One Two Ka Four plus One: Chitradurg Fort

Our journey to Chitradurg was long since we didnt halt at Banglore like we usually do and drove on to Chitradurg for another 3 hours.

The drive is very scenic and the roads are fabulous. As we approached Chitradurg the Windmills lining the skyline cant be missed and are a sight to see.

We saw so may windmill wings being carried on flatbeds and that's when one realises how enourmous these tiny looking windmills actually are.

Chitradurga situated in a hilly region is also known to experience wind currents throughout the year making it a suitable place to set up wind mills and wind farms. There are several Wind-Power based power plants located around Chitradurga and most of the hills are embellished with wind mills which can be seen while entering the city.

We reached our hotel room around 6;30-7 pm and were too squashed to do anything else but eat and sleep.

We woke up fresh and were all set to see the famous Chitradurg fort.

Chitradurga Fort was built between the 10th and 18th centuries by the kings various dynasties during that period which are Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas and Nayakas of Chitradurga. After Nayakas lost it to Hyder Ali in the year 1779, the fort was given its finishing touches by Hyder Ali along with his son Tipu Sultan. It comprises a series of seven enclosure walls in Kannada. On the upper part of the fort Eighteen ancient temples can be found and in the lower part of the fort there is one huge temple. 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 were used to harvest rainwater, and the fort was said to never suffer from a water shortage. This seemingly impregnable fort has 19 gateways, 38 posterior entrances, a palace, a mosque, granaries, oil pits, four secret entrances and water tanks.( Source Wikipedia)

Seeing the whole fort us about 2 hours, and the most enthusiastic one was Anuva. She
thoroughly enjoyed climbimg , jumping , running and posing for pictures.

So here is Chitradurg through my lens

Peek a boo! we are here...

The entry into the fort has two entrances the big one was for the Royals and smaller one for the comman man.

Walking upto the oil tanks.on the left, the huge rock has a cavity which stored oil. This oil was used for lighting the oil lamps/diyas every evening. This one is 9 feet deep.

As the pic explains, the slits in the walls were for guards to fire from and keep a watch

The kings made shrines for their beloved animals and believed that they would be with them and protect them even after dying.

The hinges of the gates is what Ansh is pointing at. the size of the hinge hole gives you a perspective of how huge the gates must have been

This is how the drains were

The below pic shows the 5th gate of the fort. Two are within the city and 5 within the fort. Every gate has an L shaped entrance..which is made my a wall just in front as you can see in the pic. The reason was that no army could catch momentum and or carry heavy long logs or objects etc to throw open the gates

Beautiful ..

Old and New...the new stones are laid by the archaeological department and the old lie next to them

Construction of any fort shows the engineering minds of the people of the 15 century. The pic below talks about how the stones were cut and taken for building purposes.

Chitradurg as the name suggests is a fort with natural paintings, Can you see a tiny elephant made of rock?

What can you see here?Right in the centre a frog and a little to the left a monkey mask.

can you see a rabbit and its ears?

The fort which once must be abuzz with people is so isolated now.

This is a small water tank..Beautifully captured by Ankush

Thanks Ankush for this beautiful picture..its one of my favourites

Thanks Anuva for posing:)

Another beautiful view..can you see Ganesh here?..i can ! and he has leaves over his ears too!

This is the mint looked in those days RBI of earlier times!

This is how the coins were stored in a secret chamber. The guards would then place a huge slab and place a Gods idol over it to disguise it as a temple.

My treasure ! All of it.

Anti skid made in those days by carving like this..Not only did yhis help people from not slipping but also gave the animals a grip to climb.

Here is an example of how they thought for their Animals. a hoof groove so that the horses could climb easily.

Madakari Nayaka (1758–1779) was a brave soldier and a shrewd administrator as well (also called as Madakari Nayaka V). He allied himself with Haider Ali of the Mysore Kingdom at times and at other times with the Marathas. It was during his time that Haider Ali attacked the Chitradurga Fort leading to the heroics of "Onake Obavva". Later having been betrayed by the Marathas and some local officers, Madakari Nayaka was defeated by Hyder Ali, taken prisoner and killed. The Chitradurga Nayakas form an integral part of Kannada folklore.

The guide told us that Madakari Nayaka had two wives and they were sisters. The sisters had one pond each where they bathed. Once Haider Ali conquered the fort, he demended the queens to become his but the queens refused and comitted suicide in these ponds.

Legend of Onake Obavva (from Wikipedia)During the reign of Madakari Nayaka, the town of Chitradurga was besieged by the troops of Hyder Ali. A chance sighting of a woman entering the Chitradurga fort through an opening in the rocks led to a clever plan byHyder Ali to send his soldiers through the hole. The guard on duty near that hole had gone home for lunch. The wife of that guard, Obavva was passing by the hole to collect water, when she noticed soldiers emerging out of this opening. Obavva was not perturbed. She was carrying with her an Onake (a long wooden club meant for pounding paddy grains). She killed Hyder Ali's soldiers one by one as they attempted to enter the fort through the opening and quietly moved the dead. Over a short period of time hundreds of soldiers entered and fell, without raising any suspicion. Obavva's husband, upon his return from his lunch was shocked to see Obavva standing with a blood stained Onake and hundreds of dead bodies of the enemy around her. Together both wife and husband beat up most of the soldiers. But as both of them were about to finish off all the soldiers of Hyder Ali, Obavva dies. The opening in the rocks still remains as a historical witness for the story, beside The Tanniru doni the well which Obavva was making her way to, when she found the soldieres of Hyder Ali. Though her brave attempt saved the fort on that occasion, Madakari Nayaka could not repel Hyder Ali's attack in 1779. In the ensuing battle, the fort of Chitradurga was lost to Hyder Ali. Obavva, like Kittur Rani Chennamma remains a legend, especially to the women of Karnataka