Udaigiri
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are many places with the name UDAYAGIRI in India for example in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa & Tamilnadu.
There are two forts called Udayagiri Fort in India - One in Tamilnadu state and the other in Andhra Pradesh state.
'Udaya' means morning and 'giri' means peak. The meaning of Udayagiri is the peak on which morning sunlight falls first. or the place which witnesses the sunrise early than other places.
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[edit] Udayagiri Fort in Tamilnadu (Kanyakumari District)
Udayagiri Fort in Tamil Nadu is located at a distance of 14 km from Nagercoil in Kanyakumari District. An important asset of the Travancore rulers when Padmanabhapuram was the capital of Travancore, it is supposed to have been originally built in the year 1600s, and then rebuilt by Marthanda Varma of Travancore in the 18th century.
Enclosing an area of about 90 acres (36 ha), with an isolated hill 260 feet (79 m) high, the fort contains an old foundry for casting guns. It is reported that a 16 foot (5 m) brass 22 pounder (10 kg) found inside the fort proved too heavy to be moved by 1200 people and 16 elephants.
The tombs of 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 be seen inside a partly ruined chapel in the fort.
The fort is situated on the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil National highway at Puliyoorkurichi. This is the most important military station of the erstwhile Travancore rulers, when Padmanabhapuram was their capital.
The fort is built of massive granite blocks around an isolated hillock. It is renovated about AD 1600. The fort is said to have been destroyed by the King Raja Raja Chola.
The fort was rebuilt during the reign of Marthanda Varma, Venad King during 1741-44. Under the supervision of De Lannoy, Belgium General, who served as the Chief of the Travancore Army, East India Company's troops were stationed there till the middle of the 19th century. 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.
Presently, the fort has been turned into a bio-diversity park by the Tamilnadu forest department, with sites of historical importance, such as De Lannoy's tomb, remaining as protected archaelogical sites under the Archaelogical Department of India.
[edit] Fort in Andhra Pradesh
The fort in Andhra Pradesh is located in Nellore district on the hills of Udayagiri. The hill on which the fort lies rises to a height of 3079 ft. above the sea level. It consists of eleven fortresses, 8 on the hill and 3 below. It covers an area of about seven miles. The existing fortifications reveal Islamic features. It was the stronghold of the Gajapatis of Orissa till Krishna Deva Raya annexed it.
Ramakrishna Vykuntam, a Great software Specialist is from this place.
[edit] Ancient Buddhist reins in Orissa
Udaigiri (also Udayagiri) is also the site of a now-ruined complex of Buddhist buildings 60km north-east of Cuttack in Orissa state in India. The site, which is currently being excavated, contains a brick stupa, two monasteries, a well and sculptures cut into rock. The rock carvings date from the 2nd century BC to the 10th century AD. The brick buildings were probably built in the 7th century AD.
[edit] See also
- Ratnagiri and Lalitgiri, the other Buddhist ruins in the area
- Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves - the caves near Bhubaneswar
- Udaygiri Caves - the caves near Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh
