Anegundi, previously called Kishkindha, is a village in

Gangavathi Gangavathi is a city, municipality and taluk in the Koppal district of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is one of the main commercial hubs in the Kalyana-Karnataka region. It is also the largest city, in terms of area and population, in the Kop ...

Koppal district Koppala district, officially known as Koppala district is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. In the past Koppal was referred to as 'Kopana Nagara'. Hampi, a World heritage center, covers some areas of Koppala District ...

, in the Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. It is older than

Hampi Hampi or Hampe (), also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the town of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire; it is menti ...

, situated on the northern bank of the

Tungabhadra River The Tungabhadra River () starts and flows through the state of Karnataka, India, for most of its course, then through Andhra Pradesh where it ultimately joins the Krishna River near Murvakonda. The Tungabhadra derives its name from two strea ...

. Nimvapuram, a nearby village, has a mount of ash believed to be the cremated remains of the king Vaali.

History

Anegundi was believed to be the monkey kingdom of

Kishkindha Kishkindha (, ) is a kingdom of the vanaras in Hinduism. It is ruled by King Sugriva, the younger brother of Vali, in the Sanskrit epic ''Ramayana''. According to the Hindu epic this was the kingdom that Sugriva ruled with the assistance of hi ...

, with ''Kishkinta'' meaning ''a forest where the monkeys lived''. The epic of

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

is at a distance of from the historical site of Hampi. Anjanadri Hill, the birthplace of the god

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

, and the mountain Rishimuka are places near and affiliated with Ramayana. It is said to have one of the oldest plateaus on the planet, estimated to be 3,000 million years old. Only local story-tellers refer to Anegundi as the maternal home of ''Bhoodevi'' (Mother Earth). The village, located on the northern bank of River Tungabhadra, was said to be the legendary Kishkindha, a kingdom of the prince

Sugriva Sugriva (, ), is a character In the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali (Ramayana), Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kishkindha. He is a son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun. As the king ...

as well as the historic site of the Krishnadevaraya dynasty in the

Vijayanagar Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belonging to ...

Prehistoric

Neolithic history is represented in this region by ''Mourya Mane'', an ancient Stone Age Colony. Several Neolithic dwellings still bear paintings that are clear and intact even to this day at Onke Kindi. In this human settlement, there are traces of Microlithic, Megalithic, and

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

Ages. As per geologists, the Anegundi area is about four billion years old. To date, this village is a living heritage site. ''Pre-historic rock shelters and paintings'' are found in the

valley.

Anegundi mutt

In Anegundi, there is a religious monastery called ''saraswati peetam'', established by Kalahasthacharya. The mutt follows Advaitha sampradaya of

shankaracharya Shankaracharya (, , " Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; teachers from the successive line of te ...

Rock art

In Anegundi, there is a prehistoric settlement called ''Onake Kindi''. The boulders have rock art, with some red and white markings depicting figures of humans and bulls. On another boulder, there is a circular diagram like a sun and moon with some symbolism. The rock paintings belonged to the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, dating back to 1500 BC; the faded circular painting is a very rare depiction of a megalithic style of burial, which includes a human body in the middle surrounded by a stone circle and burial goods. The site of ''megalithic dolmens'' is located up in the hills, locals call it ''Mourya Mane'' (''mourya'' is ''short'' in the local language), about five to seven feet high sheet rock forms four walls, and another rock sheet used as a roof (Neolithic period). It is about away from Anegundi, the Neolithic dwellings in the ''Elu gudda'' hill range, from Benegal to Indaragi gudda. About from Anegundi, there are rock shelters and paintings, paintings found in the hill ranges called locally as ''Elu gudda Salu''.

Ramayana connection

Pampa Sarovar is related to Shiva and Parvati, both of whom were featured in

; Sabari, a devotee of Rama met here, the legends of Ramayana are pervading around Anegundi. The pilgrims consider ''Pampa Sarovara'' a holy place.

Pre-Vijayanagara period

Anegundi in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

means ''Elephant Gorge'', and is older than

. Anegundi history dates back to 3rd century BC, when the city was under the

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

Empire. Anegundi was ruled by various dynasties: Shatavahanas,

Kadambas The Kadamba dynasty were an ancient royal family from modern Karnataka, India, that ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan from Banavasi in present-day Uttara Kannada, Uttara Kannada district in India. The kingdom was founded by Mayurash ...

Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

Rashtrakutas The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta Indian inscriptions, inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing th ...

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

and Bahamanis.

Vijayanagara period

In the early 14th century, an elephant enclosure in Kannada opened known as ''Anegundi'', named after the elephants contingent of the Vijayanagar army. Kannada was the first capital of the

and several other dynasties. In 1334, Deva Raya the Chief Minister of Anegundi became ruler of Anegundi. When Delhi Sultans invaded

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 811,844 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal serv ...

, ''Harihara and Bukka'' escaped and came to Anegundi, later founded the

. Today, the bridge has collapsed and is under construction. The river can be crossed in a

coracle A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the west of Ireland and also particularly on the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used for ...

, a circular basket shaped made of cane and bamboo. Coracles were used as transportation during the Vijayanagara period. It is mentioned by '' Dominoes Paes'', the Portuguese traveller in the 16th century, with a coracle carrying "about twenty persons and horses and oxen to cross the river." During the 16th—18th centuries, Anegundi was ruled by Bijapur Sultans, Moghuls, Marathas and Tipu Sultan. According to the 1824 treaty between the British and Hyderabad Nizam, the king of Vijayanagar that ruled Hampi lost his kingdom and was provided a monthly pension of Rs 300. He was later forced to leave Hampi and make Anegundi as his official residence. Rani Lalkumari Bai, his last descendant, received monthly pension.

Anegundi Fort

Anegundi has a fort with many gates. There is a Ganesha cave temple. Vijayanagar kings used to pray before every battle at the Durga temple, and visited the Pampa Sarovar and Shri Lakshmi temple. Royal descendants of the

still exist in Anegundi.

Gallery

Pampa Sarovar from the hill.jpg, Pampa Sarovar Hachappa Mantapa through the woods at Anegundi.jpg, Hachappa Mantapa Wide angle shot of entrance to Valikote Cave (Vali Cave) (02).jpg, Entrance to Valikote Cave (Vali Cave) Shri Durgamma Devi Ammanavara Temple on Anegundi fort.jpg, Shri Durgamma Devi Ammanavara Temple on Anegundi fort Flat elevation of balcony on Gagan Mahal palace, Anegundi.jpg, A bay window on Gagan Mahal palace A temple to the West of Pampa Sarovar.jpg, Shri Vijayalakshmi Devi Temple near Pampa Sarovar Statues inside Valikote Cave(Vali Cave) (02).jpg, Statues inside Valikote Cave Rock Art at Onake Kindi, near Anegundi, Karnataka 4.jpg, Rock Art at Onake Kindi

References

External links

The Hindu - Royal ruins, smoking sadhus

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anegundi Villages in Koppal district Forts in Karnataka Archaeological sites in Karnataka Neolithic Burial monuments and structures Megalithic monuments in India Archaeology of death Anegundi Prehistoric art in India Rock shelters Vijayanagara Empire Hindu temples in Koppal district Former capital cities in India Ghost towns in Asia Tourist attractions in Karnataka