Dindigul Fort and Temple in Heritage Tourism of Tamil Nadu

Dindigul Fort and Temple in Heritage Tourism of Tamil Nadu

The state of Tamil Nadu has gifted with several states of art monuments, temples, and archaeological and culturally significant sites. Apart from cultural and traditional diversity, the state poses a heterogeneous legacy of history. During British rule, the state capital “Madras” was a key spot for the government. The state has several pilgrimage centers like Madurai Menakshi Temple, Palani Andavar Temple, and Rameshwaram are few in many. These pilgrimage spots are consistently attracting a considerable number of visitors to the state. Here we are examining an old temple made over a thick rock by Madurai Nayak king who lived in the 17^th century and later transformed into different forms under different regimes.

History of the Fort and Temple

The temple in the hilltop was believed to be built 800 years ago by the Vijayanagara Empire. They took control of the fort after successfully defeated the Delhi Sultanate counterpart Madurai Sultanate. The temple is situated approximately on 1350 feet over the sea level. The rock temple has walked through a series of transformations under several rulers. The Rock Temple and the Fort are sprawled over 64 acres of the rock mass.

Dindigul was ruled by Pandya, Chera and Chola dynasties at different timings. In 1605 Rani Mankammal who ruled Madurai province made “Sixty Kall Mandapam”(Rock Pillars) on the temple and over one of the rock pillars she made her elder brother Tirumala Nayak’s statue as carvings. The temple consists of the finest sculptures of several deities. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple was decorated by several sculptures. They are the models of Chines Dragon, Boothaganam of Lord Shiva, Buddha, Saint Agasthya, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Dhakshinamoorthi another form of Lord Shiva. The temple and surrounding structures were damaged due to several battles at different times. The temple consists of a sacred pond in the midway to the rock top. According to sources, the priests were used for their refresh bath before daily puja.

The “Dindigul” name itself derived from the Tamil word Thindu which means a strong attachment to the earth or ground and the word “Kall” means rock. The strongly attached rock is the literal meaning of the word Dindigul denotes. The former name of the city was Dindeecharam, which was mentioned by a famous scholar named U.V.Swaminatha Iyer. The rock temple was constructed by soapstone (Steatite) a type of metamorphic rock. It is rich in magnesium.

The temple has mentioned in the Tamil epic “Silappathikaram”. The city was described as the northern border of the Pandya Kingdom. The capital city of Dindeecharam was Madurai. According to sources, the temple was built by the Chera King Dharmabalan. The deities of the temple were Abhirami (Parvathi) and Padhmagirinathar. These were the clear indication of the influence of Shaivism of that time. After the death of Viswanath Nayak in 1563, Muthu Krishna Nayak took charge and he was ordered to build the hill fort. The later phase of Nayak dynasty Rani Mankammal who built “Sixty Kall Mandapam and the statue of Thirumala Nayak” who was the elder brother of Rani Mangmmal.

Tipu Sulthan took control over the fort between the years of 1783 to 1792. In 1793 it went to the control of British East India Company after the Polygar wars. From 1793 to a long 65 years the Fort was under British possession. During the historical Polygar war, the Fort and the premises were played a climacteric role.

Archaeological and Historical Importance of the Temple and Fort

The Fort and the Temple have been surviving under the Archeological Survey of India. The remaining part of the fort consists of a cannon and gunfire artillery. One of it keeps as a fixed posture in the fort itself. The unique architectural wisdom and sophisticated war techniques are quite surprising one. The fort was designed in a manner that the outsiders cannot view the security guards deployed over the fort. The fort has a technology to see one another part via a small hole. The securities have only an eye-level view to see the outward view. This makes difficulties for the aggressors to fix the security guards. The cannons were positioned in an advantageous position to hit the enemies. The arms and ammunition were kept in a strong room. The strong room has made with two separate strong layers of roof. It is to safeguard the explosions that can occur from inside and to combat attack from outside. The cells of the fort consist of 48 rooms. It has used to keep prisoners and slaves. The fort was well equipped with a kitchen, a horse stable, and a war room to articulate military strategies. The fort was built with the finest technology of the time and well equipped to combat heavy artillery from outside the fort. The fort had several escape routes to ensure safety.

After the succession of power from the Mysore king by Hyderali appointed Purshana Mirsheb as governer of Dindigul. He had also strengthened the fort. His wife died during his tenure and her tomb is known as Begambur, it is a place near Dindigul city.