My fascination for fortress will be everlasting. I had read so much
about Gingee Fort and its strategic part played in the annals of history
that i made up to visit the same on 25/1/10, clubbing the repubic day
holiday. We had a packed program with checking out Vellore Fort,
Tiruvanamalai temple and rushed to Gingee by bus. Our anxiety began when
we came to know that there is no cloak room, so we quickly took a risk
and deposited our luggage in a small tea hotel. We reached the ticket
counter at Gingee Fort, which is manned by ASI staff and paid Rs 5
enterance ticket per head. If we had been a little late the counter
would have been closed and so our effort of reaching Gingee. So the
saying goes Fortune favours the brave, but i advice my friends it is
better not to take a chance. Gingee fort tour takes up an entire day
almost, better to arrive early and leave early.
Route : Gingee can reached from Chennai via Tindivanam by train and bus. The total
distance
is 160 km on a beautiful highway. If one likes to try an alernative
route from Bangalore, it can be covered via Vellore, Tiruvanamalai and
Gingee. The distance from Vellore to Tiruvanamali which is 70 kms and
from there Gingee is another 40 kms. We took this route to cover Gingee.
Route : Gingee can reached from Chennai via Tindivanam by train and bus. The total
distance
is 160 km on a beautiful highway. If one likes to try an alernative
route from Bangalore, it can be covered via Vellore, Tiruvanamalai and
Gingee. The distance from Vellore to Tiruvanamali which is 70 kms and
from there Gingee is another 40 kms. We took this route to cover Gingee.
Etymology : The name Gingee is actually pronounced as
Genji, which in Tulu means Crab. Remember the main sponsorers of Fort
construction were the Vijayanagar Kings. There are other versions such 
as
the place is named after the Virgin sisters. Senjiamman temple is
dedicated to one of the seven sisters. Another fable points towards the
episode of Sanjeevi being procured by Lord Hanuman from these hillocks,
to save Lord Laxman who was lying injured in the war against Ravan. The
hillocks were known as Sengiri, which meant Red hills. Another tale
relates the name to Singavaram, wherein Vaishnav diety is supposed to be
headquartered. The most common accepted tradition is that of Senjiamman
who is worshipped in one of the shrines located on the hillock. The
name stuck as a dedication to this virgin diety who is supposed to have
committed suicide to escape the tormentors.
Gingee FORT : The fort is spread over 3 hillocks with over 9 kms circumferance. This area being strategic was well endowed with water resources, granary, temple, barracks, Palace, Moat etc. It also contained paddy fields which were cultivated with natural rain water. There are two main enterance to the Fort, one is on the eastern sid
e called as Pondicherry gate and other on the northern front named as Arcot or Delhi gate.
The fort is originally built by Ananda Kone around 1200 AD, who were the original chieftans of Gingee. Earlier to this citadel Cholas seemed to have a strategic interest in this locale from the 9th century, may be a watch tower to protect against enemy invasion. The first citadel at Rajagiri was built by Ananda Kone and later Krishna Kone built the second citadel in 1240 AD, who was the successor to Ananda kone. Later these chieftans became feudatories of the Hoysala empire under Virasomeshwara ( 1235 - 1254 AD ). The Ranganatha temple located on the Rajagiri hills seems to have been constucted during the Hoysala period. There is one more temple known as Kamalakanni Amman enroute to Rajgiri.
Venkatramana Temple : This temple was built during Vijaynagar times. It was built by Muthyalu Nayaka ( 1540 - 1550 AD ) This massive temple has a huge gopuram and
a mantap in front of the temple where a pond would have been located in
ancient times. After the fall of Vijaynagar empire in 1565 AD, many of
the subsidiaries re-located with wealth to different places such as Penkonda,
Chandragiri and Gingee. Gingee must have been a partial storehouse for
the treasures accumulated by the kings. The Nayaks who were subsidiary
of the Vijayanagar protected the royalty and continued to rule this
territory.
Meanwhile Nawab of Arcot started gaining prominence with the headquaters at
Arcot.
Raja Desingh ( 1714 AD ) who ascended the throne at Gingee rebelled
against the Nawabs and refused to pay tax to his overlords. He was
brutally defeated by the Nawabs and the entire fort was taken over. The
heroic Desingh was given a decent funeral with his wife committing sati
on the pyre of her husband.
Some monolithic pillars well carved were taken away by the French to be relocated in Pondicherry to be used as decor for Dupleix statue, who was the governor during the French occupation of Gingee in 1761 AD.
Palace Complex : Who destroyed the palace complex at Gingee seems to be mystery which needs to be solved. In 1676 AD Shivaji maharaj captured the forts of Vellore and Gingee. Gingee served as Maratha capital for 9 years during the war period. Some of the wealth was obviously taken away by Shivaji to strengthen his empire. He installed Desingh ( Tej singh )who belonged to the Maratha clan. The
Nawabs
of Arcot, who were descendents of Bijapur sultans obviously occupied
the Gingee after defeating Raja Desingh. In 1674 the sultans of Bijapur
raided Gingee and almost destroyed majority of its edifices. It was a
deadly blow to the sprawling capital of Gingee. The palace seems to have
been destroyed during the warfare with French by the Nawabs with cannon
fire. All the remaining wealth was looted by the French, some were
salvaged by the Nawabs. The palace naturally became a target of
vandalism by the French soldiers who conquered this place. The French
handed over this territory to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in 1772 upto
1790 they reigned along with the help of the Nawab of Arcot.
Subsequently after the defeat of Tipu sultan, the British took over the
FORT, and by 1823 due to insalubrity of this area they vacated the
Fortress and it was in ruins by 1823. The British had a firm base in the
form of Fort St George.
Venugopalswami Temple : This temple is located near the western gate of the Inner Fortress. Besides the temple is the Kalyana Mahal which is a multi-storeyed building with pyramid type of rooftop. This edifice was used to preserve grains in a dry condition in certain chambers. It was also used as resting place during the torrid summer for the royalty.
as
the place is named after the Virgin sisters. Senjiamman temple is
dedicated to one of the seven sisters. Another fable points towards the
episode of Sanjeevi being procured by Lord Hanuman from these hillocks,
to save Lord Laxman who was lying injured in the war against Ravan. The
hillocks were known as Sengiri, which meant Red hills. Another tale
relates the name to Singavaram, wherein Vaishnav diety is supposed to be
headquartered. The most common accepted tradition is that of Senjiamman
who is worshipped in one of the shrines located on the hillock. The
name stuck as a dedication to this virgin diety who is supposed to have
committed suicide to escape the tormentors.Gingee FORT : The fort is spread over 3 hillocks with over 9 kms circumferance. This area being strategic was well endowed with water resources, granary, temple, barracks, Palace, Moat etc. It also contained paddy fields which were cultivated with natural rain water. There are two main enterance to the Fort, one is on the eastern sid
e called as Pondicherry gate and other on the northern front named as Arcot or Delhi gate.The fort is originally built by Ananda Kone around 1200 AD, who were the original chieftans of Gingee. Earlier to this citadel Cholas seemed to have a strategic interest in this locale from the 9th century, may be a watch tower to protect against enemy invasion. The first citadel at Rajagiri was built by Ananda Kone and later Krishna Kone built the second citadel in 1240 AD, who was the successor to Ananda kone. Later these chieftans became feudatories of the Hoysala empire under Virasomeshwara ( 1235 - 1254 AD ). The Ranganatha temple located on the Rajagiri hills seems to have been constucted during the Hoysala period. There is one more temple known as Kamalakanni Amman enroute to Rajgiri.
Venkatramana Temple : This temple was built during Vijaynagar times. It was built by Muthyalu Nayaka ( 1540 - 1550 AD ) This massive temple has a huge gopuram and
a mantap in front of the temple where a pond would have been located in
ancient times. After the fall of Vijaynagar empire in 1565 AD, many of
the subsidiaries re-located with wealth to different places such as Penkonda,
Chandragiri and Gingee. Gingee must have been a partial storehouse for
the treasures accumulated by the kings. The Nayaks who were subsidiary
of the Vijayanagar protected the royalty and continued to rule this
territory.Meanwhile Nawab of Arcot started gaining prominence with the headquaters at
Arcot.
Raja Desingh ( 1714 AD ) who ascended the throne at Gingee rebelled
against the Nawabs and refused to pay tax to his overlords. He was
brutally defeated by the Nawabs and the entire fort was taken over. The
heroic Desingh was given a decent funeral with his wife committing sati
on the pyre of her husband.Some monolithic pillars well carved were taken away by the French to be relocated in Pondicherry to be used as decor for Dupleix statue, who was the governor during the French occupation of Gingee in 1761 AD.
Palace Complex : Who destroyed the palace complex at Gingee seems to be mystery which needs to be solved. In 1676 AD Shivaji maharaj captured the forts of Vellore and Gingee. Gingee served as Maratha capital for 9 years during the war period. Some of the wealth was obviously taken away by Shivaji to strengthen his empire. He installed Desingh ( Tej singh )who belonged to the Maratha clan. The
Nawabs
of Arcot, who were descendents of Bijapur sultans obviously occupied
the Gingee after defeating Raja Desingh. In 1674 the sultans of Bijapur
raided Gingee and almost destroyed majority of its edifices. It was a
deadly blow to the sprawling capital of Gingee. The palace seems to have
been destroyed during the warfare with French by the Nawabs with cannon
fire. All the remaining wealth was looted by the French, some were
salvaged by the Nawabs. The palace naturally became a target of
vandalism by the French soldiers who conquered this place. The French
handed over this territory to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in 1772 upto
1790 they reigned along with the help of the Nawab of Arcot.
Subsequently after the defeat of Tipu sultan, the British took over the
FORT, and by 1823 due to insalubrity of this area they vacated the
Fortress and it was in ruins by 1823. The British had a firm base in the
form of Fort St George.Venugopalswami Temple : This temple is located near the western gate of the Inner Fortress. Besides the temple is the Kalyana Mahal which is a multi-storeyed building with pyramid type of rooftop. This edifice was used to preserve grains in a dry condition in certain chambers. It was also used as resting place during the torrid summer for the royalty.
Venkatrama Temple : This
temple is the largest edifice with the Gingee fort complex, and the
temple was constructed by Muthyalu Nayaka ( 1540 to 1550 AD ). The
complex contains number of Tamil inscriptions revealing the endowment to
the temple. Many of the pillars were pillaged and taken away to
decorate Dupliex statute in Pondicherry.
Overall
a visit to Gingee fort will unfold history like never before, from the
Jains,Hoysalas, Vijayanagar emperors to Nayaks, Desingh, Shivaji,
Mughals, Nawabs of arcot, French, Tipu Sultan and the British. One
requires to be prepared for a hard trek uphill, better be prepared with
Sunscreen, Salt and glucose and bites to recoup. Umbrella and cap would
protect one s skull from being overheated. The entire area is desolated
and reminds one of the numerous wars fought in the surroundings
1 comment:
One of my favorite forts visited till date .
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