Chandragiri Fort

Chandragiri Fort is near Tirupati. It is a very famous monument and has lot of historical importance. This fort is said to have been built around 11th century. For nearly three centuries Chandragiri was ruled by Yadavarayas -a dynasty. Later on around 1367,this was brought into control by the famous Vijayanagara emperors, who were famous for their architecture, renovation/construction of temples, literature, music and other arts. They made Chandragiri as their fourth capital and shifted here when Penukonda (their capital) was attacked by the Golconda sultans. Later on however, Golconda sultans sized the fort and subsequently the fort was taken over by the Mysore rulers. After 1790 this fort lost its importance and sort of went into oblivion.

The fort when built was fortified with bastions and a steep moat all around. Later on around 16th century many other structures like the temples etc were added by the then rulers. The entire fort consists of Raja's Mahal (King's Palace), Rani's Mahal (Queen's Palace), eight temples some dedicated to Shiva and some to Vishnu, and a Bath.

Raja's Mahal is a beautiful example of Indo-Saracenic architechture, for which the Vijayanagar emperors were famous for. It is an imposing three storyed structure, constructed with stone, bricks and lime-mortar as was the then tradition. No timber was used in the construction.
The crowning towers represent the Hindu architectural elements. The central tower is huge, raising through two stories covers the Durbar Hall, where the Emperors conducted their stately business. The magnificent and massive pillars support the three storyed structure.

One can see the fine finishing on the walls using plaster and decorated with stucco. It is said that here in the Durbar Hall, Sri Rangaraya donated the site for construction of St. George Fort to the British in 1640.This palace now houses a museum.

Rani's Mahal is similar to that of the Raja's Mahal in design and structure, but much smaller. Interestingly the ground floor is pillared open space, the first floor contains quarters with a beautiful well adorned tower.


Though this was popularly know as queen's palace, the records available in the fort show that this was commander's quarters. May be that explains the stable like structure in the ground floor.



The temples and other structures along with a Bath are very beautiful. The Bath is connected to the Rani Mahal through an underground tunnel.

This is the wall surrounding the Fort and other structures. This was a very long and sturdy one and still as strong as it was earlier.

We could only visit this around five in the evening. we were really spell bound by the huge and lengthy wall running around the entire fort and its gardens and other structures, beautiful palaces, temples, the architecture, and their beauty the can be seen even today. We marveled at the expertise and skill of the then artisans. There was a sense of peace and tranquility. I could imagine the Kings, Queens and royalty enjoying the various arts and music. It is said that many a literary gems were written here.

But as the Sun began to set, we had to leave with a heavy heart, for our rest rooms leaving back the beautiful Fort thinking of all the royalty and the festivities, their grandeur in good old days, as Vijayanagar Empire was famous for the sale of heaps of gems and many precious stones on the main street of its bazars like one would sell the vegetables or fruits.