Nagunur Fort was a fort built by the

Kakatiya dynasty The Kakatiya dynasty (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kākatīya) was a Andhras, Telugu dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan Plateau, Deccan region in present-day India between 12th and 14th centuries. Their ter ...

. It is around 8 km north of

Karimnagar Karimnagar, also informally known as Elagandula, is a city and District Headquarters in the Indian state of Telangana. Karimnagar is a major urban agglomeration in the state. It is third largest City in the state and Municipal Corporation and i ...

. The fort is testimony to the imperial powers of the

Kakatiyas The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was a Telugu dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region in present-day India between 12th and 14th centuries. Their territory comprised much of the present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and p ...

. It was one of the most important forts of the emerging Kakatiya dynasty and contains ruins of a cluster of

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 ...

and

Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was a Telugu dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region in present-day India between 12th and 14th centuries. Their territory comprised much of the present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and p ...

temples. The town is named Nagunur in reference to the 400 temples that once existed here, so locals called it as Naluguvonalu and throughout many centuries it became Nagunur. The pillars and galleries around the

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

temple here are worth seeing. The most important temple in the complex is the Shiva temple, which has three shrines. The main entrance to the temple is on the northern side and the three shrines face the other three directions. Panels are carved with visuals of dancers in graceful poses. The main entrance of the temple faces North. The three shrines face the other three directions. The temple lies within the precincts of the Nagunur Fort. The fort was once the seat of power of the Kakatiyas. Its interiors which would once echo the sounds of a lively and bustling city today chants the silent agony of ruins and debris. Several other temples in decrepit state lie strewn on the Telangana State highway from Karimnagar to Rayapatnam. Buried under administrative delay, the temples, which were once the source of great activity, have today turned into a mute audience waiting for the healing touch.{{Cite web, url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/220718/nagunur-sits-on-past-glory-of-400-temples.html, title=Nagunur sits on past glory of 400 temples, last=Iyer, first=Lalita, date=2018-07-22, website=Deccan Chronicle, language=en, access-date=2019-04-25

References

Forts in Telangana

See also

References