Chitradurga district

Chitradurga district (ಚಿತ್ರದುರ್ಗ in ) is an administrative district of state in southern. The city of is the district headquarters. Chitradurga gets its name from Chitrakaldurga, an umbrella-shaped lofty hill found there. Tradition dates Chitradurga District to the period of the and. The whole district lies in the valley of the, with the flowing in the northwest. During the British times it was named Chitaldrug. The district was practically ruled by all the well known dynasties that ruled Karnataka.

Demographics
The population was 1,517,896, of which 18.07% were urban as of 2001 comprising, , Gollas (Yadavs), , , s, and several other communities. Majority of the people in Chitradurga are Hindus with Muslims comprising about 9% of the population. Kannada is the most widely spoken language but Urdu and Telugu is also spoken near areas bordering.

Geography
The district is hilly, with lots of forts and villages. The district is bounded by to the southeast and south,  to the southwest,  to the west,  to the north, and  of  state to the east. was formerly part of Chitradurga. The district is divided into s, namely, , , , and. It is rich in mineral deposits, including gold prospecting at Halekal, Kotemardi or Bedimaradi, etc., and open cast copper mines at Ingaldhal.

History and Legends
Chitradurga features bold rock hills and picturesque valleys, huge towering boulders in unimaginable shapes. It is known as the "stone fortress" (Kallina Kote). The landscape looks much like a mischievous giant's playground, with boulders thrown around, forming silhouettes against the sky. According to a story in the Epic Mahabharatha, a man-eating gaint named Hidimbasura lived on the Chitradurga hill and was a source of terror to everyone around. When the s came with their mother in the course of their exile,  had a duel with Hidimba. Hidimba was slain by Bhima and peace returned to the area. Legend has it the boulders were part of the arsenal used during that duel. In fact, the boulders on which major part of the city rests belong to the oldest rock formation in the country.

Timmana Nayaka a chieften under the Vijayanagar empire rose to the rank of governor of Chitradurga as a reward for his excellence in military achievements, from the Vijayanagara ruler. This was the beginning of the rule of the. His son Obana Nayaka is known by the name Madakari Nayaka CE. Madakari Nayaka's son Kasturi Rangappa succeeded him and consolidated the kingdom to rule peacefully. As he had no heirs to succeed him, his adopted son, the apparent heir was enthroned but was killed in few months by the Dalavayis.

Chikkanna Nayaka, the brother of Madakari Nayaka II sat on the throne, and his brother succeeded him with the title Madakari Nayaka III in. The unwillingness of Dalawayis to accept Madakari Nayaka III's rule gave an opportunity to one of their distant relatives, Bharamappa Nayaka to ascend the throne in. He is known as dthe greatest of the Nayaka rulers. Somehow, the subjects of Chitradurga did not experience a good reign of the successive rulers as they ruled on the throne for very brief periods. The Hiri Madakari Nayaka IV, Kasturi Rangappa Nayaka II , Madakari Nayaka V ruled this area but there is not much to mention of their rule.

Battle with Hyder Ali, Legend of Obavva
During the reign of Madakari Nayaka, the city of Chitradurga was besieged by the troops of. A chance sighting of a woman entering the Chitradurga fort through an opening in the rocks led to a clever plan by Hyder Ali to send his soldiers through the hole. The guard on duty near that hole had gone home for lunch and asked his wife to be on guard until he was back. The wife of that guard, Obavva while in her temporary seat, noticed soldiers emerging out of this opening. Obavva was not perturbed. She was carrying with her a 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. The opening in the rocks still remains as a historical witness for the story, beside the Tanniru doni a small water source which holds cold water all round the year. Though her sincere and 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 woman of Karnataka.

The Fort (ಏಳು ಸುತ್ತಿನ ಕೋಟೆ )
is renowned for its Kallina Kote /  Ukinna kote  /  Elu Suttina kote which was built in parts by the Palegar Nayakas, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. It comprises a series of seven enclosure walls in. Eighteen ancient temples can be found inside the fort. This seemingly impregnable fort has 19 gateways, 38 posterior entrances, a palace, a mosque, granaries, oil pits, four and water tanks.

Culture under Palayagara's
Known for their valour, Chitradurga's Nayaka Palyagaras were also patrons of great musicians. Writer Ta. Ra. Su (T.R. Subba Rao) has not only researched extensively in the area, but has brought to life several characters who lived in those times in the forted city. Several films (notably Nagara Haavu and Hamsa Geete have brought to life the glory of this fort).

Location
Accessible by road, this fortress lies on the outskirts of what is Chitradurga today. City of Chitradurga is located at the junction of NH-4 (Bangalore-Pune National Highway) and NH-13 (Sollapur-Mangalore National Highway). Chitradurga is also accessible by train. There is a daily service to Bangalore and weekely services to Mumbai. Proposed link between Chitradurga and Tumkur can reduce the travel time to Bangalore by half.

Famous People

 * T.R. Subba Rao (Tarasu) - Sahitya academy award, 1985
 * Nijalinge gouda
 * Madakari Nayaka - Chieften under Vijayanagar Empire
 * Baramanna Nayaka
 * Onake Obavva - Legendary woman who fought 's army.
 * S.NijaLingappa (vinayak) - honest politician, ex-CM, ex-MP and ex all India congress leader
 * Venkata Subba Iyengar the musician based on whom Hamsageethe movie was made.
 * Prasanna - Prasanna Theatre and Landlord

Places to Visit
Chitradurga Kote  is a fort that is one of a kind, as it is built on top of hill with stones. Chitra-durg gets it's name because of this fort. "Chitra durga" means "picture perfect".

Ashoka Siddapura is an important archeological site where emperor Ashoka's edits were found. Nearby is Ramagiri, a hillock that has mythical associations with the epic Ramayana. A temple dedicated to Rameshwara built in 926 CE. exists here.

Brahmagiri village is the ancient site of Ishila, one of emperor Ashoka's provincial capitals. His earliest rock edicts in Brahmi script and Prakrit language (3rd c. BC) containing Kannada words were discovered here.

Chandravalli is an ancient archeological site where painted pottery and coins from the empire and prehistoric times were discovered. The rock inscription of king dated 450CE. discovered here gave historians much information about 's first kingdom.

situated on the right bank of Vedavathi river is famous for its Tirumalleshawara temple. The temple has impressive lofty gopura and the ceiling of the main hall is painted with scenes from the Shivapurana and Ramayana.

Jogimatti Hill Station

Molakalmuru fortified town of the

Neerthadi is famous for its Ranganathaswamy temple built in style.

Vani Vilas Sagar(also known as )an artificial lake built by the Mysore Maharaja across the river Vedavathi. The reservoir has two mantapas built in saracenic style.

Thamatekallu has ancient rock and the oldest virgallu or  inscription in Karnataka.

is well known for its 10th century Jain settlement and 9 ft. tall statue of Bala Ganapathi, a child form of Hindu god Ganapathi.

Doddahottrangappa Hill has a Ranganathaswamy temple on top of a hillock which is a trekkers paradise.

near is well known for the temple & wells, the well has white coloured water (looks like milk) in it that's why the name 'Halu' Rameshwara.