Defence Architecture in Early North Karnataka c12.s4.6

c12.s4.6

One would naturally enquire into the propriety of having entrance here. In view of its simple plan, of its location of the insignificant corner of the fort wall and of simple nature of the entrance, it does not seem to be the main entrance. We must understand therefore the propriety of its existence there, although it is not of strategic importance. Now from entrance No.2 there is no access direct to the Layanas got excavated in the opposite scarp of the rock; one of them i.e. Layana No.3 was got excavated in saka 500 by Mangaḷēśa himself. The access to these Layanas from entrance No.2, for the royal members is only through the entrance No.1, by the path on the western side of the tank to the Layanas. Hence the uniform narrow way between the entrance No.2 and entrance No.1 should be taken as royal path almost exclusively to the Layanas. The narrow way between the boulder and the fort wall at that point is converted into an entrance exclusively for the people of the rulers, and hence we find much attention is being given to the decoration of the platforms on the inner side of the entrance No.1. The location of the entrance No.1 clearly indicates that the rulers and the important administrators were within the fort separated from the city in the ground level. Thus, the Giri Durga on the North-hill can be described as a citadel separated from the city. Entrance No. 2 in the present state of its condition looks as though it is an enigmatic for the space in between the entrance and the huge boulder rock containing the inscription of Narashimhavarman, the Pallava ruler, is open, secondly the space in between the northern side of the entrance and the hill is also open. Thus therefore the entrance No.2 functionally is meaningless, but the entrance could not have been erected without proper use. A careful study of the area indicates that the entrance has been thoughtfully constructed. In front of this entrance is a naturally deep depression forming a pond upto the rock; therefore the stump of the wall that still is extant of the northern side of the entrance, must have been a part of the wall that connected the entrance and the rock along the edge on the pond. The pond therefore formed a natural short moat to the wall; and this wall was broken during the war between Pulikeshin-II and Narashimhavarma Mamalla, in view of the proximity of the latter's inscription. The remnants of the wall in course of time had disappeared, thus by conjecturing reasonably the existence of the wall between entrance No. 2 and the rock, one could understand the propriety of the location of the entrance. And it is from this entrance there is a flight of steps to the entrance No.3, which is more imposing and strategically well built for it forms the main entrance into the citadel.