There are seven rounds of the fort. The first gate, Sante Bagilu (market entrance) and Aane Bagilu (elephant entrance), lie at the city center. The old city lies within the walls of the first round of the fort, which is listed under National Heritage Monuments, and the nominal fee charged at the entrance goes towards its maintenance.

One wonders what kind of cranes might have been used to place those huge boulders on the fort walls of up to 9 meters. Some rock faces have carvings of deities, flowers, animals and geometric designs. Cool corridors in-between the high walls lead to the enormous entrance of the third gate, where two small porticos have long stone sofas. The vestiges of the groves at the stone entrance offer a peek into the size of the doors that might have existed; only elephants could have moved those heavy doors.

The fort of Chitradurga is a second century monument of the Palegars (feudatories) of the Vijayanagara Dynasty. This sublime beauty has withstood centuries, in spite of numerous aggressions. Its architectural symmetry, intricate in-laid patterns in stones, designed frames and arches invest it with a bewitching look. With walls running to a total length of 51.5 kilometers, 36 artistic main gates, 68 sub-gates, 102 secret entrances and 500 bastions, the fort is considered an engineering marvel. The strength-personifying Bhima of Mahabharata is supposed to have courted Hidimba at this historic fort city. There’s a Hidimbeshawara temple as a tribute.

Chitradurga has a hoary and checkered history dating back to the prehistoric period. According to authentic information available through excavations and other evidence, the Chitradurga territory was ruled by the Shatavahanas of the second century AD and Kadambas, Rastrakutas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara rulers. Later it came under the rule of the mighty Hindu dynasty of Vijayanagar and was ruled by their feudatories.

The structure of the massive fort is still a riddle with its many secret passages and hideouts. Historians describe the Chitradurga fort as one of the biggest in India, and its layout was designed to be impenetrable by the enemies. Lakes and water channels around the fort made it inaccessible. It’s intelligently designed to retain and utilize the natural rock formations of the mountain.

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Art, culture, music and dance flourished during the latest rulers. Remains of the fort and temples inside it give an insight into this feature.

A massive oxen-driven stone grinder at the fourth gate is a marvel that is supposed to have been engineered by a French architect. The machine is designed for two oxen or horses to pull the roller to operate four grinders at a time. Gun powder was made here.

At the top, an imposing stone mantle for the swing that was supposed to have been used by royal ladies leads to the Gulmohar-clad Ekanatheshwari temple. It makes for a good view point for the panoramic scene of the city below and its surrounding mountains. A further walk under a stone bridge draws visitors to the fragrance of Champaka flowers at the Sampige Siddeshvara temples further up.

On the other side are the remains of the mint, where the rulers minted their own currency. Akka Honda (big sister tank) and Tangi Honda (small sister tank) were supposedly the bathing pools for the two reigning queens. The mountain’s numerous huge rocks of different shapes and sizes make for beautiful sights. These natural rock formations are aesthetically incorporated into the fort wall.

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If you’re fortunate, you might witness acrobatics of Kothi Raja (monkey king), the self taught youth who has mastered the climbs at this mountain fort. The migrant from Tamil Nadu has made the fort his playground for bettering his acrobatics and entertains visitors with finesse. Monkeys, whom he calls as his masters, are always around at the fort.

School children on a tour of the fort are more fascinated by the legendary story of Onake Obavva, which forms part of their study syllabi in school.

Legendary story of Onake Obavva

Heroic bravery instigated by patriotism led Onake (pounding stick) Obavva, a sentry's wife, to fight against the mighty battalion of Hyder Ali.

Obavva's husband was a guard at one of the secret entries at the back of the fort. Everyday he would come home (which was inside the fort itself) for lunch. Once when he was having lunch, his wife Obavva found that the drinking water pot was empty and hence she went to fetch water. As she was walking back home, she heard a noise near one of the secret entries of the fort. She knew immediately that somebody was trying to enter the fort illegally. If she had called her husband, he would have to leave his lunch halfway. She did not want to disturb her hungry and tired husband. The entrance was small, just enough for a single person to crawl inside. Her reflexes worked quickly. A brave idea came to her mind.

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She went home, gave water to her husband and returned quietly with a big pounding stick and stood at the secret entrance. As each intruder crawled up into the fort, she hit on his head and pulled his body away and followed the feat will all the following intruders. The attacking army on the other side must have assumed that their fellow members were successful in entering the fort and thus continued to crawl in through the narrow entrance one by one. When Obavva did not return home for long, her husband came looking for her and was astonished to see Obavva's brave act. He then alerted soldiers, who came and took charge.

The patriotism and bravery shown by the ordinary sentry's wife runs as a legend in Karnataka, and its reminiscent evidence can still be witnessed inside the fort. Children queue up to enter through the infamous secret passage.

The fort and its magnificent interiors leave a lasting memory.

***

Anand & Madhura Katti (husband & wife team) are award winning travel journalists based in Mumbai, India. They travel across the country and the world, attending many travel trade, hotel industry summits, and conferences. They also have contributed to many Indian newspapers and some overseas publications for 26 years.

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