27-729: There are two forts named Udayagiri Fort in South India. Udayagiri Fort in Andhra Pradesh was constructed by Langula Gajapathi, chieftain to Gajapatis of Odisha approximately between 1434 and 1512 CE. The fort in Tamil Nadu is located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from Nagercoil in Thuckalay Town, Kanyakumari District on the Thiruvananthapuram - Nagercoil National highway at Puliyoorkurichi . This
54-677: A stipulated number of soldiers at the time of war and had to fight for the Gajapati in the battle field. Some of the military titles include: The Odia poet Sarala Das who lived during the reign of Kapilendra Deva , has given descriptions about the military divisions in his Odia Mahabharata. The divisions mentioned are: The infantry units of the Gajapati military are as follows: Musical instruments used to motivate soldiers during march and warfare. The names of musical instruments include Damalu, Damame, Tamaka, Bizighosa, Daundi, Ghumura, Bheri, Turi, Ranasingha etc. The names of weapons used by
81-750: Is a town in Udayagiri Mandal in the Nellore district of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. Udayagiri is located at 14°52′00″N 79°19′00″E / 14.8667°N 79.3167°E / 14.8667; 79.3167 . It has an average elevation of 230 meters (757 feet). First known history of the city is from 14th century. It was the capital of the local kingdom of Langula Gajapati, chieftain to Gajapatis of Odisha . It came under rule of Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagara around 1512. The Udayagiri fort, constructed by Langula Gajapati
108-576: Is known as "Nawabi Adda", as this was ruled by the Nawabs and the Muslim population is very high in this town. The town people mostly follow Islam and Hindu religions. Languages spoken are Telugu and Urdu . For main article see Udayagiri Assembly constituency Udayagiri is an assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh. As of 1999, there are 1,58,292 registered voters in Udayagiri constituency . And
135-593: The Bahmani sultans ), and Chattrapati . The region known as Kalinga (present-day Odisha) was ruled by the Eastern Gangas .The early Eastern Gangas ruled from Kalinga-nagara (currently Mukhalingam near Srikakulam , Andhra Pradesh). They shifted their capital to Cuttack in the 13th century. The Hindu philosopher Ramanujacharya had a great influence on the Raja Choda Ganga Deva, who renovated
162-490: The Emperor Kapilendra Deva having an elephantry numbering two hundred thousand. Such a large number of war elephants is highly unusual even when compared with any contemporary military of the existing kingdoms during the times of Kapilendra Deva himself, in India. Nizzamuddin writes that the Gajapati encamped on the banks of the river Godavari with an infantry of seven hundred thousand. Fernão Nunes ,
189-481: The God Vishnu . They also commissioned many temples dedicated to the God Vishnu . In Odia , "Gaja" means elephant and "Pati" means master or husband . As such, Gajapati etymologically means a king with an army of elephants or master of elephants . Gajapati was one of the four titles adopted by kings who ruled in pre-colonial era India, the others being Narapati (e.g. Vijayanagara emperors ), Aswapati (e.g.
216-513: The Aramboly Pass ( Aralvaimozhi ) to quell a rebellion under the leadership of Velu Thambi Dalava. In later years, English East India Company troops were stationed at the fort until the middle of the 19th century. A foundry for the manufacture of guns, mortars, and cannonballs was established within the fort under the supervision of the resident General. The fort is built of massive granite blocks around an isolated hillock. The tombs of
243-614: The Department of Archaeology found a tunnel within the fort. Presently, the fort has been turned into a bio-diversity park by the Tamil Nadu forest department, with sites of historical importance, such as De Lannoy's tomb, remaining as protected archaeological sites under the Archaeological Department of India. 8°14′35″N 77°20′06″E / 8.243°N 77.335°E / 8.243; 77.335 Udayagiri, Andhra Pradesh#History Udayagiri
270-686: The Dutch Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy , (in whose honour the fort was once called Dillanai Kottai— De Lennoy's Fort), and of his wife and son can still be found inside a partly ruined chapel in the fort. De Lannoy's body was buried within the fort and a chapel was built at his burial site. De Lannoy's tombstone lies within the walls of the ruined chapel. The inscriptions on his stone are both in Tamil and in Latin. His wife and son were buried by his side. Recently, officials of
297-424: The Gajapati army are also mentioned like Dhanu, Trona, Sara, Asi, Parigha, Pattisa, Kunta, Jathi, Buruja, Saveli etc. Information with regards to breaking of gateways and walls of forts with the help of horses, elephants and iron instruments are also found in the same text. Other contemporary sources also reveal details on characteristics of the Gajapati military. Muslim texts like Buhan-m-Mansir give accounts of
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#1732773045786324-528: The Gajapati soldiers at their capital Cuttack. During the reign of the Emperor Purushottama Deva , the overlordship of Bhimanagari was established in 1471 CE by Narahari Singh who was a scion of the family of the ruling Suryavamshi Gajapati kings. Later in 1578, under the reign of Padmanabha Birabara Harichandan, the kingdom was renamed as Talcher in the honor of their family goddess Taleshwari. The kingdom acceded to India and merged into
351-607: The Portuguese-Jewish traveler who spent three years at Vijayanagara , the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire estimates size of the army of Emperor Prataparudra to the extent of 13,000 elephants, 20,000 horses, while fighting against the Vijayanagara Empire and also notes that the Odia soldiers were excellent fighters. Rayavachakamu also gives interesting accounts about the feats and exercises practised by
378-573: The cliffs being in places nearly 1,000 feet high, and every path up to the fort was commanded by lines of defence forces. Other structures include Chinna Masjid and Pedda Masjid. A great Sufi saint belonging to the 18th century, Rahamathulla Nayab Rasool, got absorbed in the higher-self here. Every year the Sandal Festival is celebrated on the 26th of the Rabi-Ul-Aval month. Mahaboob subhani sandal s also celebrated every year. This town
405-510: The eastern islands of the lake, which protected the Odia forces. The enemy general encamped at Chiguru Kota located on the shores and tried to excavate a channel in the modern-day Upputeru, so that the water of the lake would empty into the sea and allow an attack on the Gajapati fort. The Gajapatis at the height of their power in the 15th century, ruled over an empire extending from the Ganges in
432-534: The empire. One of the causes of the reduction in militarism among the population has been attested to the Bhakti movement initiated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who arrived in the empire during the reign of Emperor Prataparudra and stayed for 18 long years at Puri . Emperor Prataparudra was highly influenced by the works of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and gave up the military tradition of the Kalinga emperors. He retired to
459-431: The hill and five below. It also consisted of several beautiful temples and gardens. After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire , it was ruled by sultan Ahamed Proxy of Abdullah Arafath. The mosque on top of the hill has two Persian inscriptions that credits the construction of the mosque and the planting a nearby garden to. Then it came under the rule of Abdullah Arafath in 1682. His descendants controlled it till 1859. It
486-574: The leading mandals are Vinjamur, Duttalur, Sitarama Puram, Kaligiri, Jaladanki and Varikuntapadu. In 2019 elections Mekapati Chandrashekhar Reddy from YSRCP elected as MLA. Gajapatis The Gajapati dynasty , also called the Suryavamsa dynasty ( transl. Solar dynasty ) or the Routray dynasty , was a medieval Hindu dynasty in the Indian subcontinent, originally from
513-575: The life of an ascetic leaving the future of the empire uncertain. Govinda Vidyadhara took the opportunity to assassinate the sons of the emperor and usurped the throne for himself. The records of the Suryavamsi Gajapatis gives a picture of their military administration which they had inherited from the Eastern Gangas rulers. The Gangas had a vast and well-organised military which was improved upon by Kapilendra Deva . The empire
540-672: The north near Hoogly to the Kaveri in the south under the Emperor Kapilendra Deva . But by the early 16th century, the Gajapatis lost great portions of their southern dominion to the Vijayanagara Empire and the Turko-Persian Golconda Sultanate . This period was marked by the influence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and by the expansion of Jagannath temple across the length and breadth of
567-465: The region of Trikalinga . At its peak, it ruled over an empire stretching from the Ganges in the north near Hoogly to the Kaveri in the south, comprising large parts of Andhra Pradesh and western regions of West Bengal. It succeeded the Eastern Gangas . 20°31′25″N 85°47′17″E / 20.52361°N 85.78806°E / 20.52361; 85.78806 The Gajapati kings patronized Vaishnavite Hinduism and were ardent devotees of
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#1732773045786594-723: The reign of Marthanda Varma, between 1741-44 under the supervision of Eustachius De Lannoy , a Flemish naval commander of the Dutch East India Company, who later served as the Chief of the Travancore Army. In the early days, the fort was of strategic importance. Prisoners captured in the campaign against Tippu Sultan were confined in the fort for some time. In 1810, the East India Company 's Army under Colonel Leger marched into Travancore through
621-550: The temple at Puri . Narasingha Deva I built the Sun Temple at Konark and Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam at Visakhapatnam . The Gangas were succeeded by the Gajapati monarchs. Two copper plates of the early Pallava dynasty have been found in the Kolleru Lake, traced to Gajapati Langula Narasimha Deva, an Oriya ruler (Odia Raja). According to legend, the Gajapati fort was located at Kolleti Kota on one of
648-460: Was built on the lines of a military state, with the protection of the state and its expansion being the responsibilities of the state and population. Militarism had penetrated into different ranks of the society and the Emperor had a large standing army which included a large number of soldiers and local-militants in the standing army. Besides the feudal tributary states of the Gajapatis also provided
675-431: Was formerly a place of immense importance. The walls which once encircled the town have almost entirely disappeared, but much of the fortifications on the neighbouring hill to the west still remains. The fort originally consisted of thirteen separate strongholds, eight on the hill and five below. Inside the walls are the ancient remains of tombs, temples, and palaces. A part of the hill is so precipitous and thus inaccessible,
702-548: Was inaccessible on most sides. It could be only penetrated only by a jungle track in the east side and a pathway on the west side. The siege by Krishna Deva Raya lasted for 18 months and resulted in defeat for Prataparudra Deva of the Gajapatis . During the reign of Gajapatis and the Vijayanagara Empire , the fort was extended. The entire city and the surrounding hill of 1000 feet height were encircled with walls. The fort consisted of thirteen buildings, with eight of them on
729-409: Was the most important military barracks of the rulers, when Padmanabhapuram was their capital. Originally built in the 17th century, the fort was rebuilt by Maharaja Marthanda Varma of Travancore in the 18th century. Spanning about 90 acres (36 ha), including an isolated 260 feet (79 m) hillock. The fort contains an old foundry which was used for casting guns. The fort was rebuilt during
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