[Newpunter]

Wow, I didn't realise Thimmarusu's samadhi is in Penugonda. Thimmarusu was a great man and when Krishna Deva Raya put him in Jail, it was the beginning of the end for the Vijayanagar empire.

[MX6]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

There is a temple dedicated to Lord Rama next to the Gagan Mahal palace. We didn't get time to go inside and explore. Rama, Lakshman and Sita are said to have stopped here on their way to Lanka.

You mean they stopped there on the way back from Lanka? Rama and Lakshmana went to lanka searching for Sita. Remember, Sita was abducted earlier by Ravana!


I'm raising this question specifically because, at Ramanaguli - between Ankola and Yellapura, there's a Rama Paduka temple. The legend as told by locals is that Rama, Lakshmana and Sita stopped by on their way to Lanka.
Asked them the same question and they got very nervous.

And I'm on research of Ramayana as some of us are planning a big Ramayana Drive! Nepal to Rameswaram, leaving out Lanka for now.

[anilisanil]

@MX6 kindly help me with details on where exactly was sita abducted from and its current location?

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by MX6

You mean they stopped there on the way back from Lanka? Rama and Lakshmana went to lanka searching for Sita. Remember, Sita was abducted earlier by Ravana!

My bad.
Not on the way to Lanka, but probably during their sojourn in the wilderness they spent some time here. Not sure if the direction of their travel at that point was Ayodhya-Lanka or Lanka-Ayodhya.
If it was the former direction, then probably Sita wasn't abducted as yet and they weren't even thinking of Lanka.

But this map does indicate that Penukonda was in the vicinity of their travel route. If Sita was there, then definitely on the way back as she was abducted at Panchavati which is much north of Penukonda.

And I'm on research of Ramayana as some of us are planning a big Ramayana Drive! Nepal to Rameswaram, leaving out Lanka for now.

Wow! This one seems to be a grand plan. After this what - a Mahabharata drive?
Do share the route once you've finalized it. I might be tempted to attempt the same in parts.

@anilsanil
If I am not wrong, Panchavati is the place of abduction of Sita.

[rkg]

Few facts are

1. Vijayanagara empire period is 1365-1565

2.Krishna deva raya ruled from 1509-1529

3. Battle of tallikota is 1565 when vijayanagara empire was destroyed

4. The stone inscription at the penukonda fort says Krishna deva raya 1575 but he died in 1529 at the young age of around 40 years

5. Krishna deva raya sent his step brother achhuta raya to penukonda once he became king to avoid any competition

6. once they lost the battle in 1565 they fled to penukonda

( it very sad to read about this. they just fled the battle filed once they saw aliya rama raya - son in law of krishna devraya , killed )

If one goes through the most authentic history of hampi , there is not much to boast about it except the last 55 years i.e 1509-1565.

Hampi became default ruler of south india because of geographical location . all the south indian kingdoms just became to subordinates of hampi leaving hampi to guard them from muslim invaders from north. they used to send their army when there is war.

(A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar By Robert Swell-Book 1 Chapter 2)

[MX6]

Originally Posted by anilisanil

@MX6 kindly help me with details on where exactly was sita abducted from and its current location?

This would open a can of worms as every one has a place in their state, city, taluka, village which they'd claim was the place.
However, Ramacharitamanas and valmiki ramayan has some insights in to this.
Nasik's famous Panchavati is the place where Sita and Rama are supposed to have set the parnkuti. Surpanaka had her nose chopped by Laxman there which led to the name Nasik. There is also a sita gupha there in panchavati area which is supposed to be the place where sita used to rest.
Above all, there's laxman rekha there which laxman is supposed to have drawn up, which sita crossed and let Ravan abduct her.

As per Maniratnam's magnum opus, she was kidnapped in TN/ Kerala border and held in Aathirapilly falls. And Rama fights Raavan in a bridge in Malsejh

Here's a pic which I unearthed during my research.

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

Wow! This one seems to be a grand plan. After this what - a Mahabharata drive?
Do share the route once you've finalized it. I might be tempted to attempt the same in parts.

@anilsanil
If I am not wrong, Panchavati is the place of abduction of Sita.

That's what is widely accepted. I've unearthed an age old map which is on HVK forum. It's a part of our preparations for ramayana tour. Yes. HVK will join the dots which I'm working on.

As for Mahabharata tour, we will have to go all places in India. And we have to go to Afghanistan, Pakistan etc which is not possible.
As of now, I'm in to three versions of Ramayana (Valmiki, Tulasidas and Kamban) to pull out the missing links.

Originally Posted by rkg

Few facts are

1. Vijayanagara empire period is 1365-1565

2.Krishna deva raya ruled from 1509-1529

3. Battle of tallikota is 1565 when vijayanagara empire was destroyed

4. The stone inscription at the penukonda fort says Krishna deva raya 1575 but he died in 1529 at the young age of around 40 years

5. Krishna deva raya sent his step brother achhuta raya to penukonda once he became king to avoid any competition

6. once they lost the battle in 1565 they fled to penukonda

( it very sad to read about this. they just fled the battle filed once they saw aliya rama raya - son in law of krishna devraya , killed )

If one goes through the most authentic history of hampi , there is not much to boast about it except the last 55 years i.e 1509-1565.

Hampi became default ruler of south india because of geographical location . all the south indian kingdoms just became to subordinates of hampi leaving hampi to guard them from muslim invaders from north. they used to send their army when there is war.

(A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar By Robert Swell-Book 1 Chapter 2)

That's interesting bits you got there rkg. But then one should not ignore the fact that vijayanagara empire flourished in the most unlikely place. Rocky terrain. And the ruins at Hampi stands testimony to the amazing contributions the empire gave to art, science and architecture in just 2 centuries.

[rkg]

Originally Posted by MX6

Above all, there's laxman rekha there which laxman is supposed to have drawn up, which sita crossed and let Ravan abduct her.

Attachment 475155

But then one should not ignore the fact that vijayanagara empire flourished in the most unlikely place. Rocky terrain. And the ruins at Hampi stands testimony to the amazing contributions the empire gave to art, science and architecture in just 2 centuries.

As per some sources actual valmiki ramayan does not have the laxman rekhs episode at all

Regarding the location of hampi, the place was chosen because one side river will act as barrier and the other side rocks act as barrier. However actual story goes like this

Akka and Bukka raya who are working in kakaitya dynasty warangal ( it was destroyed in around 1320 by Alading Khilgi' army . these two guys fled warangal and formed a small kingdom at Anegundi near present day hampi. one day they went on hunting. their dogs were chased by a hare ( rabbit) at this place. their guru told them this is place they have to build capital. he has fixed some auspicious time in the night. he told them he will indicate the right time with his ounch. unfortunately some other guy gave the ounch sound some time before actual time set by guru ( sage Vidyaranya) . these guys performed the puja. then the guru told them if they had performed the puja at the time set by him the empire would have lasted long, but because the incorrect time it will last only 200 years. which turned out to be true

what i was pointing out is both archeology dept and guides are misleading tourists by giving wrong info. the plaque at penukonda states that krishna deva raya 1575. the guy died in 1529 itself. then how come the plaque mentions 1575?

Go through the ebook by robert swell who discovered the site which was in ruins and identified most of the places in 19th century. his book was based on actual chronologies of the 14 and 15 century Italian and portugese travelers ( dominigo paes and Nuniz)

[aryasanyal]

@rkg
This is some serious stuff! Thanks a ton for the pointers to Swell's book. Will be a great read.

I am just noting down whatever the guide and the plaques told me. I believe history is the tale of the victors, the story of the vanquished is relegated to some concise footnotes. So the timelines are always debatable.

In any case this is an enriching discussion and I find Penukonda to be a great visit for history buffs. Please put on more points and continue the debate while I try and complete the travelogue

[MX6]

@RKG.
I was surprised to read the story of Hakka Bukka and Vidyaranya here! I never thought anyone else would be knowing these things in T-BHP.
Absolutely correct there on Vidyaranya's initiation of Hakka Bukka in forming the vijayanagar samrajya and the hunter or someone blowing the conch prematurely due to which the empire folded up in 200 years.
Incidentally the version I read was from the Sringeri's chronicles, as an answer to a question, where a devotee asked the present shankaracharya, as to how an empire initiated by Vidyaranya could fold up in 200 years.

Anyway, Anil specifically wanted to know from where Sita was abducted because, there's Bhadrachalam which also has parnakuteera and Rama temple (built by the iconic Bhadrachalam Ramadasu) there. Incidentally, that place also is at the fag end of Dhandakaranyam and lies on the bank of River Godavari, same like Nasik.
Unfortunately, I'm yet to get hold of historic evidences equating this to actual place.
More pointers point towards Nasik.

Thanks RKG for bringing back names like Vidyaranya here.

[KMT]

Aryasanyal, thank you for this most enlightening thread with great photographs.
Its been great to get a scholarly lesson on our past from yourself, MX6 & RKG.

We must take it upon ourselves to appreciate our heritage and make sure we give our kids the opportunity to do so too.

[rkg]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

@rkg
This is some serious stuff! Thanks a ton for the pointers to Swell's book. Will be a great read.

I am just noting down whatever the guide and the plaques told me. I believe history is the tale of the victors, the story of the vanquished is relegated to some concise footnotes. So the timelines are always debatable.

In any case this is an enriching discussion and I find Penukonda to be a great visit for history buffs. Please put on more points and continue the debate while I try and complete the travelogue

Thanks

Anyway there innumerable evidences in the form of stone inscription all over south india which point to the period of krishna deva raya as 1509 to 1529. He has spent more than half of this period in conquests of bahamani kingdoms and gajapati's of orissa. the story of how kondaveedu fort capture( in present day krishna district) and that of defeat of gajapati's at cuttack were great stuff to read. "Mahamantri Timmarasu" telugu film captures all this. Even school text in AP has vijaya nagara story as novel in telugu class in 9 th standard those days
The Robert swell book is based on two chronicles writeen by the Nuniz and paes. it appears some one sent these chronicles form portugese to some one in bombay in the early 1900. which Swell got hold of and did his research at hampi and identified most of the places. the book is based on these two and one by Faristey ( muslim scholar in bijapur/ahmed nagar sutanate) faristey account was written in 17th century, much later. but the two European travelers accounts were around 14-15 century much before battle of tallikota

Further swell correlated these two account with various stone inscriptions found in south india

Swell sais in his book " it is difficult to believe krishna deva raya existed if not for the description of him by paes in his chronicles. Paes mentions hampi was larger than rome of that time

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by MX6

@RKG.
I was surprised to read the story of Hakka Bukka and Vidyaranya here! I never thought anyone else would be knowing these things in T-BHP.

Ahem! Actually I also knew about story of Hakka Bukka and Vidyaranya. My first initiation into that story was the Amar Chitra Katha comic book on Hakka Bukka. In fact, my childhood was enriched by ACK comic books and now I plan to give the same to my child.

OT:Last October, when I went to Mangalore I desperately wanted to go to Ullal to see the fort of Rani Abbakka. The locals out there were surprised that I knew about her. This was again courtesy ACK.
Unfortunately nothing exists of the Ullal fort of the Rani.

Originally Posted by KMT

Aryasanyal, thank you for this most enlightening thread with great photographs.
Its been great to get a scholarly lesson on our past from yourself, MX6 & RKG.

We must take it upon ourselves to appreciate our heritage and make sure we give our kids the opportunity to do so too.

Sure. Hope this thread helps lots of folks to get some interest into history. My pleasure in providing as much information as I can.
MX6 and rkg have provided real insights into the Vijayanagara emipre. Thanks to them as well.

Originally Posted by rkg

Thanks

Anyway there innumerable evidences...

Swell sais in his book " it is difficult to believe krishna deva raya existed if not for the description of him by paes in his chronicles. Paes mentions hampi was larger than rome of that time

Yeah - I knew about the Portuguese travelers and Swell's book. But had never read them. Thanks for the pointers, will read it up at the first given opportunity.

[aryasanyal]

Yerramanchi Gate:

This was the main gate to the fort. Built of large stone slabs this was a great example of military architecture of the times.
There is a large monolithic Hanuman idol inside the gate said to be installed by Vyasaraya Swamy and a Garuda carving on a stone beside the gate. Hanuman or Lord Anjaneya is supposed to be the guardian deity of the town.

The walls of the fort and the road leading to the Yerramanchi gate.


A carving of Varaha on a temple pillar.


Telugu inscriptions on the fort walls. Can someone translate?


The Hanuman/Anjaneya temple inside the gate.




The Yerramanchi gate.


The Garuda carving in front of the gate.


Statue of Krishna Devaraya at the circle named after him. This is next to the gate.


The Pasupekkiri Bavi/Pushkarni next to the gate.


The central sculpture in the mandapam structure on the Pushkarni.


Another view of the road inside the gate.


A view of gate from the inside.




Sher Khan Mosque:

The Sher Khan Mosque is another imposing structure that is said to be built by the ruler Sher Khan 275 years ago. There is another version saying that this used to be a temple of the Vijayanagara era that was converted into a mosque by Sher Khan.
Whatever be the reason behind the construction the unmistakable Vijayanagara influence on the architecture is evident.
The tomb of Sher Khan is also in the mosque premises.



The main entrance inside the mosque. A prayer was in session, hence we couldn't go in.


Structure in the mosque courtyard, where the ruler, Sher Khan, is said to have sat and held durbar.


The Vijayanagara influence on the architecture.

[addyhemmige]

Very nice travelogue aryasanyal. It was a very nice history lesson. I always wonder if I can get a time machine and travel back in time to witness these eras. Good inputs from MX6 and rkg as well.

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

Very nice travelogue aryasanyal. It was a very nice history lesson. I always wonder if I can get a time machine and travel back in time to witness these eras. Good inputs from MX6 and rkg as well.

Thanks for the encouragement. Yes, MX6 and rkg's contributions have been invaluable to make this travelogue richer.

Moving forward...


It was nearly 2:00PM and we had spent a good 3 hours exploring the ruins of Penukonda. Asked the guide for a good eating joint as we were feeling hungry, but the place he pointed us to all but doused the hunger flames. It was a shabby place and wifey immediately ordered to stick to the original plan of lunching at Anantapur, 70 kms away.

Back to NH44 (it's no longer NH7), and drove up to Anantapur. I had read up amohit's earlier travelogue for the driving directions and was looking around for the circle with the Goddess Saraswati idol, but it was no where to be found!
Instead, I was driving on a flyover that bypasses all those circles in Anantapur. Upon realizing that, I took the first right U-turn after getting down from the bypass and then took a left from the first main road intersection under the bridge. Google Maps indicated that I was correct in my intuition. We went over the railway bridge, the clock tower and then found the Nandini hotel recommended to us by our colleague, Satheesh on the right beside Anantapur Club. There is a newly put up statue of YSR Reddy on the road in front.

The AC room of Nandini was brimming with people and since the climate wasn't merciless, we settled for the non-AC option and ordered Andhra style meals. It was a great experience - the spicyness was just right and the food was great. We were VERY hungry and that added to the effect as well.
After the refreshing meal, turned to Google Maps, and they indicated
that we need to turn left at the next signal onto Raju Road and then a sharp right next onto Tadpatri Road.

The map below indicates the route that we took inside Anantapur. Point B is where Nandini is.



Tadpatri Road was a undivided 2-lane road that was a bit patchy at first but became progressively better as we drove on.



Soon, we chanced upon this huge lake on the left, what seemed like a upstream reservoir of some dam. The sight was beautiful. Upon enquiring a local lady and then looking up Google Maps, found that this was Lake Singanamala. Couldn't find more information about this from the internet except a couple of claims that this is the 2nd largest lake of Anantapur district, which in turn is the 2nd largest district in India after Ladakh.






As we turned right after this lake, the topology dramatically changed. We were driving through small pointed hills jutting up consistently over the landscape. The feel was that of the Hollywood Westerns.
Sorry, couldn't get any photos of these as we were racing to reach Tadpatri by sundown. I hate driving on 2 laned highway roads after dusk with the large lorries beaming their high-beams onto my eyes - hence the hurry.
But again, I don't believe that any amount of photograph can capture the barren beauty of this place. You have to be there to experience it.

After some more time, we started seeing windmills/wind farms on the hills. After a couple of clicks, realized that these would be like our constant companion given the number of wind farms in this region.




Just 4 kms before Tadpatri, my car again showed the same symptom of the speedometer needle free-fall. Pulled into a petrol bunk (there are tons of these here as well), and checked for the coolant level. Everything was fine. I switched on the AC and started going at a snail's pace as the problem occurs only at reasonably high speeds.

Reached Tadpatri and searched for Kanchani Delux Lodge (as recommended by folks). Found it and booked into two AC rooms for both the families. The charges are Rs.700/- for the AC and Rs.300/- for the non-AC rooms. The rooms are average containing a TV and two single beds. More than sufficient for a town the size of Tadpatri.
Parking space is the public parking across the street maintained by the town municipality.

After checking in, both I and Sandeep went out to show my car to a mechanic. As we were driving, a passerby indicated to us that we had a puncture. Pulled over and sure enough, the left-rear tire was flat. Murphy's Law was playing havoc with me.

Pulled out the stepny, replaced the tire and we had a new objective - fix the puncture and then search for the mechanic. It was already dark and by the time we located the puncture-repair guy, he mentioned that he was on the verge of closing down for the day. Requested him, and then he pulled out the tube and found that it was ruined. We had to get a new tube. Rushed to the nearby tire store, but they stocked only 145/80R12 whereas I needed 145/70R12. With no other tire shop in the vicinity, and the puncture guy telling is that it wouldn't be a problem, I bought the 145/80R12 and fitted that to the tire.

T-BHP experts - any comments on this tube size issue?

The mechanic shop was on the other side of town, and it was already 9:00PM. We gave up for the day and went back to the Lodge.
Had dinner at the nearby Himagiri Restaurant - highly recommended place! Great food and service.

Finally called it a day.