Kan: ಚಿತ್ರದುರ್ಗ citradurga
‘Bright Fort’ [Chitaldoorg] City/District, Karnataka (Kar)
From Skt: citra, ‘bright’, ‘wonderful’, ‘picturesque’; and Kan: durga ‘fort’, ‘stronghold’.
Chitradurga is a seven-layered fort which sits astride a row of rugged hills peppered with massive boulders and rocks. It was built in stages beginning in the 11thC and is variously known as the ‘stone’, ‘steel’ or ‘seven circles’ fort.
The boulders on which the city was built belong to the oldest rock formation in the country.
The Hidambeshwara temple is the oldest here and recounts the Mahabharata tale of Hidimba, a man-eating Rakshasa who was killed by Bhima in a duel when the Pandavas came here. The boulders formed part of Bhima’s artillery for the fight. married Hidimbi, the Rakshasa’s peace-loving sister.
Chitradurga’s hills have made it an ideal site for wind power generation with wind turbines dotting the landscape.
For related place names see Indian Place names and Karnataka place names.
