Devarayanadurga (Karnataka)

The hills are also the source of the river Shimsha.
On the middle elevation are the Govt travellers
Bungalow and few other places of rest.

Devarayanadurga (Karnataka) Hindu Temples

Devarayanadurga is a hill station near Tumkur in the state of Karnataka in India. The rocky hills are surrounded by forest and the hilltops are dotted with several temples including the Yoganarasimha and the Bhoganarasimha temples and an altitude of 3940 feet. It is also famous for Namada Chilume, a natural spring considered sacred and is also considered the origin of the Jayamangali river. Another famous temple in the area is the Mahalakshmi Temple at Goravanahalli.

Devarayana Durga is a fortified hill, about nine miles east of Tumkur town, situated in the midst of picturesque scenery. It consists of three elevations and seven gates leading to the top. On the lowest elevation situated is the Lakshmi-Narasimha Swamy Temple. Near by is a spring know as Ane-done. On the slope of the hill is a pond said to the source of stream Mangali. Higher up is another small spring named Jaya-tirtha representing the source of another stream Jaya. Both the streams unite at Irukasandra at the foot of the hill and form the Jayamangali.

The hills are also the source of the river Shimsha. On the middle elevation are the Govt travellers Bungalow and few other places of rest. There are also two other springs known as Rama-tirtha and Dhanus-tirtha. There is a large cave nearby with figures of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana.

History

The place was originally known as Anebiddasari then as Jadakana Durga after a chief named Jadaka and finally as Devarayana Durga subsequent to its capture by Mysore king Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar. Tradition relates that a robber chief named Andhaka or Lingaka had his stronghold here, and he was subdued by sumati, a prince, whose father, Hemachandra, was the king of Karnata and ruled from Yadupattana. On accomplishing the enterprise on which he had set forth, Sumathi is said to have established the city of Bhumandana near the present Nelamangala and taken up residence there for the protection of that part of his fathers kingdom.

Under the Hoysalas, there seems to have been, on the hill, a town called Anebiddasari or the precipice where the elephant fell. A rogue elephant, which the sthala purana describes as a Gandharva suddenly appeared before the town to the great consternation of the people and after doing considerable mischief, tried to walk up the steep rock on the west, when it slipped, fell back and was killed. The hill is accordingly called as Karigiri in the Puranas.

Under the Vijayanagara Kings, the use of the same name continued, and a large tank, named Bukkasamudra, was formed after throwing an embankment across the gorge from which the river Jayamangali has its source. Remains of the embankment and of the adjacent town can still be traced.

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