Ancient Temple of Nijagal Fort

In my first visit to the Nijagal Fort, I was quite intrigued by an ancient temple which is situated at the middle of the fort. This unattended temple was decaying and main entrances were covered by thorny plants. I entered temple from side and saddened to see its ill fate. Garbha Gudi (Inner sanctum) was empty and there were dig holes at the main hall (mantapa) and at the sanctum. The beam on the left side of mantapa is broken and may fall apart any time. The broken beam is supported by a temporary stone pillar and stone shims. The architecture was indicating that the temple was dedicated to deity Lord Vishnu. I felt that the temple and fort has many stories to tell and I was eager to know all of them: most importantly why the temple went into ruins ?

Ancient Temple

I did a bit of research and found an article authored by B Arunakumari, titled “The Fort and Temples of Nijagal”, Itihasa Darshana, Vol 25, 2010, published by Karnataka Itihasa Academy.

Article discuss the importance of temples in ancient and medieval times and provides the historical background of Nijagal Fort and its temples. The article is an excellent read and readers can find article in the following link:- Link

The author points out that the fort was started to built around 1698 A.D and completed around 1699-1700 A.D with the construction of south entrance gate. The fort was built as a check post by Bilugile Dasarajayya by the orders of Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar and gained political significance during Mysore Maratha War of 1770 A.D. Though the exact completion date of the temple is not available, author provides references to two copper inscriptions of Devarayana Durga (1719 A.D and 1720 A.D.) to ascertain the temple’s antiquity. These inscriptions indicate that the temple was dedicated to deity Lord Lakshminarasimha and provides the details on the accounts of Mysore Wodeyar’s contributions to the temple. From these inscriptions one can ascertain that the temple is in existence from at least as early as 1719 A.D.

Author also discuss the probable reasons for the destruction of the the temple. The temple may have been destroyed during the Mysore-Maratha War of 1770 A.D. At the later date, temple may have lost contact with the people and started to deteriorate with time as there were no administration or maintenance. Temple also have been harmed by the acts of vandalist's  and treasure hunters.

Author reasons that the people lost contact with the temple because of its difficulty of access.The idol was relocated to a temple near Hale Nijagal village as a probable restoration attempt and to bring temple near its attendees. The relocation may have happened around 1900 A.D.

With this lead, I revisited Nijagal Fort and its ancient temple on the rainy day of August 07, 2015 to photograph the historical remains and to relate them with the article.

Nijagal Betta

East Entrance Gate- Built around 1698 A.D.

East Entrance 

Stone Pavilion near the east entrance:

Stone Pavilion

Ancient Lakshminarasimha Temple in the backdrop of Nijagal Fort, Akka-Tangi Done is seen in foreground.

Ancient temple, Nijagal Fort and Akka-Tangi Done

Lakshminarasimha temple: This temple is in existence from at least as early as 1719 A.D.

Lakshminarasimha Temple

Lakshminarasimha temple:- Stone Carving at the sanctum door.

Lakshminarasimha Temple: Stone carvings at sanctum door.

Lakshminarasimha temple's Gopura

Lakshminarasimha Temple

Lakshminarasimha temple from behind.

Lakshminarasimha Temple

Nijagal Fort

Nijagal Fort

This structure is at the edge of the rock and has a difficult access. Probably used to store arms and ammunition.

Building for arms and ammunition storage ?

Vigneshwara temple was built around 1701 A.D near the south entrance gate. Now the temple is completely destroyed and the idle laying in the field.

Vigneshwara Idol

Anjaneya Temple: Located out side the fort, near south entrance. 

Anjaneya Idol

Kanchina Done is one of the five fresh water streams/ponds of the fort. The folklore says that city's wealth and treasure were dumped in Kanchina Done to protect it from invaders during the course of war. Another story says that Bronze Chariot which was supposed to be offered to Lord Lakshminarasimha  was dumped here, hence the name Kanchina Done. (Kanchu=Bronze, Done= Water Pond/ Stream)

Forg floating in Kanchina Done

Lakshminarasimha temple at Hale Nijagal. The idol has been relocated to this temple in around 1900 A.D. Hale Nijagal is about 2 km from the Nijagal Fort.

Lakshminarasimha Temple at Hale Nijagal

Stone carvings at the sanctum door is similar to that of temple of Nijagal Fort. 

Lakshminarasimha Temple at Hale Nijagal

Gopura: Similarities can be drawn to the temple of  Nijagal Fort.

Lakshminarasimha Temple at Hale Nijagal

The temple was closed when went for the first time. When I went for the second time, it was open and I had chance to see the idol and offered prayer. 

Nijagal Fort and Hale Nijagal is an excellent place for history buffs, still there are many artifacts to explore. It is also an excellent place for naturalists. There are many birds, lizards and butterflies. I happened to photograph South Indian Agama on the way to Hale Nijagal.

South Indian Agama

I am thankful to Prof. B Arunakumari and Karnataka Itihasa Academy for providing permission to use the article in this blog post. I am also very thankful to Prof. H S Gopala Rao, an eminent historian for his valuable inputs.