized they speak the language of Kannada and hence started inquiring about this place.

Balagondarayanadurgam 

Bala Kondarayaswamy Thirukkoil

Trek Leader

Camouflaged Lizard

 The elderly person started narrating the history of this place and told us an interesting legend which was as follows,"Once upon a time when this place was under attack by the Nizam, the local army was on the verge of defeat. It is believed that sensing this defeat, Lord Vishnu hid himself inside a cave here after transforming into a young boy. When the army of the Nizam came to plunder this temple, they found no murti inside and decided to leave the place without causing any damage or destruction. The Lord has stayed inside the cave ever since, thus the name Bala Kondaraya swamy". Later a murti of Lord Venkataramana was installed here. The ascent was pretty simple and straight forward. Meanwhile a group of people were already climbing the hill. One of them, who seemed very elderly was also carrying a big vessel full of prasadam to the temple at the top. It was a good opportunity for us to lend a helping hand and so we did by sharing the good deed of carrying the prasadam. There is also a small temple dedicated to Lord  Anjaneya on the way to the top. There are many water ponds on the hill of which one is currently being used by the temple folks.

Fort Entrance

Remains of Fort Wall

He Man (Carrying Such Heavy Vessel At this Age to the top)

Sharing is Caring

Finally as we made it to the top of the hill, we could see the remains of fortification here. In the temple, the curtain remained closed as it was time for the daily rituals of the Lord and hence we decided to finish our breakfast, the very yummilicious Bisi Bele Bath along with chips!! In no time we emptied all our packed food. Meanwhile, the Archakaru (temple priest) was ready for the puja. We took the blessings of the Lord and visited the near by cave where the Lord originally resided.  The murti here was small yet very beautiful. There is another big water pond a little away from the temple and down the hill by the side of which is a small shrine dedicated to Lord Vinayaka. There are a few caves nearby this water pond wherein the guards probably took shelter. The descent was uneventful. 

Although not much of the history pertaining to this fort is known, the fort seems to have been built post 16th century by the then feudal king under the declining rule of the Vijayanagara kings. The fort is simple in construction and probably served as a military outpost, which today is in complete shambles.

Lord Anjaneya

Akka Thangi Honda (See the color difference)

Ustav Murti

Bala Kondaraya Swamy

Reflections

Orange Wasp

The temple here is functional only on Saturdays and full moon days, so visits must be planned accordingly. 

StartBlogging

AnonymousDecember 10, 2022 at 7:08 PM

It’s my native sir

 Jagadevi Fort, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu

Our inquisitiveness to explore the 'Baramahal or the '12 forts' only increased with every passing minute and led us towards the fort at Jagadevi. The Jagadevi/Jagadeo/Jagadevu Fort is believed to be the second capital of Baramahal along with Krishnagiri. However whatever information is available on the internet regarding this fort seems to be incomplete. We had read about the fort at Jagadevi being a small one and built by Tippu Sultan which seems to be inaccurate information owing to what we witnessed here. Jagadevi fort is quite considerable and spread across 2 hills with most of its fortification being intact. We were also excited to find 2 inscriptions engraved in Kannada, giving details about the King Raja Raja Sri Jagadevaraya and Jagadevu durgam. Thus making it clear that this fort was built much before Tippu Sultan's reign by King Jagadevaraya.

Morning Scene at Jagadevi Fort

Jagadevi Fort

King Jagadevaraya was a feudal king under the patronage of the Vijayanagara king Venkatadri of Aravidu dynasty. His ruling period can be assigned to 1570 - 1615 C.E and he is said to have brilliantly defended his kingdom against Ibrahim Adil Shah during the war of Penukonda. There are many interesting stories related to this war. Although the Krishnagiri government website mentions about a Hoysala king Jagadevaraya, none of books we have related to the Hoysalas carry any information about the same. A further research about him revealed that he belonged to Channapatna which was also his capital city. He was one of the strongest Palegars of this region and sadly with none of his successors being strong enough to maintain the kingdom, it eventually came under the control of the Wodeyars of Mysore around 1630 C.E. King Jagadevaraya belonged to the Telugu Banajiga sect and even today people belonging to this sect are referred to as Kote Banajigas or Musku Banajigas. Tippu captured this fort from the Wodeyars which was later seized by the British in 1792 who later abandoned the fort. The Hoysalas at one point ruled the entire region of Krishnagiri along with Dharmapuri and other surrounding areas.

The Ascent

Why Fear When I'm Here Appa!

 Lush Green Patch

MId-way View

We were keen on exploring this fort and on the last Sunday we decided to do so. Meanwhile our companion Sanidhya expressed his interest to join in for the trek along with his 2 friends Harshal and Ankitha. We started quite early in the morning with an intention to complete the trek before the weather turned extremely hot. We reached the base of Jagadevi Fort at around 6:30 am and inquired about the route to the fort with a local. We parked our vehicles under the shade of a tree which was quite a blessing, thus beginning our quest to explore the unexplored!

Sri Netrikan Selva Vinayakar (PC Harshal)

The Lord Ganesha

The initial stretch of the climb has rock cut steps carved out recently and leads us to  Sri Netrikan Selva Vinayakar temple. There is a beautiful and unique carving of Lord Ganesha here who is seen with 3 eyes. This is quite rare and reminded us of  Sri Kumbhi Ganapathi of Huliyurdurga. A little further is the Sri Kote Anjaneyaswamy temple. The route hereon turns less conspicuous and interesting. As we entered the third tier of the fort, we got a clear picture of how big the fort is. We sighted fortification spread across the 2 hills at many sites. As we walked around inspecting the area, we found a Kannada inscription on the rock. We rested here for a while trying to decipher the script.

Kannada Inscription of  King Jagadevaraya

Fortification on the Right Hill

Fortification on the Left Hill

Turret

Cacti Flower

Periyamalai in the Background

As we trekked further, we found fortification on both sides of the hill with the left peak dominating. We changed our initial plan of exploring the right peak first and  headed towards the left. The climb was steep and  slippery at a few places. We reached the fort entrance which was in complete shambles. I could relate the scenes from here to the painting of this place from Oriental Scenery (Thomas Daniel and William Daniel) which mentions about two forts, Jagdeo and Warrangur in the same painting, probably having mistaken the fortification on the other peak to be that of Warrangur fort.

Painting of Jagdeo Fort from Oriental Scenery

Breakfast Time

View of Cannon Point

Mahal or the Royal Residence

Water Pond

We climbed up till the cannon point of the fort. However there is no cannon present now. The view from here is magnificent as we could spot the other hill forts of Periyamalai, Thattakal, Kondappanayakempalli, Krishnagiri and many others. We rested for a while at this point and had snacks. After sometime, we continued further on to reach the next higher level of fortification where there was a small natural water pond (Dhone). It was good to see so much water in which a snake seemed lying dead. It was quite a long one accompanied by another little snake. Though it remained still for a while, it swam into the waters as soon as it felt disturbed due to our movement. There were many tadpoles and a few small fishes too. A little ahead of this pond was a ruined structure resembling a palace. Though the walls of the palace remain damaged considerably on three sides, it seemed obvious that this place was used as a residence for the Royal's. We stumbled upon another fort gateway which probably was the entrance to the original route. We spotted a large pond here which had turned almost dry, but surprisingly had ensured that its surroundings remained green. During our descent, we found a second Kannada inscription that clearly mentions about Raja Raja Sri Jagadevaraya and Jagadevu durgam. 

2nd Kannada Inscription of King Jagadevaraya

Inscribed Jagadevu Durgam

Natural Water Pond

As we descended further, we came across a lush green patch which was home to many birds including the very colorful woodpeckers. We spotted many varieties of birds among which were the yellow throated bulbul, green billed malkoha, fly-catcher and other common birds. While descending,  we decided to clean the plastic trash from this place. Though the fort area and its surroundings had very less or literally no plastic, the areas in front of the temples of Sri Anjaneyaswamy and Lord Ganapathi were totally littered with plastic and paper. We collected and carried as much as trash possible. Thus ending our quest of Jagdeo/Jagdevu/Jagadevi. With this quest, we have covered 7 out of the 12 forts that constitute the Baramahal! 

Trash Collected

Thriving Granite Factories

Rampant Granite Quarrying

It was unfortunate to witness the rampant quarrying in the immediate vicinity of Jagadevi fort. This fort does not come under the limits of the ASI and is maintained by the Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department. Some amount of restoration work seems to have been carried out initially, but now is left to the mercy of god.

References:
1. Oriental Scenery (wiki source)
2. Forts of Tamil Nadu Book from Pustaka.co.in
3.  Rayakottai 

Related Posts:
1. Balagondarayanadurgam
2. Ratnagiri Fort, Hosur 
3. 125 Forts of Karnataka  

 Sri Kamala Narayana Swamy Temple, Degaon/Deganve, Belagavi

As we were driving towards Khanapur during one of our trips to the district of Belagavi, we came across a board directing us to Degaon/Deganve. Vaguely recollecting about the presence of a beautiful temple dedicated to 'Sri Kamala Narayana Swamy' here, we stopped by to check it out. Without any hesitance, we took a left turn towards this temple. After traveling for about 2 km, we reached the beautiful temple of Sri Kamala Narayana Swamy. Thanks to the incessant rains, this entire region had turned lush green. Sri Kamala Narayana temple was constructed in 1174 AD by Rani Kamaladevi, wife of the Goa Kadamba chief Shivachitta Permadi.

Sri Kamala Narayana Swamy Temple, Degaon/ Deganve

Sri Lakshmi Narayana

Lakshmi Devi Garbhagriha

Sri Lakshmi Devi

The agrahara of Devagrama, erstwhile name of Deganve was built around the Kamala Narayana temple by queen Kamaladevi. The inscription of 1174 AD found here states the same, while another mentions the name of a sculptor Nageya or Nagayya, who probably was the sculptor in-charge of this temple, thus finding his mention in the inscription. This dwikuta (modified trikuta) temple is dedicated to Sri Kamala Narayana Swamy and Goddess Lakshmi. This is a unique dwikuta temple with a big devakoshtha (niche) in between the two garbhagrihas, housing a beautiful murti of  Sri Lakshmi Narayana and decorated similar to the garbhagrihas. It is without an antarala and opens directly into the Navaranga. The other two garbhagrihas have elaborate antarala, opening into a common navaranga with two mukhamantapas facing them.

Sri Kamala Narayana Garbhagriha

Beautiful Central Floral Decorated Ceiling

A Close up

Pillared Alley

Side View of Sri Kamala Narayana Swamy Temple

This temple is considered to be one of the finest surviving temples built by the Goa Kadamba dynasty. The door frames of the garbhagrihas and the northern Mukhamantapa are heavily decked with floral carvings. The ceilings of the Navaranga are deep and adorned with floral pendants in high relief. The Shikharas are non-existent and is believed to be of Kadamba Nagara style. Another unique feature of this temple is the presence of Kakshasana (bench) at the low relief walls of the mukhamantapas. The themes of Krishnaleela, Dashavatara, Madanikas and a few erotic scenes are engraved on the walls of the Kakshasana. 

ExploreChurches

Krishnaleela and Vishnu Avataras 

Sri Krishnaleela

Naga - Nagini Stone

Directions to Degaon: It is located about 15 km from Kittur, towards Khanapur.

References: Karnataka Gazetteer 

Related Posts:

1.      Top 100 Lesser Known Temples of Karnataka

2.      Tambadi Surla Temple, Goa

3.      Sri Chennakeshava Temple, Tandaga

ExploreChurches

Reply

Aravind GJSeptember 23, 2018 at 11:39 AM

Good description of the place

Reply

ArtiSeptember 24, 2018 at 2:14 PM

Such wonderful pictures and description. Love the intricate carvings on the pillars and walls!

Reply

R Niranjan DasSeptember 30, 2018 at 6:17 PM

Glad to know about this temple. Awesome carvings.

 Sri Eshwara Temple, Anekonda, Davangere

Sri Eshwara Temple, Anekonda

'Anekonda', a suburb of Davangere town located off the Davangere-Jagalur highway is home to the beautiful Sri Eshwara Temple built during the 11th century. Anekonda gets its name due to the army of elephants  being tied here when Bethuru was the capital city of Chalukyas. This town was ruled by various dynasties starting from the Gangas, the Cholas, Chalukyas, Uchchangi Pandyas and the Hoysalas. This temple is believed to have been built by the Hoysalas though the style seems inclined more towards the Chalukyan architecture. The temple finds its mention in the 12th century Pandya and 13th century Hoysala inscriptions. The pillars here bear the trademark of Hoysala architecture of being stellar in plan.

Side View of Sri Eshwara Temple, Anekonda

Miniature Shikaras and Turrets

Closer Look of Miniature Shikara

The temple has been carefully renovated taking care to retain the old structure wherever possible. This temple was built on a  raised platform. Originally a dwikuta temple as per initial plan, it  has now been converted into a trikuta temple as one of its mukhamandapa has been transformed into a garbhagriha during renovation. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and the main garbhagriha houses a Shiva linga, while the other garbhagriha remains empty. The central ceiling of its Navaranga has one of the most exquisitely carved Gajasurasamhara flanked by Lords Vishnu and Brahma. In the panel below are 7 Goblins associated with Lord Shiva who are shown playing music for the Lord's dance. In the panel above are 12 Adityas, the sons of Goddess Aditi. The other eight Ankanas of the Navaranga have shallow lotuses with their pendants bearing the carvings of their respective Dikpalas.

Lord Shiva

The Grand Central Ceiling

Lord Gajasurasamhara along with Lords Brahma and Vishnu, 7 Goblins and 12 Adityas

Dancing Mohini (Note the Scorpion)

Rati - Manmatha

Goddess Saraswathi

Male Dancer in Vaishnava Sthanaka Pose

A 32 Angled stellar Pillar

 Right in front of this temple is a small mandapa dedicated to Lord Nandi. The front porch on both sides have 5 friezes with sculptured railing at the top. In the top panels are various figures such as those of the Dwarapalakas, dancing Ganesha, rishis, Rati-Manmatha, goblins and other erotic figures. The ceiling of the eastern mukhamandapa has carving of Lord Indira riding on the elephant Airavata at the center accompanied by heavenly musicians.

Ceiling of Mukhamandapa

Front Porch Carvings

References:

1. ARASI - 1932

Related:
1. Top 100 Lesser Known Temples of Karnataka
2. Sri Harihareshwara Temple, Harihara 
3. Sri Kalleshwara Temple, Bagali
4. Kanakuppa fort  

 Night Trek to Doddabetta, The Big Hill Quest

The past weekend, we, in collaboration with RTC Bengaluru organized a night trek to 'Doddabetta' or 'The Big Hill' near Krishnagiri. Our plan was to begin the trek on Saturday evening to watch the early morning sunrise. We had planned to reach the water spring present mid-way which would be our first resting point. Due to the presence of a natural water spring, this location was also to be utilized for dinner preparations so we could proceed further to reach the peak top and pitch our tents for the night, only to wake up to a beautiful sunrise. We numbered 20 in total with Sunil leading as our trek guide.

Periyamalai - The Big Hill

One group who were supposed to join us had booked for a self driven Tata Hexa with Drivezy which  unfortunately was carelessly cancelled by Drivezy without any prior notice. The group then had to book freshly for an alternate vehicle using Ola outstation. This entire process took much time and the group was delayed by more than an hour. After waiting for them patiently for close to an hour and a half, they finally arrived and we started driving towards our destination. After driving for sometime, we received a message about another car having a flat tyre and had stopped by a mechanic for repair. We waited for them at Krishnagiri toll who arrived after a good 45 minutes. We realized that in this process, we were already delayed for the trek easily by more than 2 hours! While we took a small break just ahead the toll, Piyal rode ahead of us on his bike and lost the route. We helped him back track to our location and driving together hereon, we reached the hill base of Periyamalai around 11:30 pm which was our original target time to reach the hill peak! Gosh we were late!

Star Lit Night

After the formalities of distributing equipment for camping and cooking to all the participants, Sunil helped everyone pack their bags right after which we began the trek. By 12:45 am, we reached the water spring and decided to halt for dinner preparations. The menu for the night's dinner was a cup of hot noodles and some tangy Puliyogare (tamarind rice)! With combined efforts from all in the team, the preparations were complete and dinner was served in the background of music. Some even danced to the tunes of music. With much energy restored, we continued our trek further and after halting for a minute or two at regular intervals, we managed to reach the peak by 3:50 am. It was a good 4 hour trek including an hour for dinner preparation time and multiple breaks. While Sunil helped the others pitch their tents, Dr.Anand, Karthik, Sameer, Nilesh, Me, Adhi and Sunil wished to sleep in the open. The weather was favoring as it was less breezy and not very cold as expected.

Pitching the Tents

Peacefully Sleeping

Morning Scenes

While everyone were busy settling into their tents, I and Karthik tried our skills at photographing the wonderful night sky. Though I managed to click a few pictures, I was less happy with its outcome and realised I needed more practice to perfect the art of capturing the stars. Gazing at the star studded sky was just an out of this world experience! All were asleep in sometime except for Sameer and Nilesh. I woke up early to catch the sunrise and was accompanied by Dr.Anand and Karthik. We took our positions to capture the sunrise and patiently waited making sure not to miss even a glimpse of its gorgeousness! Meanwhile Maneesh and Vishwa woke up and the rest were deeply in sleep. We witnessed the gorgeous sunrise and a few whose tents were pitched exactly facing the sunrise caught a glimpse of it from inside. As everybody woke up one after the other, we packed our tents and all the luggage and started our descent. We reached the base of the hill around 9:45am. While a few who had bookings with Ola decided to leave the place without having breakfast, the rest traveled with us to our usual breakfast point at Krishnagiri. After a relaxed breakfast and greetings, all of us headed back to Bengaluru. It was truly an amazing trek experience for all of us! Kudos to the team for completing the trek. 

Here He comes

Gorgeous Sunrise

The Enlightened One

Love is in the Air

Ek Selfie Tho Banti Hey

Yes, We did it in Style!

Plumeria Alley - On The Rocks!

Trek Team:

1. Me, Sunil and Adhi in our Xylo

2. Vishwa and Family had car pooled with us

3. Dr. Anand in his Ertiga

4. Nilesh and Sameer had car pooled with Dr. Anand

5. Maneesh and Family in their KUV

6. Mayank and Friends had taken Ola outstation Innova 

7. Karthikeyan in his Yamaha R15

8. Piyal in his Red RE Bullet 350cc

Related Posts: 
1. Periyamalai Trek Video
2. Channagiri Night Trek with RTC
3. RTC Expedition to Neelakurinji Blooming at Kodaikanal

 Ankushagiri – A Forgotten Fort

While researching on the ‘Baramahal’ (erstwhile name of Krishnagiri), I stumbled upon the Fort at 'Ankushagiri' situated close to Shoolagiri of Tamil Nadu. Last Saturday, we went ahead to check out this place. Surprisingly no information about this place seemed to be available either on the net or in the books. Though a book titled ‘Forts of Tamil Nadu’ mentions about this fort, not much information is revealed apart from its location. Initially, I thought of this fort as one amongst the 12 forts constituting the ‘Baramahal’, but while searching for more details about this place, I came across a book titled ‘The East India Gazetteer’ which gave detailed information about the ‘Barramahal/Baramahal’ (more about them in other posts) and Ankushagiri was clearly not a part of it.

Ankushagiri Hill Fort

Since we were familiar with the location of this fort, reaching here was quite easy and being located close to Bengaluru, we planned to reach here in the early hours of the day to avoid the harsh sun. This part in general is prone to harsher summer than Bengaluru. But thanks to the overnight showers, the weather in the morning was cool and the drive through the last stretch of the road to Ankushagiri from the National Highway was simply awesome. We enjoyed the drive stopping by at a few places for photo ops. We finally reached the base of the temple where we also found a good place to park our vehicle. We at first visited the ‘Sri Thimmaraya Swamy’ temple located at the base of this hill. This temple is very popular among the locals and many from Bengaluru and its surrounding areas also visit here regularly. There was a decent crowd for a Saturday morning at the temple and after offering prayers to the Lord and relishing the prasadam served, we decided to head further to explore the hill fort.

Sri Thimmaraya Swamy Temple - Ankushagiri

Almost There

Learning to Blend With Nature

Finding the path to the fort was easy and in a short span of time we reached a place where two big temples were seen in a ruined state. Though unsure about the names of these temples, a vague guess would be that it may have been dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort owing to the presence of Shaiva dwarapalas. What a pity it is to witness such grand temples in a ruined state. After spending some time investigating the temples for the presence of any inscriptions and murtis, we moved ahead. The climb was easy and the route was clear. We crossed two layers of fortification (mostly destroyed), giving us an indication of what a mighty fort it was at once. Then we reached a plateau region from where the walk was simple up to the peak of the hill.

Ruined Temples

Remains of Fortifications

Shaiva Dwarapalas

There was a structure, probably a temple in complete shambles. We investigated the ruins but failed to figure out who the temple was dedicated to.  We found a spot under shade to rest for a while and finished all the eatables we had carried along. Here on we sighted a place which seemed like the remnants of a Palace or Mahal.  It must have been a really grand structure and was built close to a water pond. There are many water ponds here on the plateau which served as life lines for the army stationed here. While descending, we found ruins of another temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his forms. Only the pillars of the Garbhagriha (sanctum) remain with a Garuda Khamba (Garuda pillar) fallen in front of it carrying carvings of Lords Garuda and Anjaneya and Sanka- Chakra. Thus we could recognize that this temple was dedicated to Lord Vishnu. 

Million Legs

Not Your Cup of Tea

Please Don't Bother Me!

Ruins of the Temple

Fallen But Not Lost

As we did not find any inscriptions here, it is very difficult to state the period in which this fort was built. It was probably built in the 16^th century under the patronage of Vijayanagara kings as the brick work here resembled that adopted by the Vijayanagara kingdom. The descent was uneventful and we headed to explore the other temples scattered at the hill base of which one was dedicated to Lord Anjaneya and the other to Lord Venkateshwara. After this, we decided to stop by and check out the famous ‘Podi Idli’ at Murugan Idli shop which is a restaurant not to be missed. The Idlies were really tasty and a good value for money though a bit pricey. Only the filter coffee was not up to the mark! Overall another fort in the region of Krishnagiri was explored by us!!

One of The Many Water Ponds Here

Entrance to the Palace

Exploring the Ruins

Ruins of Palace or Mahal

Once a Grand Temple

Lord Garuda

Sri Venkataramana Swamy Temple

Tasty Podi Idlis at Murugan Idli Shop

Lord Anjaneya Carved on the Pillar

History of Ankushagiri Fort: This fort was built by King Ankusha Raya after whom the place is named. King Ankusha Raya was the successor of King Jagadeva Raya of Channapatna. Being a weak king, Ankusha Raya started to lose control over the area expanded by king Jagadeva Raya. He was defeated by Masti Palegar (chieftain of Masti)  Chokka Gauda. Later when the town of Masti was captured by Maratha king Venkoji (half-brother of Shivaji Maharaja), Chokka Gauda shifted to Ankushagiri, making it their capital. The Marathas then became successful in capturing Ankushagiri, although a few years later it was recaptured by Chokka Gauda with the help of the Magadi Nadaprabhus. After four months of siege in 1766-1767, Ankushagiri fell into the hands of Hyder Ali and the Palegar ruling Ankushagiri escaped to Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh) which was under the Marathas. However, Ankushagiri was returned to the Masti Palegars (then called Ankushagiri Palegars) after a peace treaty between Hyder Ali and the Peshwa. Later the Palegars joined hands with the British under Colonel Smith. On Colonel Smith's withdrawal, Hyder re-attacked this place and captured it. In 1799 after Tippu's death, this place came under the British rule and was added to the state of Madras. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Ankushagiri migrated to the village of Bastala-palli, otherwise known as Ankushagiri Kottur (new town). 

Reference:
1. Madras District Gazetteer - Salem Vol I - Part -2 
2. The Imperial Gazetteer of India
 Related Posts:
1. Balagondarayanadurgam
2. Ratnagiri
3. Krishnagiri 

 Maharajakadai - The Mighty Hill Fort Near Krishnagiri

Our hunt for the 12 forts of Baramahal led us to 'Maharajakadai', situated about 10 km from Krishnagiri towards the border of Andhra Pradesh. This place was ruled by the Vijayanagara Kings until their downfall and later fell into the hands of Jagadevaraya, one of the strongest Palegars who had his capital in Channapatna of Ramanagara district. Later this place came under the rule of the Nawabs of Cuddapah, then was ruled by Shivaji, after which it was captured by Hyder Ali and brought under the state of Mysore. Finally after the death of Tippu, the British occupied the entire region. As per the Chola inscriptions found here, Maharajakadai was called as "Arsar Nilai" meaning the "King's Market". It was only during the rule of Shivaji Maharaja that this place was named as Maharajakadai.

Pre-historic Painting

Though some information about this hill-fort was available, we were unsure of it's size. The Sri Anjaneyar Temple on the hill is quite popular among the locals, attracting many  visitors on  the day of Amavase (no moon day). The visitors on the other days are mostly local grazers who come here with their cattle for grazing purposes. Our regular visits to Krishnagiri and its environs this year only made it easier for us to reach the village. It was only after reaching here that we realised this hill is massive and weren't prepared for this long a trek! Our friend Sunil had accompanied us for this trek and as suggested by him that we carry breakfast, so we did. We actually had to wait for the breakfast to be ready as it was an early hour of the day, but in no case would we go ahead without it! We waited patiently for the food to be ready and finally got the parcel. Thanks to Sunil, we surely would have starved otherwise owing to the length of trek!

The Beginning of the Trek

Lord Anjaneya

The hill on which this fort is situated is called "Angana Malai". At the base of this hill is a temple dedicated to Lord Muneshwara Swamy and upon inquiring with the priest about the directions to the fort, he straightly replied in the negative saying the trek is not possible by us as it was a forested area and to top it, we were seen with two young kids! Little did they know that we weren't new to such an adventure and would take the risk to reach the peak! Their behavior was justified as they wanted us to be safe. As we got ready to start the trek with not much information regarding its route, one elderly man who takes charge of the parking here helped us with the start point of the trek and also volunteered to guide us to the start point on request. He told us to follow the directions marked thereon. One hard rule we follow religiously while trekking is to find and follow the existing trail and not create any new routes until its really necessary! Thus began our trek to the mighty fort of Maharajakadai.

Maharajakadai Fort Wall

The Climb

The site of Maharajakadai is declared under the Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department as a prehistoric site. Many prehistoric artefacts have been found here. During our trek, we were also able to spot a prehistoric rock-painting, thus confirming this to be a prehistoric site. We surely wish to revisit this place to explore further on these lines and find out other prehistoric evidences. Further into our trek, we found a cave that seemed perfect for finding more paintings but after exploring the cave, we found nothing. We moved ahead only to be welcomed by the first tier of the fort. From here, we spotted railings high atop the hill which made our trek more interesting. A little further we were greeted by a small murti of  Lord Anjaneya and after taking his blessings we continued our trek.

Colorful Climb

The trek turns difficult hereon and one needs to ensure the directions are carefully followed. We reached the second tier of the fort and much of the fortification here was pretty much intact. We were able to see the peak of this hill from here. It was a 'so near, yet so far' kind of a situation! In no time we reached the next tier and then we were on the top of this hill, close to reaching the Lord Rama temple situated at its summit. As we observed the surroundings from here, we realised there is more to explore and moved towards the area carrying the fort ruins. One of it was the Mahal as the locals call or the palace, where we also decided to take some rest and have the breakfast we carried. Two significant features of hill forts are the presence of water harvesting structures and granaries, required to help them overcome adversities and wartime.

Lord Rama and His Abode

Lords Rama, Lakshmana, Goddess Sita and Lord Anjaneya

Ruined Building

Fortification

Mahal and Granaries

Our next task was to find the huge carving of Lord Anjaneya as per the details shared by the person who guided us with the route. It was supposedly situated close to the Lord Rama temple. We thus back tracked to finally find the ruined gateway of the fort and as per the usual practice, Lord Anjaneya swamy was carved in the premises of the gateway as the mighty guardian and protector of the fort. We offered our prayers to him and looked around for the presence of other ruins. It was now time for our descent as we had a long way to reach the base. It took us a good one and a half hours to descend, thus ending another day of fort quest!

Fort Gateway

Nature Finds its Own Way When Left Alone

Lord Anjaneya Swamy

References:
1."Hill Forts of Tamil Nadu"- A book written by Vittal Rao
2. East Indian Gazetteer

Related Posts:
1. Krishnagiri Fort
2. Periyamalai/Gaganagiri Fort
3. 125 Forts in Karnataka 

 Rayakottai Fort

‘Rayakottai’ or the ‘King’s Fort’ is one amongst the popular fort treks near Bengaluru at a distance of around 100 km. One Sunday we decided to check out this fort and our journey to this place was quite uneventful. We reached the base of the hill fort and after enquiring about the route, we proceeded further. Steps are laid until the top and it’s a pretty straight forward climb. In no time we reached the first gateway of the fort. This arched gateway seems to have been renovated during the reign of Tippu Sultan as we can find a similar pattern for the gateway at Nandi hills. The fort was initially built by Jagadeva Raya, a Palegara of Channapatna town in Ramanagara district, thus the name Raya Kottai. A common misconception however is that this fort was built by Tippu Sultan. 

Bird's eye View of Rayakottai Town

Monsoon Clouds

Way Up to the Rayakottai Fort

Enter The Dragon (Rayakottai Fort Entrance)

  Jagadeva Raya had control over the entire regions of Hosur, Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu. He served as a vassal king under the Vijayanagaras and also won the battle of Penukonda for them. Rayakottai was a strategic fortress connecting Mysore to the Baramahal. Post Jagadeva Raya, none of the Kings were strong enough to hold the entire territory and hence started to lose their territories to Hyder Ali. Later, Major Gowdie under Lord Cornwallis captured the Fort from Tippu Sultan in the year 1791-92. Hereon, they marched towards Srirangapatna and killed Tippu in 1799. Rayakottai then was held by the East India Company until independence. The East India Company made a few additions to the fort, which remained popular among Military Pensioners.  Ruins of buildings constructed by the British can still be seen here. There are many water tanks built here for providing water for the people. At one such big water pond, we found a carving of Lord Shiva in the form of a Linga along with Lords Nandi and Ganesha. The carvings are very much similar to the ones present at Krishnagiri fort; probably indicating that this fort existed even before the reign of Jagadeva Raya and may have been originally built during Lord Krishnadeva Raya’s rule. 

Rayakottai Fort Entrance

Fort Wall

Ruins Spread Across

Young Trekker

One of Many Water Sources Here

Hidden Treasure

House With A View

British Bungalow

Ruined Beauty

 Interestingly, on our way back to Bengaluru we also found a carving of King Krishnadeva Raya accompanied by his two queens offering prayers to Lord Shiva. There is no evidence for the presence of any temple in the fort premises.  However, there are chances that the same was destroyed during Hyder/ Tippu’s period. There exists a big cave Ashram used during 19^th century saint, maintained in good condition. This gives us an indication of things that have occurred here. Overall, Rayakottai is a lovely fort to explore and preferably best when visited during early hours of the day to avoid sun’s heat. It is also better to carry along some snacks and lots of water to stay hydrated. Today, Rayakottai is a small sleepy village fairly well connected with Bengaluru by roads and rail.  

Lords Shiva, Ganesha And Nandi

Fresh Sweet Water Pond

Ashram

Lord Anjaneya

Trichodes alvearius (bee hive Beetle)

Monkey Puzzle Butterfly (Rathinda amor)

Delicate

 Related Posts:

1. Krishnagiri Fort 

2. Jagadevi Fort

3. Maharajakadai Fort 

 Achchaludurga – Sri Kempegowda’s Military Outpost

‘Achchalu Betta’ or ‘Achchaludurga’ is a lesser known fort near Ramanagara, located off the Ramanagara – Kanakapura highway. This hill is believed to have been fortified by Sri Kempegowda II with the purpose of serving as a military outpost for stationing of soldiers and tying of horses. On a holiday during a week day, we decided to visit here and check out this place. Reaching this place was quite easy and upon inquiry about the fort, most people advised us not to venture here with kids. Not many people visit here as it falls under the limits of the forest department. However, later a local gave us directions to the hill.  And hereon we began to explore the hill.

Achchaludurga Fortress

Rock Cut Steps

Achchaludurga Entrance

 On the basis of the received information, we went ahead and reached the forest area from where we had to make a right turn to continue on the trek route.  But we lost our way and failed to track the correct route to the top. There were farms close by and the locals whom we met in the farms for inquiry also advised us not to venture here as they saw we were accompanied by kids. But since we insisted that we were geared up to complete the trek, they finally gave up and directed us to the trek route. We proceeded further with a lot of enthusiasm only to realize that we were not on the right track again! All our efforts in tracking the right route turned futile. Many a times we missed the route and tried different ones but in vain.  Finally a shepherd came to our rescue and showed us the right direction. Here on, there was no looking back! We reached the fort gateway in no time. We spent some time near the gateway looking for the presence of any carving of the guardian of the fort, Lord Anjaneya but found none. However, we were not ready to accept that the fort premises were devoid of any image or carving of Lord Anjaneya.  We decided to move on and explore further. 

Enter The Dragon

Fort-walls

Shri Bommalingeshwara Temple

Achchalu Forest

A little further from the gateway is a water pond and a small cave shrine believed to be dedicated to Sri Bommalingaeshwara. Most of the fortification here remains destroyed. We were able to see the lovely rock cut steps leading to the hill- top. There are footprints of horses belonging to Sri Kempegowda on these rocks cut steps. On the top, there is a big water tank which sadly today is in a state of despair and some recent structures, probably built by the Forest Department. One can get a bird’s eye view of Ramanagara and the famous Sholay hills / Ramagiri hills. We could spot a few Egyptian vultures flying around this place. 

Kite in the Flight

The Climb

At the Peak

 Horseshoe Imprint

While descending, Amrutha spotted an arrow painted on a rock near the gateway directing us to the other side of the gateway. We decided to go ahead and explore it. We reached a small cave and found a beautiful carving of Lord Kote Anjaneya. We were very pleased to see our beloved friend / trek partner! By experience, we have learned that wherever a fort exists, its protector also exists!  Quite satisfied after seeing the Lord, we descended quickly and realized that most of whom we had inquired for directions initially had only misled us, except for the first person and the good shepherd. Thus, another fort exploration concluded with destiny being on our side. The entire setting of the area is magnificent  though it seemed risky to venture alone during the early morning and late evening hours as spotting of leopards, bears, wild boars, porcupines, and monitor lizards is  common here.  

Anjaneya Swamy Cave

Lord Kote Anjaneya

Achalu Betta/ Achchalu Betta

 Related Posts:
1. Forts of Karnataka
2. Huliyurdurga
3. Bhairavadurga

 Sri Siddarameshwara Temple, Neeralgi, Haveri

‘Neeralgi’ or ’Niralagi’ is situated about 20 km from the town of Hubballi and is located off the Bengaluru – Pune National Highway. During my recent visit to Hubballi for a wedding, I managed to take a sneak peek of this temple along with a few of my friends. This beautiful temple is located outside the village of Neeralgi and from the outset seems to have been built during the later Kalyana Chalukya period apart from some elements added by the Hoysalas. An inscription found here states that this place was initially known as ‘Nerulage’ and also goes on to record the construction of the Mallinath Jinalaya along with the land grant made by Malla Gavunda (Nadaprabhu of Belahuge, present day’s Belavige). However, no basadi remains here now except for a few ruins spread across the village with the locals also confirming that there are no Jains living there as of today. The inscription was found in the premises of the old fort area and sadly nothing much of the fort survives today.  Thus one can easily assume that it was destroyed during the times of war or by the invaders. But the whereabouts of the Jain temple and its inhabitants still remains a mystery.

Sri Siddarameshwara Temple, Neeralgi

Sri Siddarameshwara Temple, Niralagi

 Also surprisingly, no inscription related to the construction of the Sri Siddarameshwara temple has been found till date. But on the basis of its style of construction, it can be assigned to the 12^th century Kalyana Chalukya period. The inscription belonging to a much later period on a pillar of the Navaranga of the temple speaks about the restoration work of this temple carried out by Yakshadeva of Huligere. The temple comprises of a garbhagriha, an antarala and a navaranga with two mukhamantapas, of which the eastern mukhamantapa has collapsed. The garbhagriha houses a Shiva Linga along with the guardian Lord Nandi in the antarala. There are 2 devakosthas/niches on either side of the antarala, one housing a murti of the Saptamatrikas (the seven mother-goddesses) and the other a murti of Lord Vishnu (which doesn’t seem like the original). There is a beautiful makara torana in front of the antarala built in classical Chalukyan style; sadly which has been covered by a modern day photo. Although we were unable to witness the carvings on the Kapota portion, the locals informed us about the presence of images of Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Inscription on the Pillar regarding Restoration of the Temple

Lord Shiva and The Makara Torana

Rati, Manmatha and  Nandi along with Attendants(both sides) as Dwarapalas

 A heavily decked Dravidian Shikara crowns the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) which is attached to a beautiful vestibule. The keertimukha carved on the vestibule/sukanasi is vibrant and elaborately carved. What’s more interesting is the presence of Lord Vishnu’s Dashavatara on it.  This may have been a later addition when the temple was under the Hoysala rule. The Shikara has a unique pattern for karna kutas which are circular shape with grooves on its circumference, similar to a mechanical gear system unlike the commonly seen square/rectangular ones. Why it was carved so and what it really represents would be interesting to decipher or was it merely an architectural element added to enhance the beauty of the temple?

Shikara

Mechanical Gear System Arrangement

Karna Kutas on the Shikara

Keertimukha of Vestibule with Dasavatara Carved on it

The external walls have beautiful carvings of miniature shikaras and decorative pillars. There are three murtis inside the temple complex, of which one is quite interesting and rare to find. Though at the first look, the murti resembles that of Lord Dhanvantari and Vyasa Muni, a closer observation and further examination reveals more. However, the Dharwad Gazetteer mentions about the presence of a beautiful murti of Lord Bhairava in a seated posture in this temple, which helped us in identifying  the real identity of this murti. It can be confirmed that he murti is of Lord ‘Hariharapitamaha’ or Lord ‘Dattatreya’ who is a composite form of the Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Overall, it is a beautiful temple with many hidden mysteries waiting to be unravelled!

Lord Hariharapitamaha

Dravidian Shikara

Sekhari Shikara

Lord Varuna and his consort Carved on Makara Pranala

Hero stone

 References:

Discover more

Explore History

Visit Dig Sites

Browse Art Prints

1.     Dharwad District Gazetteer – Karnataka State Government

2.    South Indian Inscriptions Vol. 18 – ASI

   Related Posts
  1. Sri Kalleshwara Temple, Angur 
  2. Sri Banashankari Temple, Amargol
  3. Top 50 lesser known must visit temples of Karnataka

 Thattakaldurgam – Vanagiridurgam Part -1

As per records with regards to the Baramahal or the 12 forts built in Krishnagiri district, one of them was the 'Thattakaldurgam' or the 'Thattakal' fort. As not much information was available (including its location), finding this fort was a real challenge.  We finally managed to get some reference to this fort and its location. On a Sunday, we, accompanied by one of our friends headed towards exploring the fort. After enquiring at a few places, we reached the village of Thattakal. The locals informed us that not many visit this fort; and the 2 routes leading to the fort are equally difficult to trek. Now, trekking here with kids was our next challenge and after looking at the massive hill, we felt it was next to impossible! We then tried to find a guide who knew this place well and would take us around the hill. But sadly none agreed. One person even confessed that reaching the hill top was a tedious task for them too and hardly anybody ventures. However, we took the details of the route and decided to explore it on our own.

Thattakaldurgam Fort

Little did we expect that this would turn out to be one hell of a trek! While there are many reasons for why this trek is a difficult one without being accompanied by a guide, the most important is the absence of a proper trail and much of the trek is through thorny shrub vegetation. With whatever information we gathered, we began our trek. Locating the starting point of the trek itself became a major challenge. We finally zeroed in on a point that seemed like the best one to begin. We kept following the track and reached a big boulder, which was one point that the locals had told us to keep in mind as the route from here takes a path from behind this boulder. We did find the trail as informed and following it, we reached the place from where the thorny shrub vegetation began. 

Vanagiridurgam

In Search of the  Hidden Path

The Never Ending Trails

Young Trekker Leading The Way

We took a short break here and after a while, I went in search of any traces of the route hereon. I went ahead and found the presence of two trails. While one was a straight path and led us to the portion of the final stretch of the hill (which was quite steep and this we only realized after climbing it half way), the other went through deep forests. Obviously, we preferred the hill route as visibility was high and the route seemed shorter.  I hurried back to my trek partners to take their suggestion about the route to proceed and finally in unison, we agreed to go by the hill route. Thus began our misadventure, and as we reached another big boulder walking through the thorny vegetation, we realised that a short climb from here would lead us to the fort, although unsure about this being the correct route. However, we started to climb the boulder which was almost a 70-degree inclined slope. It was only after we ascended cautiously half way of this extremely steep portion that we concluded it would be stupid of us to even think of climbing further as the terrain only turned steeper. With two young ones, venturing further was risky. We were five of us in total (three trekking independently plus one carrying the youngest partner) and each one was at different levels of ascent. It was our friend who was ahead and was almost nearing the hill-top. As she climbed, she realised that it was impossible to cross the  further portion in order to reach the fort and all of us would get stuck if we proceeded. We immediately decided to withdraw our trek and slowly started our descent on the steep hill.  We had to be extremely cautious and watch every step as any wrong step could lead to a  mishap. With nobody around except us, it was indeed a wise decision to retreat. Looking back at that portion of the steep hill, it was hard to believe that we had actually even tried climbing it!

The Impregnable Fort of Thattakaldurgam

This post is also our 350th one and we are excited to put forth this adventurous place!

 The Impregnable Fort of Thattakaldurgam – Vanagiridurgam Part 2

After returning to the place from where there was deviation to two routes, we all rested for some time. Meanwhile, we decided to call off the trek. However, I wanted to continue and check on the other forest route, so we could complete the trek next time. While my other partners rested, I followed the forest route and was confused more as every now and then, other routes popped up!  I took an initiative to check every route in order to ascertain the right one and reached a point from where the fort was visible and route was clear! I was sure of completing this trek on our next visit. I decided to go back as I was pretty sure about this being the right route. Somehow, while coming descending I missed a turn and went ahead finally getting down on the opposite side of the place where my partners were resting. I immediately made a call to my wife and informed them to start their descent and reach the starting point of trek.  In the meantime, I walked towards our vehicle. As it was quite long since I made the call and there were no signs of them, I decided to wait for them at the start point of the trek. Time was ticking but they had not yet reached. I got a call from my wife saying there had missed the route and will take some time to reach as they were exploring around for the correct route. As I waited, they finally managed to reach the starting point. Oh yes! It was one hell of an experience and one after a long time of this sort! In a few Weeks times, we had organized a trek cum drive from RTC to Thattakaldurgam. This time we were 8 adults plus 2 kids and were bent upon completing the trek to this hill-fort successfully! We knew beforehand that the trek was definitely going to be of a difficult level and the forest route was surrounded with thorny vegetation. However, we ensured to keep track of the right route this time.We halted for breakfast at our regular hotel in Krishnagiri and also packed some for later as we knew the trek was going to be long. We started the trek around 8am in the morning.  The weather then was perfect to climb, although it turned hot as noon approached. 

Introduction and Discussion about the Previous Trek to this Fort

 After a brief introduction and discussion on the session, we started our trek and reached the point from where we had missed our route during our last visit. Here on, we proceeded in the forest route. As we moved forward, the hill of Periyamalai was visible and looked great. The route to the top is clearly marked from mid-way of the trek. I still wonder why someone would mark the route from mid-way onwards rather than from the start point of the trek. However, our heartfelt thanks go to the person who marked along the route. The trail is tricky as there are numerous routes in between that intersect with the main trail. Hence, keeping order of the track is very important. We took regular breaks for drinking water and keeping ourselves from dehydration. Finally after trekking for almost an hour and a half, we reached the first gateway of Thattakaldurgam!

First Look of The Fort

Notorious Two

Break Time Discussion

In the Jungle

The Young Trekker

This part of the climb was quite tricky and a bit slippery. Here it was! We were entering the impregnable Fort of Thattakaldurgam, which stands tall as a perfect example of Vanagiridurgam (forest hill fort). The feeling was just wow! It is a wonderful fort and worth the climb! It was really good to witness that much of the fortification up here was intact, which would surely give us an idea about the fort architecture that prevailed here. Although not much about the history of this fort is documented and it is very difficult to ascertain who built the fort, the architectural features of this fort can be easily assigned to 15^th-16^th century and in all probability, built by the Vijayanagara Kings or their feudatories. 

Probably the Main Gateway

The Fortress of Thattakal

The First Gateway

The Top most Gateway

 As we entered the gateway, we found another gateway on the left, pretty much built in Vijayanagara style. A little further is a big and beautiful carving of Lord Kote Anjaneya Swamy on the fort wall, carved on the lines of the Fort styles of the Baramahal. Here on, many remnants of various buildings and palaces are scattered across the terrain. There is also a small temple dedicated to Lord Rama. We found a good spot under shade to rest and munch on the food we had carried, after which we spent some time exploring the ruins of the palaces around.  Our descent was quite easy without any issue. Thus another day and another adventure accomplished! However, this trek was definitely a difficult one and one that will always remain closer to our hearts! 

Lord Shri Rama with Sita, Laskhmana and Hanuman

Brick Temple Dedicated to Lord Rama

Kote Veeranjaneya Swamy

Remains of the Mahal/ Palace

Water Storage Structure

The Climb

Thattakaldurgam

At the Peak

The Impregnable Fort of Thattakal

The Gang

Related Posts:
1. Rayakottai fort 
2. Ratnagiri fort
3. Periyamalai Fort 

 Udedurgam Fort, Krishnagiri - History with Mystery

'Ooria-Durgam' is one of the 12 forts that constituted the 'Baramahal' (the earlier name of Krishnagiri). Locating this place with the name of 'Ooria-Durgam' was quite a difficult task for us as the Google search engine failed to show any results for the same. However, I came across an article that mentioned that Ooria-Durgam was the erstwhile name of Hudedurgam, and is today being called as Udedurgam. Udedurgam is a nondescript village near Kelamangala and we reached this place without much difficulty. The fortification on the hill was quite evident and when we drove in its direction, we missed a right turn and went further. After realizing that we were heading in the wrong direction, we inquired with a passerby and tracing back as per his instructions, reached the missed turning point. On finding it inappropriate to drive, we took the available deviation and reached a dead-end, where we found an elderly person involved in his farm chores. When asked about the route to the hill of Udedurgam, he kindly replied by telling us to park our vehicle under good shade after which he volunteered to accompany us till the start of the trail from where the route seemed clear and the ascent quite comfortable. He was a very interesting and joyful person, hailing from the state of Andhra and having settled here long ago.  Since he spoke the language of Telugu, our communication with him was easier.

Udedurgam Fort, Krishnagiri

The pattern on the Rock

 As we started walking towards the hill, I happened to notice a structure similar to the prehistoric stone circle and Bingo! I was indeed right! It turned out to be a prehistoric cairn circle. 'Cairn Circles' are a type of megalithic burials, which was constructed using rough boulders with cairn/ urn packing at its center. It turns out very difficult to date these structures and can be roughly assigned to a period anywhere between 2000 B.C.E to 500 B.C.E. Only a proper and systematic study can help reveal the exact or the closest date. Sighting a cairn circle only doubled our excitement as it seemed to be a perfect ' History with Mystery ' kind of exploration. Many hidden secrets were waiting to be discovered. We continued to walk towards the hill and were welcomed by a ruined fort gateway. It was also pleasing to witness some portions of the fortification intact. The environs here had an endless vista of hills and valleys apart from its history/ pre-history. It looked like a place where every layer of history remained evident and exposed.

History with Mystery

Megalithic Stone Circle

Butter Ball

 This place may have been inhabited from a very long time back, as tools found here belong to different periods - the Neolithic, Mesolithic period, and Megalithic periods. The site is perfect for carrying out pre-historic studies, as it is quite evident from the environs that it is a perfect place for pre-historic human settlement. The ascent was pretty much straightforward and easy. It was a first for our youngest trek partner Ms.Diya who took it up on her own and trekked covering a decent distance. However, this was just her beginning and she proved to be a good learner! After some time, we reached a big boulder that carried a painting of Lord Hanuman. A little further was another gateway with much of its fortification intact, after which the terrain turned flat. We passed by a small water pond and a little further from here was a damaged structure that looked like a room, probably constructed during the British period. We continued to explore this region and stumbled upon another intact stone circle! Simply wow! This sighting deviated us from following the original route as we spent some time exploring this area. However, we were unable to find anything apart from a few ruins of the fort. We returned to our trail and spotted a big stepped water tank or Kalyani that remained empty.

A Water Pond

Young Trekker Leading the Way

Bless Me "Lord Anjaneya"

Lovely Vista

 We continued our climb and came across the third gateway, which eventually led to the topmost tier of the fort. Atop the hill were two temples dedicated to Lords Hanuman and Shiva. While the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is at the summit, at a much lower elevation is the temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. While the Shiva Linga seems to belong to a period much older than the fort, the temple structure belongs to the 15th and 16th centuries. The temples were surrounded by many water ponds which remained clean. Many broken pieces of pottery were seen fallen all over the place, probably belonging to the historic era of the 15- 16th century CE.  Although not much history is known about this place, it is very clear that the fort existed much before the 16th century. Later during the third Mysore war, Tippu garrisoned this fort and surrendered it to the British in 1791. After the peace treaty between them, the fort was returned to Tippu. Finally, in 1799 it fell into the hands of the British and was annexed to the Madras state.

Lord Anjaneya Temple, Udedurgam

Lord Shiva Temple, Udedurgam

Panoramic View 

Om Namah Shivaya

The view from atop the hill was simply magnificent and the lovely moving clouds added the required glamour. We could spot various other forts from the hilltop, some of which are Ratnagiri, Rayakottai, Anchettydurgam, Krishnagiri, and many such. After having the snacks and bananas that we had carried, we spent a good amount of time at the top. The surroundings seemed to have many hidden mysteries. We spotted a cave that resembled a shelter for prehistoric humans and hence wished to check it out. However, we could not find any trace of prehistoric humans. The place may have been used by the soldiers who guarded the area. We then headed towards our parked vehicle. We greeted Mr. Venkatesh, the person who had guided us in the morning,  and thanked him. It was lunchtime and he insisted we join them for lunch. We were hesitant initially as we had to return home and the weather was extremely hot, but later agreed to join them as we were hungry. And we were pleased to have joined them for lunch. It was one of the best lunches we have had, sitting under the canopy of tamarind trees and amidst people with big hearts, who were more than happy to feed our children and us by sharing their food. The elderly man also gave us the freshly harvested beans and tomatoes from his farm. Finally, we bade goodbye, after thanking them. Exploring Udedurgam was an amazing experience overall. Another day, another adventure!

Cave Bunker

The Lost Wood

Forts of Krishnagiri:
1. Thattakaldurgam 
2. Krishnagiri 
3. Jagadevi 
4. Ratnagiri 
5. Balagondarayanadurga
6. Maharajakadai
7. Rayakottai 
8. Periyamalai
9. Ankushagiri 
10. Anchettydurgam
11. Thrayandurgam

12. Nagamalai 

13. Shoolagiri 

14. Veerabhadradurga

References:
1. Madras state gazetteer - Salem
2. Archaeology of Krishnagiri District  

 Anchettydurgam Fort, Krishnagiri - Unravelling the Past

Anchetty is a well-known destination located on the route to Hogenakkal waterfalls. However, we were pretty sure that this place had no fort as we have traveled quite a few times along the same route. A visit to "Anchettydurgam" however remained pending for a long time. While researching for Anchettydurgam on the net, I realized it has nothing to do with Anchetty, and is situated much closer to Bengaluru. On a late Sunday morning we decided to explore this place and little did we know that this place was going to unravel its past. Not much of the history of this place is known or available on the internet. The fortification here is similar to that at 'Balagondarayanadurgam', and was probably built during the period of Ankushagiri Palegars. Later, it fell into the hands of Tippu and finally the British in 1799. This fort acted as a military outpost to Kelamangalam.

Anchettydurgam Fort

 Thanks to the wonderful weather that day, we were able to start our trek late. This being a small hill we were able to trek slowly and enjoy the place to the fullest. At the outset, this place seemed like a prehistoric site. But surprisingly it does not find its mention in the Archaeological sites of Krishnagiri. There are two temples in the village of Anchettydurgam dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Mallamma probably built during the same time as the fort. Walking through the small lanes of this village, we reached the base of the hill fort from where the path led us to the top of this hill. The trail is pretty simple and remains of fortification were quite evident. Most of the gateways here are of a much simpler type and sadly remain damaged.

Ruined Mandapa

Rock Cut Steps

Under the Rock

Meditating

 We inspected every rock for the presence of any kind of rock art. Unfortunately, we weren't successful and there were many such probable rock sites that were out of reach for exploration.  Once we passed by the second gateway, we came across a small cave temple which consisted of many small stones that represented the local guardian deities of the village. We came across debris of pottery all through our trek, most of which belonged to the historic era except for a few. Some carried interesting design patterns on them along with others that had color. We reached the third entrance on either side which were present carvings of Lords Anjaneya and Garuda. The artwork was simple and seemed quite different.

Ramparts

Layers of History

Stairway

Third Gateway to the Fort

 Hereon the trail turned interesting and at one spot, we felt that this place was a prehistoric settlement. Though dating it will be a very difficult task, some of the stones found here resembled prehistoric man-made tools, especially that used as a hand axe. Also spread across the site were many pieces of pottery. However, it is quite difficult to ascertain whether they belong to the historic or pre-historic period.  This place needs a thorough investigation and should be excavated for further details. We inspected the nearby rocks for any carvings but found none. Further from here, we reached the top tier of the fort where there was a small temple-like enclosure on our right. We decided to check it out. There were seven stones lined up next to each other. To our surprise, five out of the seven stones closely resembled polished hand axes belonging to the Neolithic period. Thus indicating that prehistoric people indeed lived here. Hence a scientific study of this site needs to be carried out and this place needs protection.

Neolithic Polished Stone Hand Axes

Lord Shiva Temple, Anchettydurgam

Clear Water Pond

Keep Me Clean

There was a small rock at the top which had a carving of Lord Hanuman, most likely carved in recent years. We could find many stones of different colors and shapes along our way and this sight left us puzzled. We wondered about what they could be and how could they get there!? Many such questions kept us engaged while we reached a small temple on the peak of this hill, dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is believed to have been built during the Chola reign and has undergone renovations during the Palegars' rule. We rested for some time here at the top, while I was scanning around the area to find out if I could spot any area of interest. Overall, a beautiful and serene place to explore. Thus completing another adventure.

Colorful

Fort and the Farm

Zebra Blue Butterfly (Leptotes plinius fabricus)

Related Posts:
1. Mallachandram - Largest Dolmen site in Tamil Nadu 
2. Kurugodu - Fort, Prehistoric site & Ancient Temples

 Talavadi Fort, Ramanagar - A forgotten fort

Talavadi is a small nondescript village off Ramanagara – Magadi road. Though not much history about this place is documented, it has in store many untold stories. Last Sunday, we got a chance to trek Kootgal Betta we spotted this fort and decided to trek next week. We planned and reached Talavadi quite early in the morning to start our trek.  I was accompanied by my son Adhi and my friend Shashi Kiran. We had our breakfast in Ramanagara and reached the deviation off the Ramanagara – Magadi road. Hereon, we began our off road drive to reach the base of this hill.  We had to make a few enquiries with the locals about the directions to reach the hill base and the trek route thereon. An elderly person informed us that it would be difficult to climb this hill as the route had been engulfed by grass and other thorny vegetation, and gave us the directions vaguely. We thanked him and decided to move ahead towards the hill base. 

Talavadi Hill Fort

We had to park our vehicle at a point from where there was no motor-able road, and had to walk to until the start point of the trek. At the first look, the hill seemed small giving us a thought that it wouldn’t be much of a challenge to scale the hill. We started our search for the trek route and reached a small temple dedicated to Udbhava Anjaneya Swamy. The guardian Lord reminded us to search around for the presence of any fort or its ruins.  After taking the blessings of the Lord, we decided to move ahead and actually had to almost circumvent the hill in search of a proper route to climb. After walking for almost 15 minutes, we reached a big water pond. Just by the side of the pond, we sighted a path which seemed trek-able and hence decided to ascend from here. 

Water Pond and The Fort

Sri Udbhava Anjaneya Swamy

 The initial climb was quite easy and straight forward, and we reached a tier of the fort wall.  Here we met two boys from Bengaluru who were also there to explore the hill. As we struck a conversation with the boys, I realized that they too were in search of the right path to continue their climb. I volunteered to search the environs for any path that could be walk-able.  Meanwhile I requested the others to rest at a place in shade and went in search of the route. After exploring the surroundings for some time, I zeroed in on the most probable route that could be taken to reach the top. I called the others to join me, along with Shashi and Adhi. Shashi took charge from here leading the way. Seeing the route that was to be taken hereon, the two boys gave up the trek and left the place without informing us! The vegetation was dense with tall grass and thorny shrubs.

Wade Thru the Grass and Thorny Shrubs

The Rock Cut Steps

Kootgal Betta

We continued to crawl under the grass and thorny shrubs and finally reached a point from where we were almost sure about the path further. Shashi did a wonderful job in finding the path and we reached a spot which had big boulders on either side. We sighted much fortification on the left boulder and so decided to explore it. The boulder was very steep with rock cut steps to aid the climb and passing these 15 odd steps was one hell of an experience! We reached the top of the hill which housed a ruined mandapa kind of a structure along with a fresh water pond. The fresh water pond was filled with many beautiful white lilies.  We spent some time enjoying the sight of the water pond and its surroundings. 

Fresh Water Pond

Flying High

Mandapa and Nadadwaja

White Water Lilies

As per an inscription found near Ramanagara (EC Vol 9 Ch 16) dated 1351 CE, Talavadi was ruled by a local Palegara named Bomanna, who was a feudal king under the rule of Bukkanna Vodeyar of Vijayanagara Kingdom. Later Sri Kempe Gowda captured and strengthened this fort, which mostly served as a military outpost during his rule.  Though much of the fortification has been damaged, its remnants give a good picture of what a grand fort it was once. The formation rocks are such that they served as natural defense from the three sides and the fort was only accessible from one side. At a few places, we were able to spot horse shoe marks which are a common sight across forts built by the Kempe Gowda clan. 

Horse Shoe Marks

Cliff Hanging

The descent posed us a challenge where we had to cross the 15 steep steps and we had to literally cliff hang for some time.  The descent across the grass and thorny path too was a bit challenging as we had to overstep and pass through them. Once we were out of this, the descent was easy. As we continued our descent, we spotted something really interesting on the neighbouring hill and decided to check them out on reaching the hill base.

The Dare Devil

Full View of Talavadi Fort

Hunt Begins

 To be continued. ….

  

Related Posts:

1. Achchaludurga, Ramanagara 

2. Hosadurga, Kankapura 

3. Forts of Karnataka  

 Hoysala: Mallikarjuna Temple, Hirenallur, Chikmagalur

  While zipping through country roads to reach Amrithapura, which is home to one of the most beautiful Hoysala temples, we stumbled upon a milestone having the familiar name of Hirenallur. On checking our travel diary, we realized this place too housed a Hoysala temple dedicated to Lord Mallikarjuna. As we had more than one option now, we were in a dilemma and as time was ticking, we had to decide quickly.  We made a quick inquiry about the temple and decided to proceed as we heard it was a ‘not to miss’ temple. Not wasting much time, we headed towards this temple and in about ten minutes time reached this magnificent temple.

Mallikarjuna Temple 

8th Century Ganga inscription 

   Hirenallur is a small village of Kadur Taluka of Chikmagalur district. The Mallikarjuna temple situated here is a very beautiful Hoysala temple lesser known to the world. There is very little information about this temple on the Internet and print media. The temple is believed to have been built initially by the Gangas during the 8^th century according to an inscription recently found here. Later the Hoysala king Ballala II renovated this temple and must have added the two cells to the main cell during the end of the 12^th century.

Very Beautifully Decorated Shiva Linga 

Heavily Decked Central Ceiling 

Tandaveshwara on Central Ceiling 

Complicated Craving on the Ceiling 

Lord Ananthasayana 

Uma Maheshwara 

   The temple is a trikuta with Shiva Linga, Keshava, and Surya Deva adorning the cells. The central ceiling is a masterpiece with complicated carvings on it and overshadows the beauty of this temple. There are sculptures of Ganapathi and Sapthamatrikas in the sabha mandapa of the temple as usual. The three Shikaras of this temple are heavily decked with images of the various gods and goddesses on them. This temple has been renovated by a few keen locals with the help of Sri Dharmasthala Trust under the guidance of Dr.Veerendra Hedge.

Lord Ugra Narashima 

Shikara and Outer Wall 

Carvings on the Shikara 

Veeragallu 

    There is a big and beautiful garden around the temple.  Another small temple adjacent to this temple is dedicated to Mailara Linga, housing two beautiful idols of Mailaras. On our way back, another small beautiful temple amidst a farm caught our eye.  This one too was dedicated to Lord Shiva in the form of a Linga. 

Mailara Linga 

Shiva Temple in the Farm 

 Temples of Anjaneri, Nashik, Maharashtra

Pancha Digambar Temple Complex, Anjaneri

I was all set to descend the hill of Anjaneri after resting for a while at the Anjani Mata temple.  The experience uphill was exhilarating and I was fully charged up. However during my descent a group of temples situated a little distance away from the village of Anjaneri caught my attention. Hence, I decided to explore these temples of Anjaneri on reaching the base, completely forgetting about the caves that I wished to explore around the lakes. There are a few cave temples and an ashram besides a lake on the rear side of the first temple. As I continued my descent and reached the trek base, I immediately ordered a plate of special Maggi noodles at a hotel owned by an elderly person. I was extremely hungry and gulped down 2 full plates of noodles. My legs were tired and I started to have second thoughts about exploring the temple complexes near the village by foot. The temple complex was located at a distance of at least 2 km from the trek base. In the meanwhile, a bunch of boys who returned to their vehicle after completing the trek offered to drop me off till the cross-road and I happily welcomed their offer.

Hot Maggi

 After thanking them, I walked across the village of Anjaneri where I could sight the ruins of many temples spread here and there. I reached a spot where I found 3 Hero stones / Sati stones. Here on, I visited the first temple complex which was in ruins. It housed a big temple of Lord Vishnu along with another smaller temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi.  The temples remain mostly damaged, with some restoration work being undertaken currently by the ASI. The grandeur of this temple can be felt even in its ruins. It is disheartening to witness the state of this temple today. The main temple is built as per the ‘saptharatha plan’ and houses a damaged yet beautiful ‘panchabhuma bhumija shikhara’, which can be classified under the ‘Hemadpanti/Hemadpanthi Style of Architecture’. Hemadpant was a celebrated physician of the Dwaparayuga, who cured Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana, King of Lanka.  In return, he begged the services of some giant architects with whose help he built numerous temples and step wells in western India, and these styles were collectively classified as ‘Hemadpanti Style of Architecture’. Historically, Hemadri or Hemadpant was a minister of the 9^th Devagiri Yadava King Ramachandra (1271 -1308 CE), who was also a great writer and went on to build numerous temples in this region in Hemadpanthi Style of Architecture. There are carvings of Lord Vishnu’s incarnations on the outer walls of this temple. The door frame of the garbhagriha is of Chausakha with beautiful carvings of Trimurti (Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara) along with Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on the lintel. The garbhagriha houses a damaged murti of Lord Vishnu on a Garuda peetha. The Lakshmi temple however is much worse than the main temple and devoid of any murti.

Goddess Lakshmi Devi Temple

Lord Vishnu Mandir

Chausakha Door Frame

Lord Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva Carved on the Lintel

Rubble of Lord Vishnu Temple

Right opposite to this temple is a temple dedicated to the Jaina Tirthankara Rishabhanatha (Adinatha) which is in complete ruins.  What a sad and disturbing sight it was! The temple parts were seen spread across the area inside the fence built by the ASI, reflecting the sheer carelessness in maintaining and preserving our heritage. The murti of Lord Rishabhanatha is kept under the open sky without any shelter. From here, I moved on to the next and the biggest temple complex called as the Pancha Digambar Temple. The main temple here has been converted, currently being dedicated to Lord Shiva. This conversion may have happened in the later centuries, as a part of an effort in its restoration. Thus the main temple here is in a better shape, although not good. The ASI however is continuously and constantly working towards the temple’s repair. There are 4 small temples in this complex apart from the main temple and an open air ASI Museum, where all the artifacts found in this area are preserved. The last temple here was a small yet beautiful Jaina temple situated about a few meters away from this temple complex. This temple houses a murti of Jaina Tirthankara. All the temples here were built during the reign of the Devagiri Yadavas between 11^th and 13^th centuries. Thus ending my quest for this place, only ask was to walk to the main road and board a bus back to Nashik

Jaina Tirthankara Rishabhanatha

Main Temple of Pancha Digambar Temple Complex

Inscribed Stone

Restoration Work in Progress

Jain Temple

Reference:
1. Maharashtra district Gazetteer - Nashik


Related Posts: 

1. Road trip to Kolhapur and Satara from Bengaluru 

2. Ahmednagar Fort

3. Temples of Hale Kurugodu, Ballari

 Road Trippers Club Expedition to Neelakurinji Blooming at Kodaikanal

Neelakurinji Bloom

August 2018 was the much awaited month for witnessing the rare Neelakurinji mass blooming that occurs once in 12 years in most of the areas of Kerala.  Last year we visited the Hills of Sandur to witness the rare Neelakurinji bloom, though in a small scale. This year around, we were sure it was going to be on a grand scale as we were planning to visit Munnar which is home to the largest mass  blooming of Neelakurinji. However, I received a message on whats-app one evening about a road-trip being planned to Munnar during the long weekend for witnessing this rarity and decided to tag along. But as the blossoming season was hit by the unexpected spell of rains across the state of Kerala, Munnar was distressed and as days passed by, the situation only deteriorated due to the continuing heavy rains leading to the floods all across the state. Also the news coming in from Kerala was not very encouraging to continue our drive to Munnar, and hence the team at RTC relocated the destination to Kodaikanal.

As the D-Day arrived, the members of the team began their journeys mostly from Mumbai, while a few started their drives from Hyderabad and Bangalore. We reached Kodaikanal on the 16th evening as per the plan after visiting a few beautiful temples in Tamil Nadu, built during the Chola period.  After a good night's rest at Kodai, we were all ready the next morning  to go in search of the bloom. We all drove down to Vattakanal and much to my shock, this place was already crowded. After all the hustle and bustle of parking our vehicles, we were all set to start our trek. However, we were still unsure of the occurrence of Neelakurinji blooming on the hills there. Though the feedback after an initial inquiry about the bloom was not much encouraging, yet we all decided to continue our trek down and see what lies ahead.

View of Kodaikanal from Vattakanal

Mountains and More Mountains

Towering Heights

Eagerly Walking Down

We reached the first view point named the mountain view, from where the sight of Kodaikanal was breathtaking. While I inquired with a local regarding the Neelakurinji bloom, he replied in the affirmative directing us to the next view point. With much enthusiasm, we continued to descend and proceeded further to reach the Dolphin's nose view point (named so due to the shape of this rock) and lo! There it was! Blooms of the beautiful Neelakurinji!. This light purple colored flowers bloom once in 12 years and grow only at an altitude between 1300 meters to 2400 meters above MSL. The patches of Neelakurinji blooms here seemed much stressed and disturbed owing to the crowd movement and irresponsible plucking of the flowers by flocking crowds. We stopped by the echo rock point and rested for a while. As we continued our walk further down, we could spot more pockets of the Neelakurinji bloom. When we inquired about where the path would lead us to, we were informed that this route would end in Munnar in about 16 km. At this point we decided to halt our descent and head back.

Dolphin Nose

Cyanotis tuberosa

Neelakurinji Mass blooming At Dolphin Nose

We Trekked Till the Last

 The climb up was a bit tiring and uneventful. We regrouped at the start point of the trek, while a few  headed to the parking lot to bring up their vehicles. One of our vehicles halted up slope and due to the terrain and the narrow space available for driving, it was tricky to either go back down to the parking or come up. However, a good Samaritan came to our rescue and with the combined efforts of RTC, the vehicle was driven up slope and we moved ahead. The evening was enjoyable and to top it up, the wild Gaurs visited the resort and spent quite sometime alongside. The entire experience was a wonderful one! It was great meeting like minded road trippers from various parts of India. Kudos to the entire team for having completed this expedition successfully! We are very thankful to Vineet and the RTC team for tagging us along for this drive and ensuring that we witness the rare phenomenon of Neelakurinji blooms.

Experience and Curiosity

Young Explorer

Clouds Kissing the Mountains

Wild Gaur with Cow

Related Posts:

1. Neelakurinji Bloom at Sandur Hills

2. Nallur Tamarind Groove 

3. Nagamalai Trek

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Copyright Notice

This website and its content are copyright of TeamGsquare - © TeamGsquare 2019 All rights reserved.

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited. You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.

Search This Blog

Stay Connected

• Like on Facebook
• Follow on Twitter
• Follow on Instagram
• Subscribe on Youtube

Popular Posts

• 

  Lad Khan Temple , Aihole

        "Lad Khan temple" in Aihole is considered to be one of the earliest temples in India. It was built around 450 AD. It wa...

• BuyMaps
• 

  Shri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Horakere Devapura, Chitradurga

      According to our source, the temple in Horakere (Kolar DT) houses a very beautiful idol of Lord Lakshmi Narasimha and all our effo...
• 

  A trek to Nagamalai, Male Mahadeshwara betta

         "Nagamalai" is a one of the many hills of the Male Mahadeshwara Betta (M M hills) range . Nagamalai and surrounding area...
• 

  Rehmangarh/Kaivara Fort

  Though we were aware of the presence of two mighty forts between Kaiwara and Chintamani , there was always an uncertainty of the sh...

Share

Blog Archive

• ►  2024 (1)

• ►  2023 (3)

• ►  2022 (5)

• ►  2021 (3)

• ►  2020 (6)

• ►  2019 (32)

• ▼  2018 (13)
  • ►  October 2018 (1)
  • ►  September 2018 (2)
  • ▼  August 2018 (1)
    • Road Trippers Club Expedition to Neelakurinji Bloo...
  • ►  February 2018 (4)
  • ►  January 2018 (5)

• ►  2017 (65)

• ►  2016 (20)

• ►  2015 (18)

• ►  2014 (31)

• ►  2013 (48)

• ►  2012 (27)

• ►  2011 (71)

• ►  2010 (32)

Karnataka

• Aihole
• Bagalkot
• Bangalore Rural
• Belagavi
• Bellary
• Bidar
• Bijapur
• Chamrajnagara
• Chikkaballapur
• Chikmagalur
• Chitradurga
• Coorg
• Dakshina Kannada
• Davangere
• Dharwad
• Gulbarga
• Hassan
• Haveri
• Kolar
• Koppal
• Mandya
• Mysore
• Ramanagaram
• Shimoga
• Tumkur
• Uttara Kannada
• yadgir
• ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ
• ಹಾವೇರಿ

Incredible India

• Karnataka
• Madhya Pradesh
• Tamil Nadu
• Andhra Pradesh
• Goa
• Odisha
• Unesco world heritage site
• Maharashtra
• Kerala

Report Abuse