Namakkal Fort

Namakkal Fort
Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India
Site information
Type	Hill fort
Controlled by	Kingdom of Mysore; later the East India Company
Location
Area	1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Site history
Built	Date uncertain
Built by	Traditionally attributed to Ramachandra Naicker; an alternative Mysore-period attribution was also recorded
Materials	Gneiss, cut stone, brick and mortar
Battles/wars	Capture and recapture of 1768

Namakkal Fort is a historic fort present in Namakkal in Namakkal district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The fort was built during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak of Madurai in 17th century. It was under the dominion of Tipu Sultan and then switched hands to the British East India Company as a part of Srirangapattinam treaty. The fort was used as a watch tower and garrison by the ruling empire.

The fort is located on the top of a hillock made of a single rock, 75 m (246 ft) tall. There is a temple and a mosque that are located within the fort, both of which are popular tourist attractions of the town. In modern times, the fort is under the control of the Archaeological Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Legend

According to Hindu legend, the hillock on which the fort is located was carried by Hanuman, a disciple of Sri Ram from the epic Ramayana. The hillock is known as Namagiri and also as Saligramam, the image of Vishnu in a divine stone. Hanuman was flying with the Sanjeevi Paravatha, the sacred mountain from Himalayan mountain to Sri Lanka. On his way, he saw the Kamalalayam tank and descended there to perform his morning worship. He placed the saligramam he brought from Himalayas and when he opened his eyes after the worship, he saw the stone grown to its current size. A divine voice asked him to leave the stone in the place itself. As per another legend, Narasimha, an avatar of Vishnu, after destroying Asura Hiranyakasipu, was still in ferocious mood. Hanuman, brought him to the place where Mahalakshmi, the wife of Vishnu was doing penance.

Name

The name Namakkal was commonly rendered as Namcull in British records from at least the 18th century. Robert Orme's account of British military operations in southern India referred to Namcull as a fort situated north of Karur, while the same spelling continued to be used in early 19th-century travel accounts and in the 1893 Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency.

The 1893 administrative manual derived Namakkal from the Sanskrit nāma, meaning a sacred mark, and the Tamil kal, meaning rock, and interpreted the name as the "rock of the Vishnu mark". It also recorded the Sanskritised forms Nimadripura and Nimagiri, both associated with the sacred mark and the hill.

History

The fort is attributed by the Namakkal District Administration to Ramachandra Nayakar, who ruled the locality during the reign of Tirumala Nayaka in the 17th century. The same attribution was recorded in the late 19th-century Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency, where Ramachandra Naick was described as the Polygar of Sendamangalam and Namakkal.

An alternative local tradition was also recorded in the same source. According to this account, construction was attributed to Lakshmi Narasimha Ayyar, an official serving under a Mysore ruler. The date associated with this tradition was already considered uncertain when it was documented.

By the 18th century, the fort had become associated with Mysore. In 1768 it was captured by British forces and was retaken by Hyder Ali a few months later. During the periods of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, it was held for the Mysore government by a killadar, or fort commandant.

Following the subsequent extension of East India Company administration in the region, the fort was retained as a military post. A guard of sepoys was recorded as being stationed there during the Company period. Claims that the fort was specifically used as a large arms depot or that Lieutenant Fehrszen commanded its garrison have not been retained here, as these details are not established by the principal historical records cited for the fort.

Architecture

The fort occupies approximately 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) of comparatively level ground on the summit. The natural form of the rock was incorporated directly into its defensive layout, and the irregular ramparts were made to follow the outline of the summit.

The principal approach is situated on the south-west, where a flight of narrow steps has been cut into the rock. A concealed northern entrance was historically described as a Tiruttu Vasal, or secret gate, which could have been used for escape or as a sally port.

Remains of an earlier line of fortification survive on the lower southern and south-western slopes. The upper defensive walls were constructed from well-cut blocks of stone corresponding to the rock itself. Mortar was used to secure portions of the masonry to the natural rock, while the upper courses were closely fitted without mortar.

The stone walls were surmounted by a substantial brick parapet provided with openings for musket fire. Machicolations, projecting bastions and salient angles were incorporated into the defences, while a raised masonry platform ran along the interior of the ramparts to provide access to the firing positions. Several portions appear to have been modified to provide embrasures for cannon.

Within the enclosure, a roofless brick structure was recorded in the 19th century. Although it had traditionally been identified as a treasury, it was considered more likely to have served as a granary for the garrison. A ruined bomb-proof chamber and a small temple dedicated to Vishnu were also recorded within the summit fort.

Defensive features recorded at the fort

• South-western rock-cut approach
• Northern secret entrance or sally port
• Lower line of fortifications
• Cut-stone summit walls
• Brick parapet
• Musketry loopholes
• Interior firing platform
• Cannon embrasures
• Projecting bastions and salient angles
• Bomb-proof chamber
• Probable garrison granary

Religious monuments and associations

The fort forms part of a wider sacred landscape centred on Namagiri hill. Two important rock-cut Vaishnava shrines are situated on opposite sides of the rock rather than within the summit fort itself. The Narasimhaswamy temple is situated at the western foot of the hill, while the Ranganathaswamy temple is cut into its eastern side. Their architecture and inscriptions have been dated to approximately the 8th century and have been associated with the Adiyaman chiefs of the region.

The western shrine contains sculptural representations connected with Narasimha and other forms of Vishnu, while the eastern shrine contains a large reclining image of Ranganatha. A separate small Vishnu shrine was recorded within the fort itself.

The Kamalalayam tank lies near the south-eastern foot of the rock and has long been associated with the religious traditions of Namagiri. A mosque is also situated within the fort complex, reflecting the site's later association with Mysore rule.

The hill, the two rock-cut temples and the fort therefore represent several successive periods of religious, political and military use rather than a single phase of occupation.

Conservation

The Hill Fort is listed by the ASI Chennai Circle under its Salem Sub-Circle, together with the Narasimhaswamy and Ranganathaswamy temples at Namakkal. The fort and associated protected monuments are consequently administered within the centrally protected archaeological heritage of the area.