Udayagiri Fort and Temples, Nellore

After realizing the presence of a fort named Udayagiri at about 11 km from Duttalur, we went ahead to explore the place. Lovely winding roads leads us to Udayagiri, a hill fort, situated at 950 m above Main sea level.  Within minutes of our realizing that  it would take us more time to trek up to the fort, a few tall Rajagopuras in Udayagiri town caught our attention.

History of the Fort - The fort was built by Gajapathis during the14th Century. In the year 1512,  Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar Kingdom attacked this fort while the battle lasted for about 18 months. After Krishnadevaraya's army defeated the Gajapathis and captured the fort, the Gajapathis offered a peace treaty by asking Krishnadevaraya to marry their princess Jaganmohini (Badradevi) . Later, the Nawabs of Golconda occupied this fort. Today it is pile of ruins. One has to trek about 12 km to reach the fort.

Udayagiri Fort

The Grand Royal Wedding - A grand Kalyana Mandapa/ Paruveta Mandapam was constructed in the Udayagiri  town at the orders of Krishnadevaraya. The place was decked up beautifully for the wedding of Krishnadevaraya and Princess Jaganmohini. A lovely Rajagopura welcomed us at the entrance,  while the pillared Kalyana Mantapa with intricate carvings is present inside the compound. There is a huge Kalyani in front of the Rajagopura.  The ASI and the Andhra Pradesh Govt. has done a decent job in restoring the place, though there is a lack of maintenance.

Pushkarni or Kalyani

  Mantapa 

Rajagopura

Carvings on the Walls of the Rajagopura

  Lord Krishna

Pillared Mantapa

Another View of The Mantapa

Kalyana Mantapa

Carved pillars

Pillar Top and Lintel Carvings

   Udayagiri houses the ruins of more than 300 temples built during the reign of different kingdoms, though most of them were re-built or improved further by the Vijayanagar Kings.

Lord Balakrishna Temple 

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