The bears that took over the fort

It is one of the most historic forts and it was the centre of five major dynasties. The fort itself is located on the banks of a river atop a hill. The fort and its surroundings make for an interesting getaway.

Over centuries, the fort was in the possession of the Qutb Shahis, Mughals and Asaf Jahs. The Kings of these dynasties took over the fort and strengthened its ramparts. But in the last few years, the fort has been in the news as it has been taken over by bears. Yes, bears. This can happen only in India. Mera Bharat Mahaan.

Read on about the capture of the fort by the bears…..

This is the Elgandal Fort in Karminagar district of Andhra Pradesh. It is situated on the banks of the Manair River which is a small tributary of the Godavari. The fort is on the Kamareddy road and it is just ten kilometers from Karminagar.

The fort is an important historical link as it has been the centre of  five dynasties, including the Kakatiyas of Warangal, Bahamanis of Gulbarga and Bidar, Qutb Shahis of Golconda, Mughals of north India and Asif Jahs of Hyderabad.

During the Nizam rule, Elgandal was the headquarters of Karimnagar province. It is believed that there is a secret tunnel connecting Elgandal Fort and Manakondur Fort which is nine kilometers away Karimnagar on the Karimnagar-Warangal highway.

Well, all this is now past. Now for the bear attack. In 2011, the fort was closed for two months and tourists were denied entry to the fort after the bears took over the ancient citadel.

The fort remained closed for more than two months and it was reopened only after the residents of  Elgandal and scores of tourists pleaded with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the local administration to reopen it.

The ASI and local administration had acted swiftly after they were informed that several bears had  entered the fort and made it their home. These sloth bears had lumbered into the fort in the first week of November 2011 from the nearby hills and forests.

The bears had been obviously driven out of their lair by continuous blasting and setting off of explosives at stone and quarry units operating both legally and mostly illegally in and around the hills ringing the fort.

Initially, the bears took over the fort only during nights. But soon, they decided to make it their permanent home. The fort afforded them protection from the continuous blasting and also gave them relief from any human movement.

The bears were noticed moving about in the fort and the Forest Department was quickly informed. When the Forest officials visited the fort, they found that six bears had made the ancient monument their home.

Moreover, one female bear had delivered several cubs and it was in an aggressive mood snapping at anyone who came near her and her cubs.  

They realised that it would be extremely difficult to shift them out of the fort. Moreover, they could not stop the continuous blasting at stone and quarry sites. With the villagers piling on the pressure to do something, they did what is best known to them. Close the fort and let the bears be.

The Forest officials then called in the ASI. When apprised of the “bearish” visitors, the ASI agreed to close down the fort, albeit temporarily.

This was in November first week of 2011. After the ASI closed the fort to the public, the villagers too on their part, prevented visitors from entering the fort.

The fort remained closed for over two months before it began pinching the pockets of  some residents of  the area who made a living by guiding the visitors around the fort, providing food and accommodation. The many shop keepers around the fort too faced difficult times as business dried up.

When weeks turned into months and there was still no sign of the local authorities in evicting the bears from the fort, the residents once again approached the authorities and this time it was for reopening the fort. You see, the earlier caution about bear attack had now been replaced by the lure of the lucre.

The local authorities dithered but gave in when the residents and elected members made a pitch for reopening the fort and if need be chase away the bears which had taken over the fort.

It was then that scores of residents of  the area, sarpanch, MPTC member and enthusiastic youths entered the fort to the beating of drums and blaring of horns and shouting . You see, these people were as scared of the bears as the animals were of human beings. The while party went to the fort like conquerors to the beating of drums and waving of fire torches. Alas, their bravado was in vain as the bears, it seems, had beat a retreat.

The bears had magnanimously left the fort that had so effortlessly captured a few months ago. Later, Forest official found tracks showing that the bears had made their way back to their lair through the hillocks and thick bushes surrounding the fort.

The bear retreat was brought to the notice of the ASI which then threw open the fort for visitors again.

However, the residents of the area are still wary of a renewed bear attack. Even to this day, they fear that the wild bears may intrude into the fort. They wanted the authorities to chalk out a plan to protect them and the tourists entering the fort.

By the way, this was not the first time that the fort came under bear attack.

In 2010, the fort remained closed  for visitors and tourists for ten days following bear sightings. The ASI and locals had put up a poster on the fort walls stating that the “fort remained closed due to intrusion of wild bears”.

Elgandal was the first headquarters of Karimnagar during the Nizam rule. It has several monuments of architectural value, including shaking minarets and minarets that are almost the same height as those of  Char Minar in Hyderabad.

The fort was once surrounded by a wide moat which was five metres in breadth and four metres deep. Crocodiles were let into the trenches to stop enemies from venturing near the ramparts. Visitors who came to the fort are in for a surprise when they see greenery amid huge rocks.

A climb of 250 steps leads to the entrance of the fort. The Brindavan tank, mosques, temple of  Narasimha swamy and ruined buildings greet you here. There is a four- minar mosque which reminds the visitors of Char Minar in Hyderabad.

The fort has 17 cannons with 16 of then being forge welded and the lone one cast in iron. Blacksmiths of Kodimyal constructed the Kodimyal Tope on the ramparts of the fort.

The place was earlier known as Bahudhanyapuram, Tellakandula and Veligandula. In course of time, it came to be called as Elgandal. It was the capital of Telangana till 1905.

The Kaman is one of the oldest constructions that greets visitors to the town. It was built by a trader in 1937 at the entrance to the town on the Hyderabad road. Christian missionaries entered Karimnagar town in 1882-87 and built landmarks like the Mission Hospital in the town.

The mosque within a temple

This temple stands next to the Srinivasa or Venkataramana temple in Tirupathi in terms of revenue. Like the Srinivasa temple, this too attracts people from all faiths-including Vaishnavas, Shaivites, Jains and Buddhists.

But what sets this temple apart from perhaps all other religious structures in the country is the presence of a 400-year-old mosque within its vicinity. This could be the only temple in India which has a mosque inside. A rare and centuries-old example of Hindu-Muslim unity, which is the need of the hour today.

Though the main deity of the temple is that of Shiva, there are shrines to Anantha Padmanabha, Kodanda Rama and a host of other gods. No wonder, people from almost all the sects of Hindus throng the temple in thousands.

This is the temple of  Raja Rajeshwara Swamy in Vemulawada, a small town in Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. The temple town is just 35 kms from the district town of Karimnagar.

The unique feature of this temple is that it is a place of worship for both Smarthas and Vaishanavas-the followers of Shaivism and Vishnu.

The temple also attracts a large number of  Muslims as a mosque is located right within the temple structure. It records the second highest revenue after the Srinivasa temple at Tirupathi.

The Raja Rajeshwara temple was built more than a thousand years ago by the Chalukyas of  Kalyani. The construction of the temple is ascribed to one of the Chalukya Governors of the area-Rajaditya. An inscription dated 1083 AD reveals more information about this temple.  

The puranas say that Siva after having stayed at Kashi, Chidambaram, Srisailam and Kedareswaram finally chose to reside here. By the way, Vemulawada was ruled by several dynasties- the Ikshwakus,  Satavahanas and later by the Chalukyas who made it their provincial capital.

The presiding deity here is Raja Rajeswara Swamy, also called Rajanna. To the right of  Rajanna is the idol of  Raja Rajeswari Devi and to the left is the idol of Laxmi Sahitha Siddi Vinayaka.  

On the left of the  Rajarajeswara temple is the Kasi Vishveshwara temple. The color of the linga in this temple is pink and it is supposed to have been consecrated by Bheema. This linga is also called the Kasi Vishveshwara Linga. Hence, Vemulawada is also called as Dakshina Kashi.

The Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple is located behind the  Raja Rajeswara temple. As Shiva keshava utsavas are conducted in Vemulawada regularly, it also came to be known as Harihara Kshethram.
The other temples in the complex are dedicated to Kodanda Rama, Balatripura Sundari, Bala Rajeshwari and Vitaleshwara.

The temple of Raja Rajeswara is located next to a small pool which is known as Dharma Kunda. The belief that if one bathes in this pool, it helps in curing skin diseases.

The pool has two mantapas with shvalingas.

Another unique feature of the temple complex is that a small but beautiful mosque is situated on its premises.

The mosque contains the tomb of Muslim saint. It is a sacred place for both Hindus and Muslims. The saint was an ardent devotee of Shiva and he died here more than 400 years ago. He was buried at this very spot and close to the Shiva he idolised.

Although devotees make different offerings to Raja Rajeshwara, the most important one is Kode Mokku (offering of a bull to the God). The devotees who bring the bull take them round the temple and tie it in the temple complex. The significance of this ritual is that devotees will be cleansed of their sins and they can beget children.

This temple has sculptures depicting stories from Jain and Buddhist texts and stories. Therefore, the temple attracts Jains and Buddhists too.

On Shivaratri, lakhs of pilgrims come to the temple where special poojas are held. The Mahaling archana on Shivaratri is performed by about hundred archakas. On the stroke of midnight,  Ekadasa Rudrabhishekham is performed to the deity. The temple is brightly illuminated in the night, presenting a fascinating sight.

The Bhavishyothara Purana mentions that the Sun God (Surya)  recovered from his disability by praying here. Therefore, this place is also called as Bhaskara Kshethram. Indra, the King of Gods,  worshipped Raja Rajeshwara  and purified himself from Brahmahatya Dosha.

Locals say that the during the period from 750 AD to 973 AD when the Chalukyas ruled here, the temple was built by Raja Narendra who was the grandson of Parikshit.

Parikshit, in turn was the grandson of Arjuna. (Parikshat was the son of Abhimanyu, the sons of Arjuna). Narendra took bath at the temple pond here and was cured of leprosy which afflicted him when he accidentally killed Muniputra. He later saw both Raja Rajeshwara and his consort.  The God and the Goddess then asked him to build the temple and also consecrate the Linga in the temple pond.

For Kannadigas, it is a matter of pride that Pampa lived here as the court poet of Arakesari, the second and composed Kannada Bharata which gives us beautiful insights into certain major incidents of the Mahabharata. Pampa was born here.

The Chalukyas of Vemulawada constitute yet another branch of the famous Chalukya dynasty. They are different from the Western Chalukyas and the Badami Chalukyas.

The Vemulawada Chalukyas were feudatories of the Rashtrakutas and their reign extended over the present day Nizamabad and Karimnagar districts of Andhra Pradesh. Their capital was  Vemulawada as the kingdom lasted from 753 A.D. to 973 A.D  Apart from Vikramarjuna Vijaya by Pampa, Somadeva wrote Yashastilaka  here.  

In Pampa Bharata, Arikesari, who ruled during the earlier half of the tenth century was the royal patron of Pampa and he is equated with Arjuna, the major protagonist of the work.

Vemulawada is 150 kms from Hyderabad. It is well connected by road. Karimnagar is the nearest rail and road junction