Basavakalyana Fort
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Basavakalyana fort, earlier known as Kalyana fort, is located in
Bidar district Bidar district is the northernmost part of the Karnataka state in India. The administrative headquarters of district is Bidar, Bidar city. Geographically, it known as the "Crown of the State", occupying its northeastern end. It is bounded by Ka ...
in the
Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...
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 ...
. Its historic importance is dated to the 10th century. The capital of Chalukyas was also shifted from
Manyakheta Malkheda originally known as Manyakheta (IAST: Mānyakheṭa, Prakrit: "Mannakheḍa"), and also known as Malkhed,Village code= 311400 Malkhed (J), Gulbarga, Karnataka is a town in Karnataka, India. It is located on the banks of Kagina river ...
to Kalyana in the 10th century. The fort, integral to the Basavakalyana town, is also famous as
Karmabhoomi ''Karmabhoomi'' (, translated,''The Land Where One Works'') is a Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand. The novel is set in the Uttar Pradesh of the 1930s. By the beginning of the 20th century, Islam and Hinduism had coexisted in India for over a t ...
of
Basavanna Basava (1131–1196), also called and , was an Indian philosopher, poet, Lingayat social reformer in the Shiva-focused bhakti movement, and a Hindu Shaivite social reformer during the reign of the Kalyani Chalukya and the Kalachuri dynasti ...
(founder of Lingayatha community) and hundreds of other Sharanas (saints of Lingayatha community). Basavakalyana (known in the history as Kalyana) with its fort was the centre of a great social and religious movement, in the 12th century, because of Basaveshwara, the social reformer. It became a seat of learning. Basaveshwara,
Akka Mahadevi Akka Mahadevi (c. 1130–1160) was an early poet of Kannada literature and a prominent member of the Lingayatism founded in the 2011 . Her 430 '' vachanas'' (a form of spontaneous mystical poems), and the two short writings called ''Mantrogopya ...
,
Channabasavanna Channabasavanna also known as " Guru Channabasaveshwara " was Basava's nephew and one of the foremost Sharanas of the 12th century. He, along with Basava, Allama Prabhu and Akka Mahadevi, played a pivotal role in the propagation of the Lingayat ...
, Siddarama and many more Sharanas are associated with Basavakalyana. Basaveshwara, in particular, fought against casteism and orthodoxy in Hinduism.


Geography

Basavakalyana is located at . It has an average elevation of .


History

The later
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 ...
, under
Tailapa II Tailapa II (r. c. 973-997) also known as Taila II and by his title ''Ahavamalla'', was the founder of the Western Chalukyas, Western Chalukya Empire in peninsular India. Tailapa claimed descent from the earlier imperial Chalukyas of Vatapi (Bad ...
(973–997 CE), defeated the
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 ...
. They established their capital at Kalyana, now renamed officially after Indian independence in 1947, as
Basavakalyana Basavakalyana is a historical city and municipal council in the Bidar District of the Indian state of Karnataka. It was the capital of Kalyani Chalukya and Kalachuris of Kalyani two dynasties. It is famous for the world's tallest Basavanna stat ...
in Bidar district. During the Kalyana Chalukya's reign of Taila II itself, the fort was constructed in 973 by Nalaraja. Inscriptions at the fort ascribe to this fact. Basavakalyana, with its fort as its headquarters, was the royal capital of the
Western Chalukya The Western Chalukya Empire ( ) ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan i ...
(
Kalyani Chalukya The Western Chalukya Empire ( ) ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan i ...
) dynasty from 1050 to 1195.
Someshvara I Someshvara I (; ) was a king of the Western Chalukyas. Also known as "Ahavamalla" or "Trilokamalla", Someshvara succeeded his father Jayasimha II (Western Chalukya dynasty), Jayasimha II to the throne. His several military successes in Cent ...
(1041–1068) made Kalyana as his capital, recognised as
Kalyani Chalukyas The Western Chalukya Empire ( ) ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan i ...
to differentiate with
Badami 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 ...
. Later it was ruled by
Someshvara II Someshvara II (; ) who was administering the area around Gadag succeeded his father Someshvara I (Ahavamalla) as the Western Chalukya king. He was the eldest son of Someshvara I. During his reign Someshvara II was constantly under threat from h ...
,
Vikramaditya VI Vikramaditya VI (r. 1076 – 1126 CE) became the Western Chalukya King after deposing his elder brother Someshvara II, a political move he made by gaining the support of Chalukya vassals during the Chola invasion of Chalukya territory.Sen ...
,
Someshvara III Someshvara III (; ) was a Western Chalukya king (also known as the Kalyani Chalukyas), the son and successor of Vikramaditya VI. He ascended the throne of the Western Chalukya Kingdom in 1126 CE, or 1127 CE. Someshvara III, the third king i ...
, Jagadeka Malla III and
Tailapa III Tailapa III (r. 1151–1162 CE) succeeded his brother Jagadhekamalla II to the Western Chalukya throne. His rule saw the beginning of the end of the Chalukya empire. Kakatiya dynasty The Kakatiya dynasty (International Alphabet of S ...
. During 10th-12th centuries, this dynasty controlled nearly half of India. Subsequent rulers such as
Kalachuri dynasty The Kalachuri dynasties were any of the several dynasties that ruled parts of India in the medieval era. * Kalachuris of Mahishmati (550–625), also called Early Kalachuris * Kalachuris of Tripuri (675–1212), also called Kalachuris of Chedi or ...
,
Yadavas The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Satvatas, Andhakas, Bho ...
,
Muhammad bin Tughlaq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 1 ...
,
Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...
,
Bidar Sultanate The Sultanate of Bidar was an early modern Indian polity that ruled a territory in the central Deccan Plateau, Deccan centred at Bidar. As one of the five Deccan sultanates, the sultanate's initial territory corresponded to that of one of the ...
,
Bijapur Sultans The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a ''taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 1490 ...
,
Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
of
Ahmadnagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost imp ...
, 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 ...
, the
Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...
, and the
Nizams Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...
controlled the fort and refurbished it. In fact, the Bijjala Deva (1130–1167) of the
Kalachuri dynasty The Kalachuri dynasties were any of the several dynasties that ruled parts of India in the medieval era. * Kalachuris of Mahishmati (550–625), also called Early Kalachuris * Kalachuris of Tripuri (675–1212), also called Kalachuris of Chedi or ...
who was feudatory Chief of the Chalukyas from 1156 to 1168, overthrew the
Tailapa III Tailapa III (r. 1151–1162 CE) succeeded his brother Jagadhekamalla II to the Western Chalukya throne. His rule saw the beginning of the end of the Chalukya empire. Kakatiya dynasty The Kakatiya dynasty (International Alphabet of S ...
of the Chalukya Kingdom, killed the ruler and his entire Chalukya family, and ruled for a short spell of 5 years, from 1163 to 1167, over the entire
Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...
and Kalinga. He shifted his capital from Mangaliveda (Mangalavada) to Kalyani and made it his new capital. He abdicated in 1167 in favour of his son Sovideva, but was murdered later in 1168. Bijjala was a Jain but is said to have patronized and favored spread of
Virashaivism The Lingayats are a monotheistic religious denomination of Hinduism. Lingayats are also known as , , , . Lingayats are known for their unique practice of Ishtalinga worship, where adherents carry a personal linga symbolizing a constant, intima ...
- a new religious belief started by Basaveshwara. Basaveshwara also became the powerful Prime Minister under Bijjala and used his authority to spread his religious philosophy. Kalachuri's rule was short-lived and Chalukays regained their kingdom, though for a short time. In 1310, the fort was attacked by Mallil Kafur during his southern invasion. In the 16th century,
Vijayanagar Emperor The Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646) was the most prominent medieval India, medieval List of Hindu empires and dynasties, Hindu empire of southern India. It was established on the banks of Tungabhadra River in present-day Karnataka and consist ...
Rama Raya (1484–1565) traced his ancestry with the past Chalukyan Kingdom (974–1190) and also with this dynasty's capital, Kalyana. He was also called the ‘Lord of Kalyana’, apart from being known as the "Chalukyan Emperor". He had aligned with different Muslim rulers of the
Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...
during his reign to have a symbolic control of the Kalyan fort. In 1543, he defeated the Sultan of Bidar and gave control of the fort to Sultan of Bijapur. In 1549, when equations changed, he allied with Sultan of Ahmadnagar and attacked the Kalyana fort and gave its control to his ally. However, in 1558, after the death of Bijapur Sultan, his son Adil Shah I forged friendship with Rama Raya and defeated the Sultan of Ahmadnagar. Raya had set three conditions of surrender to the defeated Sultan of Ahmadnagar, one was that the Sultan would meet him in his tent and accept
paan Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects, the prima ...
(combination of betel not and betel leaf), the second was that the Sultan's general would be executed and the third was to hand over the key of Kalyana fort to him personally. All three conditions were met. The key to the Kalyana fort was handed over by the Hussain of Ahmadnagar formally to Raya, who in turn handed it over to his ally
Adil Shah Ali-qoli Khan (), commonly known by his regnal title Adel Shah (also spelled Adil; , "the Just King") was the second shah of Afsharid Iran, ruling from 1747 to 1748. He was the nephew and successor of Nader Shah (), the founder of the Afsharid d ...
of Bijapur. Raya held the fort symbolically only as a mark of his past association with his ancestors of Western Kalyana dynasty who had fought against the
Cholas The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...
of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. In 1561, Hussain of Ahmadnagar again made an attempt to capture the fort but was trounced by Raya and his ally Adil Shah I. But in the bargain, Raya, because of his plunderous approach to the lands that he conquered after wars, antagonised the Sultans of Bijapur as well as Ahmednagar. This resulted in the ultimate downfall of his
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 ...
in the
Battle of Tallikota The Battle of Talikota was a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and an alliance of the Deccan sultanates. The battle resulted in the defeat and death of Rama Raya, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, set forth ...
, in 1565, in which all the
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
kingdoms of the
Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...
namely,
Bidar Bidar ( ) is a city and headquarters of the Bidar district in Karnataka state of India. Bidar is a prominent place on the archaeological map of India, it is well known for architectural, historical religious and rich heritage sites. Pictures ...
,
Ahmadnagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost imp ...
,
Bijapur Bijapur (officially Vijayapura) is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importa ...
and
Golconda Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani ...
had joined hands to defeat the Raya. Someshwara, poet
Bilhana Kavi Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri poet. He is known for his love poem, the '' Caurapañcāśikā''. According to legend, Bilhana fell in love with the daughter of King Madanabhirama, Princess Yaminipurnatilaka, and had a secretive lov ...
of
Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
and Vigyaneshwara were in the court of Vikramaditya II at Kalyana. In the 12th century Basaveshwara who was the Prime Minister during the reign of King Bijjala was responsible for starting a cultural revolution from here to remove the social evils of untouchability and end gender discrimination. He established the
Virashaiva The Lingayats are a monotheistic religious denomination of Hinduism. Lingayats are also known as , , , . Lingayats are known for their unique practice of Ishtalinga worship, where adherents carry a personal linga symbolizing a constant, intim ...
philosophy.
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
flourished during the rule of Chalukyas. The fort constructed by Chalukya kings has a large number of Jain images on the walls. The museum located, just adjoining the fort, has a number of Jain idols, which belong to the 10th and 11th centuries. A Jain temple now in ruins is also found here.


Structure

The fort is strategically built as a defence structure in a camouflaged setting, which is not discernible until the enemy is at close quarters of the fort. This gives advantage for the defence forces holed up in the fort to repulse enemy attacks. This strategy of locating the fort in naturally camouflaged locations was popular in the forts built in the Deccan. In the Kalyan or Basvakalyan fort, as an economy measure, the defences of the fort were built by inter-connecting large boulders scattered on the hills with strong fort walls. The fort was made defensively complex with guard rooms and
barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...
s, which was a novelty at that time. The fort consisted of three concentric irregular fort walls. The fort has seven gates, out of which five are in good shape. At the entrance to the fort, there is solid arch with balconies on the flanks accessed by series of steps on either side. The fort walls encircling the central courtyard have guard rooms, which are also combined with many bastions and mounted by cannons (some of the cannons are also ornamented). Cannons are also lined along the approach path to the citadel. The fort walls are engraved with images of Yalis. At the top of gateways, openings are seen, which were likely used to douse the enemy with boiling oil. Another defence measure is the deep moat that surrounds the fort. The citadel is centrally located within the fort, on a high ground. The main door to the citadel is known as the 'Akhand Darwaza' built with four red stone slabs. From the doorway, up a flight of steps is the passage to the Rajmahal palace (mostly in ruins). However, the ceiling in the palace hall displays colourful designs. The central wall in the hall has patterns of vases and urns. Adjoining the palace is a temple that does not have any deity. However, at its entrance, the vertical stone columns depict well-carved sculpture. There is a square pond in front of the temple. Behind the temple to the west is the Rani Mahal (Queen's palace), from where there is an exclusive approach to the temple. Also seen within the fort precincts are: an empty pond with pillar of a fountain at the centre; a platform used during
Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...
prayers; two deep wells on the northeast and western sides with inclined ramps for the oxen or horses to draw water; secret narrow passages to underground chambers for emergency escape during enemy attacks; the Talim Khana, a chamber used as a gymnasium; a cannon popularly called the 'Khadak Bijli Thopu’ (literal meaning: "sharp lightning cannon") on the second bastion; and a long cannon placed on a circular battlement on the southern wall.


Access

Basavakalyana is from Gulbarga which is well connected by road and rail. It is about from Bangalore. It is located to the south west of Bidar.It is about from
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
.


See also

*
Basavakalyana Basavakalyana is a historical city and municipal council in the Bidar District of the Indian state of Karnataka. It was the capital of Kalyani Chalukya and Kalachuris of Kalyani two dynasties. It is famous for the world's tallest Basavanna stat ...


References


External links


Basavakalyan Fort on Google Maps
{{Bidar topics Forts in Karnataka Bidar Buildings and structures in Bidar district Tourist attractions in Bidar district