A big thanks to unlock after the covid times and we were able to visit some popular places which we avoided earlier to visit as its too main stream but we decided to know about every place as each one has its own history and legend.. We were also very happy to meet Mr Jothiraj aka Kothi Raj who is a 7 time champion in freestyle climbing and also to see him perform in live... This time we chose the mighty Chitradurga fort..
Chitradurga, a city in Karnataka, has a rich heritage and is associated with the legendary Onake Obavva. Chitradurga gets its name from Chitrakaldurga, an umbrella-shaped hill which lies here. It was also known by the names Chitradurg, Chitrakaladurga, and Chittaldurg. Here we bring to you a few interesting things about the legendary Chitradurga Fort. The history of the fort : The Nayakas of Chitradurga Thimmappa Nayaka was the first ruler of this lineage.
The Nayakas of Chitradurga took independent control of the region for 200 years. It was during their rule that they would support both the Marathas and Hyder Ali. This tact of playing on both sides backfired when Madakari Nayaka V was betrayed by the Marathas when Hyder Ali attacked the fort and took him, prisoner. While it took several wars for Hyder Ali to finally triumph, it was during one of these wars that the heroics of Onake Obavva became a part of the folklore. Onake Obavva : Obavva was substituting for her husband, a soldier named Maddha Hanumappa.
She was guarding a secret opening when she heard the sounds of several enemy soldiers trying to get through the crevice. She hit them one by one with her onake (pestle for grinding paddy) with such force that they all died. When her husband saw her, she was surrounded by the bodies of these dead soldiers and this is when he blew the bugle and got his fellow soldiers to defeat Hyder Ali’s troops. Today, you can see that Obbavvana Kindi in Chitradurga. Temples and Tributes :
The massive ‘Palace of Stones’ fort contained many buildings and many temples set in the rocky surroundings on the hill. Eighteen temples were built in the upper fort. Some of the well-known temples were the Hidimbeswara, Sampige Siddeshwara, Ekanathamma, Phalguneshwara, Gopala Krishna, Lord Hanuman, Subbaraya and Nandi. In the lower fort, a temple dedicated to the deity of the Nayaka Palegars, the Uchchangiamma or Uthsavamba, was built amidst the rocks of the fort on the hill.
The Hidamba Temple at the top of the Fort
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