Shorapur was originally known as Surpur. Part of today's Yadgiri district, Surpur was ruled by Nayaks from 1639 to 1857 with Surpur as their headquarters. The original capital of Surpur principality was
Wagengera which was ruined during the attack of Moghul emperor Aurangazeb. However Nayaks forces defeat Moghul forces at Wagangera and repossess the fort. With Wagangera in ruins, Nayaks established Surpur as the new capital and build two palaces there. Local folks call one of the palaces as Raj Darbar. The last ruler of Shorapur kingdom was Raja Venkatappa Nayak. He was one of the first to oppose British inference in his kingdom's internal affairs. Besides Darbar, Surpur is known for its historical temple dedicated to Shri Venugopalswamy. Venugopalswamy temple was constructed between 1726 and 1893 during the rule of Raja Pittambhra Bairi Pidda Nayak. Surpur is also known for its ancient hilltop bungalow
Taylor Manzil built by Philip Meadows Taylor. Taylor was a British agent who was in friendly terms with Nayak rulers. Surpur is also known for its painting of
Garudadhari.
December 24, 2012 and November 26, 2013
After two visits to Shorapur, I was still unsure about how to explore the ruins of the fort. The fort walls were spread over several steep faced hills surrounding the town. just to go around the perimeter would require a day of hectic climbing. Hope a day comes when I could reach some strategic points of the fort. During the two visits I had captured parts of the fort..
This is huge gateway on southern side of the town.
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| a large bastion next to the gateway |
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| rampart wall and a bastion on another hillock |
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| rampart wall on the hillock next to Shorapur-Wagengera road |
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| ruins of rampart walls on besides Shorapur-Shahpur road |
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| bastion on a hillock besides Shorapur-Wagengera road |
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| view of Shorapur town from Taylor Manzil |
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| view of Raj Darbar from Taylor Manzil |
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| view of Raj Darbar from Taylor Manzil |
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| gateway of Raj Darbar as seen from inside |
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| Raj Darbar ~ Nayak rulers' palace |
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| ancient inscription next to the Raj Darbar gateway |
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| closer look at the Raj Darbar |
Besides exploring fort ruins, other spots on my list to see during my next visits are-
- Venugopalaswamy temple
- Yellappana Baavi
- Venkateshwara temple
Visit this link on Facebook to see lot of pictures of
Shorapur.
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2 comments:
Hi Siddeshwar!
This is my first visit to your BlogSpot and personally, I loved your Favorite movie list. Most of them are in my top 10. Your historic note on the place and fort intrigued me to go further into the article. You’ve captured even the ruins artistically exposing its beauty from within. Good job buddy!
Thank you, Savar.
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