Kavualedurga Fort (

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 ...

ಕವಲೇದುರ್ಗದ ಕೋಟೆ) is a 9th-century fort from

Thirthahalli Thirthahalli is a panchayat town located in the Shimoga district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the river Tunga River, Tunga and is also the headquarters of the Thirthahalli Taluk of Shimoga district. Geography Thirt ...

Shimoga Shimoga, officially Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the Karnataka state of India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of the Western Ghats, the city ...

. It was the fourth and last capital of

Keladi Keladi () is a temple town in Sagara Taluk of the state of Karnataka in India. Keladi is located about 8 km from the town of Sagara. History It is the place whence the ''Ikkeri'' chiefs derived their origin, which is thus related: Two ...

kingdom. Best fort reach before 3:30pm because 4pm is closing time

History

The fort was built in the 9th century, and it was renovated in the 14th century by Cheluvarangappa. Kavaledurga, also called Bhuvanagiri, was a stronghold of the

Nayakas of Keladi Nayakas of Keladi () (1499–1763), also known as Nayakas of Bednore () and Ikkeri Nayakas (), were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in post-medie ...

, who were the feudatories under the Vijayaanagara rulers and later became independent after the fall of the

Vijayanagara kingdom 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 t ...

. Venkatappa Nayaka (1582-1629) fortified the place here. Built a palace and made it an Agrahara with a Mahattina Matha. A Sringeri Matha. A treasury, a granary, stables for elephants and horses and ponds. The fort at Kavaledurga has three lines of walls, which are constructed of huge granite blocks following the natural contour of the hillock. Each fortification has a gateway flanked by guard- rooms on either side In between the fortifications there are temples, a ruined palace site and basement of structures. At the summit of the hill almost at the centre overlooking the western sea is a small temple popularly known as Shikhareshvara or Srikanthesvara temple. The Srikanthesvara temple on plan has a Garbhagriha. A Nandi mantapa and an entrance porch commanding a fine view of the setting sun beyond the western horizon. There is also a ruins of kashi vishwanath temple. The palace site within the fort has ornate basement of a large terraced structure. Recent clearance in the area has laid bare series of interconnected rooms enclosing a spacious inner quadrangle this is provided with a frontal spacious pillared Verandah A pooja room, kitchen with, five burner oven in stone, stone platform in the bath room with well developed water supply system, a large closed verandah leading to a stepped tank provide an insight into the palace architecture of the place. Kavaledurga Jain Temple Ruins

References

External links

{{commons category, Kavaledurga Fort 9th-century fortifications Forts in Karnataka Buildings and structures in Shimoga district Forts of the Keladi Nayaka Dynasty