Chitradurga Fort, or as the British called it Chitaldoorg, is a

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

that straddles several hills and a peak overlooking a flat valley in the

Chitradurga District Chitradurga district is an administrative district of Karnataka state in southern India. The city of Chitradurga is the district headquarters. Chitradurga gets its name from Chitrakaldurga, an umbrella-shaped lofty hill found there. Tradition ...

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The fort's name ''Chitrakaldurga'', which means 'picturesque fort' 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 ...

, is the namesake of the town

Chitradurga Chitradurga is a city and the headquarters of Chitradurga district, which is located on the valley of the Vedavati river in the central part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Chitradurga is a place with historical significance and a major tou ...

and its administrative district. The fort was built in stages between the 11th and 13th centuries by the dynastic rulers of the region, including the

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 ...

and

Hoysalas The Hoysala Kingdom was a kingdom originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, parts of Tamilnadu and South-Western Telangana between the 11th and the 14th centuries CE. The capital of the Hoysalas was i ...

, later the Nayakas of Chitradurga of 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 Nayakas of Chitradurga, or Palegar Nayakas, were most responsible for the expansion of the fort between the 15th and 18th centuries. The fort was taken over for a short while by

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

at Chitradurga in 1779. The fort was captured by the British forces twenty years later, when they defeated his son Tipu Sultan. The fort is built in a series of seven concentric fortification walls with various passages, a

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

, masjid, warehouses for grains and oil, water reservoirs and ancient temples. There are 18

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

in the upper fort and one huge temple in the lower fort. Among these temples, the oldest and most interesting is the Hidimbeshwara temple. The masjid was an addition during Hyder Ali's rule. The fort's many interconnecting

tanks A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; t ...

were used to harvest rainwater, and the fort was said to never suffer from a

water shortage Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is ''physical.'' The other is ''economic water scarcity''. Physic ...

Etymology

Chitradurga is formed of two words in the

Kannada language Kannada () is a Dravidian languages, 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, an ...

: ‘Chitra’ means "picture" and ‘Durga’ means "fort" and is tagged with the English word ‘fort’ to form the name "Chitradurga Fort." It is also locally known as "Kallina Kote" or Stone Fortress, which is also formed of two Kannada words ‘Kallina’: "Stone" and Kote: "Fort." Other names used in Kannada are ‘Ukkina Kote": "Steel Fort" (metaphorically used to mean an impregnable fort) and ‘Yelusuttina Kote’: "Seven Circles Fort."

Geography

Chitradurga Fort lies in the midst of a valley formed by the Vedavati River. 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 ...

flows to the northwest of the fort. Seven hills constitute the Chinmuladri range. The seven circles of the fort enclose these hills. Features of massive rock hills and scenic valleys, huge towering boulders are seen in the fort precincts. The hills on which the major part of the fort and the city rest belong to the oldest rock of granitic formation in the country. The highest hill peak of the area is located at Jogi Matti, to the south of

. The highest elevation of the hills at the fort is . The area covered by the fort is reported to be . The fort is located from

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 ...

, the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

and from

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. Chitradurga railway line is connected to main line at Chikkajajur

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

– Arasikere

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

History

A number of inscriptions of the

, the

and the Vijayanagar kings have been found in and around the fort. These inscriptions traces the history of the fort to the Ashokan period rock edicts found near Brahmagiri also link Chitradurga to the

Mauryan Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...

during the reign of the royal dynasties of

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 ...

and Hoysalas. However, the area where the fort now exists achieved prominence only under the dynastic rule of the Nayakas of Chitradurga or "Paleygars" (called "little kings") as a feudatory of the Vijayanagar Empire. Between 1500 AD and 1800 AD, Chitradurga Fort witnessed a turbulent history starting with the Vijayanagar Empire; the empire had gained control of this region from the Hoysalas. Vijayanagar rulers brought the Nayakas, the traditional local chieftains of the area, under their control as their feudatory until their dynastic reign ended in 1565 A.D. Thereafter, the Nayakas of Chitradurga took independent control of the region, and their clan ruled for more than 200 years until the last of their rulers, Madakari Nayaka V, was defeated by Hyder Ali of

Mysore Kingdom The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in South India, southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted su ...

, in 1779. During all these years, Chitradurga Fort was central to the reign, particularly of the Nayakas. Timmana Nayaka or Thimmappa Nayaka, a chieftain from Matti during the rule of Saluva Narasimha, was the first ruler in the hierarchy of the Nayakas of Chitradurga. Initially, he was a chieftain under the

. Still, he was soon elevated to the rank of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

by the Vijayanagar ruler in recognition of his excellent military service to the empire. He controlled areas of the

including Davangere, Jaglur and Harihar in the present Davangere District. His rule lasted for a brief period and ended with his incarceration and death as a prisoner of the Vijaynagar Empire. His son Obana Nayaka or Madakari Nayaka (1588–1602) succeeded him. Followed by a series of hierarchical or other adopted forms of successions of the same clan. Bharamappa Nayaka, who ruled from 1689 until 1722, is regarded as the greatest of the Nayaka rulers famed for building forts, palaces, tanks, and temples, including several gateways and bastions. He fought several battles against 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 ...

. Madakari Nayaka V was the final ruler of the clan from 1758 to 1779. During his reign, the city of Chitradurga and the fort were besieged by the troops of

. Madakari Nayaka used the fort effectively for defense during three battles against Hyder Ali, at times allying himself with Hyder Ali of

and at others with the

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. Hyder Ali attacked the Chitradurga Fort the first time in 1760, the second time in 1770, and the third time successfully in 1779 when he defeated Madakari Nayaka. Nayaka was taken prisoner and killed. Nayaka's gamble of playing with Hyder Ali and the Marathas was unsuccessful; he was betrayed by the Marathas and some local Muhammadan officers in his service. Subsequent to his death, the treasury at the fort is said to have yielded a rich bounty. During one such war, the heroics of Onake Obavva, the wife of a soldier guarding the fort, became a legendary event. The dynastic reign of the Nayakas lasted for over 200 years, and the Chitradurga fort was their stronghold and the very heart of their province. In the Fourth Mysore War, Tippu Sultan was killed by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in 1799, and the

was reordered under the

Wodeyar The Wadiyar dynasty,() also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore (also spelt Wodeyer, Odeyer, and Wadeyar), is a late-medieval Indian royal family of former maharajas of Mysore from the Urs clan originally based in Mysore city. The Wadiya ...

s. Chitradurga became a part of

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. The British considered Chitradurga Fort a potentially useful base for providing a strong line of defense to Mysore's northern border. Between 1799 and 1809, the British garrisoned their troops in the fort. Later, the control of the fort was restored to the Government of Mysore.

Legend

Folk legend links the hills surrounding the fort to the

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

. It is said that a man-eating giant named Hidimbasura lived on the Chitradurga hill and had terrorized everyone around. When the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

s came with their mother

Kunti Kunti (, un̪t̪iː ), also known as Pritha (, ">r̩t̪ʰaː/nowiki>, ), is a prominent female character in the ancient Hindu epic '' Mahabharata''. She is chiefly recognised as the mother of the central characters—the five Pandavas—h ...

in the course of their exile,

Bhima Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the ...

had a duel with Hidimba. Hidimba was slain by Bhima, and peace returned to the area. Legend further states that the boulders were part of the arsenal used during that duel.

Fort precincts

The Nayak Palegars built the fort as an impregnable fortification for defense purposes with 19 gateways, 38 posterior entrances, 35 secret entrances, four invisible passages, water tanks and 2000 watch towers to guard and keep a vigil on the enemy incursions. The storage warehouses, pits, and reservoirs were primarily designed to ensure the food, water and military supplies required to endure a long siege. Uniquely, all these facilities are still well conserved. Seven walls (called ''Yelusuttinakote'' in local language) form the fort. Each wall has a gate with ascending access through winding narrow corridors, which would make it difficult to use elephants for attacking the fort or to use "battering rams" to break down the gates. Small

embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of Age of Gunpowder, gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a sp ...

s in the fort walls were provided for use by

archers Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

to shoot arrows at the enemy. Four gates were provided in the outermost walls. The four gates (called ''Bagilu'' in Kannada) are Rangayyana Bagilu, Siddayyana Bagilu, Ucchangi Bagilu, and Lalkote Bagilu. Among the elaborate gateways, the gateway to the east of the fort has architectural features typical of the

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 ...

. Depending on the topography and the geological strata of the land, the fort walls were built with the height ranging from . Initially, it was built in mud but was subsequently strengthened in stretches with granite stone slabs in the 18th century. An outstanding feature noticed in several stretches of the fort walls is that no cementing material was used in joining the large granite cubes that have been neatly sized, cut, trimmed and placed in position. The total length of the fort walls is about and covers an area of about . It is also said that when the upper fort was strengthened for military purposes with gun positions, the services of French mercenaries were used. The massive 'Palace of Stones' fort contained many buildings and many temples set in the rocky surroundings on the hill. Madakari Nayaka V, the last ruler of the Nayakas of Chitradurga, utilized the fort successfully for defense until he was defeated by

in 1779. The fort thus stands as a tribute to the Nayakas who ruled this part of Karnataka. Subsequent additions to the forts were built with burnt bricks, set in mortar, plastered by a thin layer of cement or lime, and painted. However, the fort now shows deterioration. The mud-brick walls of the storehouses and granaries at the fort are getting eroded due to monsoon rains.

Temples in the fort

Eighteen temples were built in the upper fort. The presiding family deity of the Nayakas of Chitradurga was Goddess Ekanatheswari, an incarnation of Adi Parashakti. Ekanatheswari's footprints are sculpted into a block of stones at the entrance of the fort. Some of the well-known temples were the Hidimbeswara (an ancient legend is linked to it), Sampige Siddeshwara, Ekanathamma, Phalguneshwara, Gopala Krishna, Lord Hanuman, Subbaraya and Nandi. Hidimbeswara temple displays the tooth of Hidimba, the giant (

Rakshasa Rākshasa (, , ; ; "preservers") are a race of usually malevolent beings prominently featured in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Folk Islam. They reside on Earth but possess supernatural powers, which they usually use for evil acts such as ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

). It is said that Hidimba and his sister Hidimbi, a giantess, used to live in this temple. Hidimbi, who fell in love with Bhima (the second of the Pandava brothers of Mahabharata), married him and had a child named Ghatotkacha. A large cylinder about in circumference and high made of iron plates known as ''Bheri'' or

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

of Bheema is also located here. A monolithic pillar and two swing frames are also seen at the gate to this temple. Sampige Siddheshvara temple is at the foot of the hill. In the Gopalakrishna Temple, inscriptions date the idol to the early 14th century. In the lower fort, a temple dedicated to the tutelary deity of the Nayaka Palegars, the Uchchangiamma or Uthsavamba, was built amidst the rocks of the fort complex on the hill. The Murugarajendra Matha, a famous religious institution of the Lingayats, which was originally located within the fort, is now situated about to the northwest of Chitradurga.

Other structures

Rainwater-harvesting structures were built in a cascade development, which ensured large storage of water in interconnected reservoirs. It is said that the fort precincts never faced any water shortage. Historical linkage has been established by an archeological inscription dated 1284 AD found in the Panchalinga (Five

Linga A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, wher ...

s) cave in the Ankhi Matha area, to the west of Chitradurga. The inscription attributes the establishment of the Five Lingas ( aniconic symbols of

Lord Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...

) to the Pandavas. At Ankhi Matha, approached by stone steps, a series of ancient subterranean chambers cut out at different levels are seen, in addition to several places of worship and platforms. In the lower fort, a ''Cutcherry'' (administrative office) was added during Tippu Sultan's rule. Another interesting find in the arsenal is a quadruple mill made of masonry of depth and about diameter, which is inferred to be a device used for preparing gunpowder during Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan's rule. In Kannada language, it is called 'Maddu Bisuva Kallu,' which means "gunpowder grinding stone." The quadruple mill has four massive grinders with teeth or slots. These were rotated either by elephants or bullocks (in a central circular space) with an independent collection point for each of the four slots to collect the explosive gunpowder.

Feature films

Several Kannada language feature films have been produced, keeping the historicity of this fort in view. ''Nagara Havu'' (''

Cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

'') and ''Hamse Geete'' (''Swan Song'') are the most famous films produced in the locale of the fort. Another film reportedly under production is ''Veera Madakari Nayaka'', about the last ruler of the Nayaka kingdom.

Tourism

The fort is managed by Archeological Survey of India. It is open from dawn to dusk. Visitors are required to buy entrance tickets at the ticket counter and then explore the fort. Few guides are available at the entrance of the fort. Exploring the fort requires climbing. The fort is not disabled-friendly. The best time to explore the fort is in the morning when the temperature is comfortable. A hotel managed by Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation is located near the main entrance. The fort is located at a distance of about 180 kilometers from Bengaluru.

Gallery

File:Inner Citadel of the Chitradurga Fort.JPG, Inner citadel of the Chitradurga Fort File:General view inside Fort, with Europeans and party posed in foreground, Chitradurga.JPG, General view inside Fort, with Europeans and party posed in the foreground, Chitradurga File:Hidambeswara Temple - Chitradurga Fort, Karnataka - India.jpg, A temple ruin, Chitradurga. File:Chittuldroog. Temple of Chamondee. -Chamundi Temple, Chitradurga.-.JPG, Temples of Chamondee and Hidambeswara File:Chittuldroog. Temple of Chamondee. -Pillar and swing in the court of the Chamundi Temple, Chitradurga.-.JPG, Pillar, and swing in the court of the Hidambeshwara and Chamundi Temples, Chitradurga Image:Entrance wall.jpg, Wall of the fort, near the entrance Image:Chitradurga fort complex.jpg, Ruins of temples and mandapa within the fort Image:Obavvana Kindi.JPG, Onake Obavvana Kindi Image:Bandikhane.jpg, Bandikhane (jail)

References

External links

History of Nayakas of Chitradurga, Barry Lewis, Dept of Anthropology, University of Illinois
*Dr. Suryanath U. Kamath, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002) * B.L.Lewis, Epigraphic Carnatica, Gazetter of Mysore- Volume XI, Chitaldroog (Chitradurga) district 1903. CD-Rom Published by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Southern Regional Office, Bangalore {{Authority control Forts in Karnataka Buildings and structures in Chitradurga district 18th-century forts in India