Sringarada Hebbagilu, Hampi

The sprawling city Hampae was a fortified habitation. One can see strong fort walls around the ruins, and also within to keep royal premises secure. With so many walls present there will be gateways so that movement is not restricted completely. As I know there are at least six gateways namely the Domed gateway, Bhimana Hebbagilu, Talarighatta Hebbagilu, Huvina Bagilu, Penukonda Hebbagilu, and of course Sringarada Hebbagilu. There could be many more gateways on the outer walls yet to be discovered.

I'd seen Bhimana Hebbagilu during the Aug 2017 trip with Pushpa. And later I discovered the domed gateway which is close to Bhima's gateway, and Sringarada Hebbagilu which is close to the elephant stables.

December 9, 2024. Our tour of Hampi started around 9-30 am. We covered the monuments beyond Kamalapaur town until lunch time, then checked into KSTDC lodge at Kamalapur and then resumed the tour around 3-30 pm. First we saw Zenana enclosure followed by elephant stables. Generally tourists do no bother to explore beyond the stables, even I'd done in my previous five trips here. This time I was determined to check out the ruins beyond the stables. The security person tried to dissuade us by telling there are bears and leopards in the jungle. I ignored his remark and pulled Sridhar along. We took the foot path going into deserted.. first we saw two ruined temples, one Vaishnava and the other Jaina. Then we continued with the path which went to Sringarada Hebbagilu which translates to decorated gateway.

After a seven or eight minute trek, we arrive at the ruins of Sringarada Hebbagilu. Looks like this complex of walls and platforms took a lot of battering from the invading armies after the final battle when Hampi fell. At the other gateways arches have survived but here the damage is much greater.

A tourism board planted at the entrance descibes the monument as follows:

This main gateway is at the end of Pansupari Bazaar This is also called Singhara Hebbagilu. This gateway led to the suburbs from the core of the citadel. There are inscriptions mentioning this gate on a hill to the north of this gate. The massive gate has strong walls on either side creating a wider court in its centre. On the southeast of this space there is a Vaishnava Temple. On both sides of the entrance there are carvings of Vaishnava Dwarapalakas. The four pillars in the Sabhamandapa have bas-relief sculptures such as those of Yali and Anjaneya. On the western wall of the fort there are bas-relief sculptures of Ganesha, a lady grooming herself, Nandi, an elephant, and other warriors. There are also bas-relief sculptures of Dwarapalakas on either side of the door frame. The many decorative and beautiful carvings on the gate give it its name Srungarada (decorative) Hebbagilu (main gateway). On the hill to the north of the Srungarada Hebbagilu, south-facing Vishnu Dashavatara bas-relief sculptures are found in mandapas. This mandapa is called as Dashavatara Mandapa. one of the detutient sculplture of a Dwarapala of lorge size at present is placed at the archaeological museum Kamalapur. known for its at fine in Persian style.

The gateway complex is about 65 meters long and within it are three temples, simple looking but elegant and inactive since none of them have deities. The smaller one is the within the passage. I'm not sure if this structure has been restored by ASI in the recent times since it looks so neat.

The steps ascending into the temple has only one balustrade left, the other one is missing.

There's also a much smaller temple sitting in the space between the larger temple and the fortified wall.

The walls are about 18 feet high, at places shorter since blocks have gone missing. At some point between Hampi's fall and early XX Century, looks like people carted away blocks from the ruins to be used elsewhere.

At the end of the gateway is the fence of a private mango orchard. We couldn't venture any further. Looking back at the way we came.

While standing near the fence I noticed this granite slab arrangement which looks like prehistoric cist burial chamber. I'm not sure if it's one... can't tell unless I get to see it closer.

On the way back, I noticed images of Ganesha and people worshipping.

On the opposite side was an image of two musicians. Though the images are damaged, one can make out that both are bearded, the one of the right is playing a drum. While I was checking out the images Sridhar was getting little impatient. The security guard's remark about wild animals had got on, and he wanted to get out of this place. I told him a quick way to scare any wild beasts but I can't give the details here.

The other larger temple. This one had a Shikhara. I'm sure this was one fine structure back then.

Sridhar was relieved that we are finally leaving but I happened to noticed a narrower path going towards the rocky hillock to our right hand side. Also there was a board with a title Dasavatara Mandapa. I couldn't see any mantapa at ground level but there were couple of mantapa on the slopes of the hillock. To reach them it might've taken at least ten minutes which meant another 30 minutes to get back to safe place. Dropped the idea, I'll climb that hillock some other day and spend a couple of hours to check out several monuments up there. Sridhar was relieved, again. We headed back to the stables and then to the vehicle parking lot near the museum. We called it a day and headed back to our lodge.

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Sola Kambh Masjid, Bidar fort

My first visit to Bidar. Gulli and I had ridden from Bangalore to Bidar, 750 kms on my Hero Honda Splendor. Back then every corner of the fort was accessible, we could decide where to go and where not to. Gulli and I had explored the fort non-stop, we had climbed the army barracks, peeked into the prisoner dungeons, walked along the walls, climbed bastions and turrets.. the energy of that age! The gateway buildings were a complex maze, it was fun to explore the ruins, wish we had digital cameras back then, we would've shot a thousand pictures for sure. We carried a aim and shoot Yashica, had to change rolls and batteries after 36 shots, photographs had to be rationed. Anyway, I'd scanned some pictures and saved them.

This is how Sola Kambh mosque was in 1996. That's me with the caretaker standing on the fountain platform. The caretaker was washing clothes when we arrived here, this was his regular washing, bathing place. We ventured into the mosque and were amazed at the pillars and domes. 

February 1996

My next visit was with my maternal uncle Praveen. We had come on a business trip to Basava Kalyan and did some sightseeing too. The place had changed little.. the previous caretaker was gone, the enclosure was gated as well.

January 2003

September 3, 2018
This was my fifth visit, this time with Pushpa. I wanted her to see the northern most district of Karnataka. Let me be frank, tourism department had made Bidar fort tourist unfriendly. We came here early morning hoping to see the fort in cool weather. The guards at the gate did not allow us in stating that fort opens at 9 AM. A ugly board handing on the fort gate stated two timings- 6 AM and 9 AM. As per rules all monuments are open to public between sunrise to sunset i.e. 6 AM to 6 PM. We decided to end our conversation with the insensitive guards and leave the place. Wishing the authorities train the guards basic etiquette. We went towards Narsimha Jharani and Ashtoor. We came back to the fort by noon. We walked a lot.. first to see the huge cannon on the eastern wall, then towards Kali Burj (black turret) to see the other cannon, the palace ruins and then came back to see the mosque.

We approached the mosque enclosure from the rear side. This is the mosque's rear wall above which is its impressive dome. The triangles on the base is a neat touch. try imagining the structure when its painted white.

The mosque's facade, scarred by those metallic grills. The dome as seen from the front, sitting majestically above the tall pillars and arches. A board planted by ASI describes the mosque as below:

This mosque is Bidar's oldest Islamic building and one of India's largest mosques. Built in 1423-24, it was originally Bidar's principal mosque, when it was known as Masjid-i-Jami. The name Solah Kambh derives from sixteen pillars in the middle portion of the prayer hall.

This mosque is a good example of the second phase of the Deccan style of architecture. The mosque's large prayer hall is divided into aisles by massive circular columns, a distinctive feature of this building. The tops of these pillars have simple foliar decorations of a style unusual in medieval Indian mosques. The roof is crowned by a majestic dome raised on high clerestory with windows of perforated screens in different geometric patterns. Th mosque's long facade of uniformly sized arched openings is topped with a parapet that has pleasing geometric designs. As interesting aspect of the mosque are the arrangements made for water supply. Water was collected in a reservoir on the roof from where it was distributed to cisterns on the ground floor for use by worshippers. There are also traces of a water channel on the western wall of the mosque.

In 1656, when Aurangzeb, then Mughal Viceroy of the Deccan, conquered Bidar, it was in this mosque that he had the khutba (prayers) recited in his father's name to proclaim his sovereignty over the newly acquired territory.

I think there are 16 arches. Sola Kambh means sixteen columns, that's how the mosques is known as. The interior is similar to Jamia Masjid inside Gulbarga fort, though its much lower in height.

View of Tarkash Mahal from the mosque. A board planted by ASI describes the palace as below:

Tarkash Mahal was probably originally built by the Bahamani kings (14-15th century AD). However, the style of decorative work in the upper storeys show these parts were added by Barid Shahi kings. It was possibly named for having been built for a Turkish wife of the king.

The ground floor has a series of rooms with vaulted roofs built in four rows, one behind the other. These rooms were used for storing miscellaneous articles of domestic and state use, including ammunition. On the first storey is a principal apartment consisting of a hall divided into eight bays by the insertion of massive arches. Beyond this hall, towards the north are two more halls. Beyond the halls is an open space. Traces of an old parapet here show that the upper portions of the palace were later additions. The uppermost storey consists of a hall in the centre and small rooms on either side. The hall has arched openings and a number of small arched niches in the wall. A terrace with a fountain is found in front of these apartments.

The walls in many of these rooms are beautifully decorated with coloured tiles and stucco work. The distinctive Barid Shahi motif of a chain and pendant is prominent in the upper rooms of the palace.

The ground has been converted into a garden.

This wall and building are opposite the mosque. Behind it is a large courtyard suitable for gatherings or meetings. Lets take a look at the enclosure.

This is the enclosure with special types of buildings on one side. I wonder what the tall building is for. Unfortunately all these buildings are under lock and key, out of bounds to public. The two storey building with sloping roofs is interesting, but the entrance seems to be on the side.

Panning to the left, a cylindrical-conical dome comes into view. Adjoining the dome is a laterite sentry shelter. There's another such sentry post on the opposite end. Looking at these, Pushpa said this seems to be a prison. Well, unless we see the inside, we can't be sure what exactly this place was used for.

Another view of the dome and sentry shelter.

The opposite end.. another dome and sentry post.

Turning our attention back to the house with sloping roof. It has a twin. Wondering if these were built during Bahamani time or much later during Nizam's rule or British rule. They could be officers quarters or offices themselves. Next to the second building is a narrow space, a small gun is seen there.

The cannon. Purely functional. Its bore is about 6". Going by its length, this gun's range could be 200 to 400 meters.

If you wish to see Bidar fort completely, plan to spend an entire day here. If tourists could hire bicycles to tour the fort, it would be great. And to know more about the district's monuments check out the post What to see in Bidar District.

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Mudgal Fort's North Gate

Dec 25, 20154
My first visit to Mudgal fort. Starting from the eastern gate, we spent close to 4 hours exploring the formidable fort. The fort is built on a rocky hillock and the neighbouring plains. The rock hill itself is a prehistoric site; we discovered a natural rock shelter with a small painting and musical stones. The fort was originally built by Hindu rulers and later occupied by Muslim rulers. Having spent hours under the blazing sun and heat radiating rocks, we were exhausted. We just wanted a shady place, sit and have lunch in peace. We lunched our guides. They suggested us we check out the northern gate as well but we were in a rush to reach Jaladurga..

Jan 23 2016

One of the routes connecting Hyderabad and Dharwad passes through Mudgal. For today's drive, we'd taken this road and stopped by Mudgal fort's northern gate. Sun was blazing down fiercely (definitely hotter than Dec 26 2015). Pushpa decided to sit in the car; I ventured out with my camera. The North gate itself has two entrances- one facing east and other facing west. The gateway is complex, has a zig-zag path to slow down enemy entry. Here's the smaller east facing gate.

Map of Mudgal fort showing Eastern and Northern gates.

View of the inner gateway trough the eastern door. In through the gateway and turn right to see north door. Thsi gate is called as Fateh Darwaza.

This stairway next to the inner gateway takes us to a turret.

A damages cannon sits atop. This was the cannon our guide Shah Rukh wanted us to see.

Here's the broken remains of a cannon which probably was 18 feet long originally. I remember seeing a similar cannons at Raichur fort summit but that's in pretty good shape.

Originally a moat surrounded the perimeter on plain land. Even to this eastern part of the moat has water. View of the moat from the northern gateway.

Another view of the inner gateway.

Close to the northern door on the wall is this engraving- lion leaping at an elephant.

These walls are close to 800 years old and standing to this day. Cheers to the engineers, stone dressers and masons of that period.


Fateh Darwaza coordinates: 16.0140715N 76.4350337E

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Watagal hill and fort

Watgal was spotted on Wikimapia some time in 2012. The hill viewed from air looked like a tadpole.. an elliptical head and a tail. Its another boulder hill heap hill just like Rishimukha Betta of Anegundi. Another interesting thing about it is the natural fort on the hill top.. just like Onake Kindi, again near Anegundi. With little research, I learnt that Watgal was a confirmed prehistoric site.

December 25, 2012
I was touring parts of Raichur, Maski being the most important destination of the day. While travelling from Raichur we turned off at Kavital towards to Maski. Before moving on I would like to mention that Kavital, a barely known village, has the historic Tryambakeshwara Gudi, it's deity a Shivalinga is one of it's type. Though Watagal was barely 4 kms from Kavital we missed it. Probably it wasn't destined for the day.

January 23, 2016
We were driving from Hyderabad to Dharwad; instead of Koppal-Gadag-Hubli route we decided to take Lingsugur-Mudgal-Ron-Navalgund route. It was around 11 when we reached Watagal. As usual, I stopped and spoke to people and found a guide :) So Mahantesh would be our guide to show Watagal hill. I suggested Pushpa to stay back because of the sunny condition but she protested and joined. Good spirit! We drove through the village and parked it near a temple, under a small Neem tree. From there the hill's base was about 250 meters. These white colored boulders are natural.. our guide confirmed when I asked about them. Another person from the village joined us out of curiosity..

Initially it was a dirt and rock path which gave away to a only boulder path, As you see rocks have been positioned carefully to create a level path. The path we are treading on is clearly seen in the aerial view. That's Mahantesh leading us..

As we walked I asked how the name Watgal got formed. gal ~ kal ~ stone. What about Wat? While our guides weren't sure what to say Pushpa pitched in Watgal could have been Wattidakal originally. Wattidakal means 'heap of boulders.' Makes sense.. isn't it?

Among this heap of boulders, a plant managed to  grow into a tree. That's the strength of plant life.

The gradient wasn't steep, so our climb wasn't strenous but we had to be alert with every step and careful not to trip over. Here's a boulder with a pit.. unsure if its natural or man-made. Probably a combination of both. The pit would fill when it rained and probably the water remained for months together.. The pit's mouth was about 2 feet across. Boulder looks like a shark's snout with a toohless mouth.

Now we are close to the hill top. In the top-middle you can see a bastion.. this indicates the hill was a fort too. Like I mentioned earlier, this is a natural fort. Close by we saw a stone with a polished face. Must be an ancient tool, may be from Neolithic times.

So we reached the hill top, now are standing on ground made of dirt. Here's a looking rock-formation with shelter fit for animals like leopards, bears and even hyenas.

Looking back towards the white-boulder strewn gentle slope of the hill top plateau. My guess is these rocks are kind of granite, probably related to Mudgal granite.

This is the clearing that can be seen in the aerial view which was inhabited long time back. Ruins of stone structures can be seen here. Also here's a shrine. It seems local people offer silver eyes to this standing stone deity for their wishes to become true.

Remains of a water tank made of stones and mortar. This could be built around 500 years ago.

We move further up to a bastion in ruins. We manage to clamber on to the top.. looking around 360 degrees.

Our guides were telling there's another ancient shrine on this hill deep inside a rock-shelter; only one person from Watagal is said to have seen it. Who knows what lies beneath these heap of stones. Yes, talking about stones.. hundreds of thousands of years ago this would have been a single rock which fragmented over the years. You can see several stones with matching edges which proves that stones disintegrate over time. What was once a monolith today is a heap of boulders and with passing time these stones will disintegrate further and become dirt.

Looking towards west..

On exploring the clearing we decided to turn back towards the way we came. Our plan was to climb towards another shrine. This shrine can be seen from the village, its painted in white lime. This climb was difficult.. reminded me of my adventure at Kappagallu.. the dolerite dyke of Hiregudda.

Some of the spots were quite dangerous. One missed step or slip would end with broken bones for sure. Pushpa was quite brave.. she never once spoke of giving up or turning back. We reached the shrine and next to it is another sentry point of the fort. That's where I'm standing now and looking down..

The clearing as seen from the bastion.

The descent was slower, we has to be very careful while negotiating tricky parts.

We made it back safely to the boulder path. Our guides were really nice to us, patient and caring. We pause our trek for a picture. Mahantesh's lungi is actually very stylish.. a rare shade of blue suits the garment.

A close look at the southern bastion. Its not easily reachable to humans, hence its preserved well. The boulder in the foreground with two niches is different from other stones.. it seems Mudgal granite. How did it get mixed up in this pile?

Back at the village, we thank our friends and prepare to leave. Mahantesh suggests us to visit Basaveshwara temple another ancient shrine dedicated to Shiva's mount Basava. I made note of postal address to send some pictures and said bye to our friends.

Here's one bastion at ground level. Looks like a fort wall was present here long time back, probably the walls' stones are part of houses' foundations now.

We head towards Watagal Basaveshwara Gudi.

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