Devanahalli Fort | |
|---|---|
village | |
 Entrance from inside, Devanahalli Fort | |
  Devanahalli Fort Location in Karnataka, India | |
| Coordinates:13°14′59″N77°42′34″E / 13.24960°N 77.70939°E /13.24960; 77.70939 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Bangalore Rural |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Kannada |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
Devanahalli Fort is located 35 kilometers (22 mi) north of Bangalore city, at Devanahalli in the State of Karnataka, India. Chieftain Malla Byre Gowda of Avathi, aVijayanagara Empire vassal, built a mud fort in c. 1501 at Devanadoddi (now called Devanahalli). In the late 18th century,Hyder Ali re-constructed the fort in stone resulting in the current structure.
It was originally built in 1501 by Mallabairegowda,[1][2][3][4] which remained in the hands of his descendants until the mid–eighteenth century. In 1749, the then Dalwai ofMysore, Nanjarajaiah, attacked the fort andoccupied it.Later, the fort passed into the hands ofHyder Ali and subsequentlyTipu Sultan.[2] In 1791,Lord Cornwallis laidsiege to the fort and took possession during theAnglo-Mysore War.
The birthplace ofTipu Sultan, also known asTiger ofMysore, is located near to the fort.[5] The fort is situated on the side ofNational Highway 7, near theBengaluru International Airport.
AnArchaeological Survey of India (ASI) board outside the fort and at Tipu Sultan's birthplace declares them to be protected monuments.[6][7]
The history of Devanahalli dates back to 15th century, when a family of fleeing refugees from Conjeevaram (modern dayKanchi), camped near the foot of Ramaswami betta, east ofNandi Hills. Their leader Rana Baire Gowda was apparently directed in a dream to set up a settlement in this region. He and hisMorasu Wokkalu family settled in a small village, Ahuti, which was later known as Avati. His son Malla Baire Gowda founded Devanahalli, Chikka-ballapura and Dodda-ballapura.Kempegowda, the founder of Bangalore city is also fromMorasu Wokkalu family.[5]
Devanahalli was part ofGangawadi and later came under the rule ofRashatrakutas, Nolamba,Pallavas,Cholas,Hoysalas and theVijayanagara rulers. During the time of Vijayanagara rule, Malla Baire constructed the initial mud fort in 1501 AD with the consent of Devaraya at Devanadoddi, the previous name of Devanahalli. In 1747 AD, the fort passed into the hands of theWodeyars ofMysore under the command of Nanja Raja. It was conquered many times from theMarathas and later came under the control ofHaider Ali andTipu Sultan.
Tipu also renamed it as Yousafabad (the abode of Yousuf, the finest man) which never got popular.[8] The fort finally fell into the British, underLord Cornwallis in 1791, during theMysore War.
[9][10] Fort is spread over an area of 20 acres (8 ha).[2] The roughly oval east oriented fortification veneered with dressed masonry has as many as 12 semi-circular bastions at regular intervals. A spacious battlement is provided towards the inner side of the fortification. The fort has entrances decorated with cut plasterwork at the east and west. The entrances are quite small, comfortable enough for the horses of yore. The bastions are provided with gun points built with lime and brick.
The house in which Tipu and Hyder Ali lived also still exists. The house of Dewan Purnaiah, a high-ranking official in Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan's court, is also located inside the fort.[8]
A memorial with a small plaque stands 150 m (160 yd) south-west outside of the fort, stating that Tipu Sultan was born here in 1751.[1][2][5] It is about six feet (2 m) tall with a pillared enclosure and square top and bears a stone tablet.[11]
The area around the enclosure is known asKhas Bagh and has a dried up stone pond, banana, tamarind and mango plantations.
The small town inside the strong walls of Devanahalli fort has many temples. TheVenugopalaswamy temple, which faces the main town road is one of the oldest among them. The courtyard, with aGaruda Stamba, is spacious and the walls of the temple depict various scenes from Ramayana and the feats of Lord Krishna as a child, and the pillars have beautiful statues carved on them. The sculptures in this temple is said to be comparable to the temples of Belur and Halebid. On the pillars of the main entrance stand two horsemen with swords unsheathed. TheGarbhagriha has a standing Venugopala image ofVijayanagara style. There is a Dravidian styleShikhara over the temple. The Navaranga has four black-stoned pillars carved with fine relief sculptures on all sides, such ashayagriva, dancing female figures with attendant musicians, a conch blower, akinnara with the lower portion of his body in bird form, a huntress removing a thorn from her leg, etc.Ateru is the big chariot used to parade the idol of Gopalaswamy around the town once a year.
A few yards away from the Venugopalaswamy temple is Siddalingeshwara temple. Next to this temple is aRaghavendraswamy Mata.
Across the street is another age old temple, Chandramouleshwara Temple. It has a spacious innerprakara and is built inVijayanagara style. The Garbhagriha has ashivalinga, and there are two cells on either side with idols of lordGanapati and goddessParvati enshrined respectively.
On the left of the main road stands another temple dedicated toAnjaneya known as Sarovaranjaneya temple.
The Nanjundeshwara temple is a small building with two cells in a line and a commonnavaranga. It is said that this was earlier called Kashi Vishveshwara and is regarded as the oldest temple in the town.
