BANGALORE, Karnataka

Main Attraction: TIPU SULTAN'S PALACE

Tipu Sultan's Palace is situated in Bangalore city. The construction of the palace of Tipu Sultan was begun by Haider Ali in 1781 A.D. and completed by Tipu Sultan in 1791 A.D. This is a splendid structure now extant within the old fort. It is of two storeys with a large open courtyard in front originally with a fountain and small, ornamental garden with choicest blossoms. The facade is adorned with stately fluted wooden pillars in the north and south. The pillars are connected by cusped arches.

The walls and ceiling of the entire palace were originally painted and gilded, traces of which are found even now. The projecting tiles at the eastern and western sides of the upper floor contained royal seat from where the Sultan conducted affairs of the state. The Zanana chambers on the sides had low ceiling, which were richly painted. An inscription on the wooden beam describes the palace as an "Abode of Happiness" and "Envy of Heaven".

Brief History:

The name 'Bangalore' is the anglicised form of Bengaluru, which, according to popular belief, is derived from Bangalu - itself a corrupt form of the word Benda Kalu (cooked beans) and Ooru, meaning a town. Tradition associates the Hoysala king Vira Ballala with the origin of this name and recounts how he got separated from his attendants during one of his hunting expeditions in this region, lost his way and after hours of wandering, reached the hut of an old woman at night and sought for the much needed food and shelter. This humble woman, it is said, offered cooked beans, which the king gladly ate, and made up a bed for him also. This episode, in a way, brought glory to the place and, the settlement began to develop further in view of the royal patronage.

However, the founding of modern Bangalore is attributed to Kempe Gauda, a section of the Yelahanka line of chiefs, who finally established himself at Magadi. He founded the town of Bangalore in 1537 A.D. and he got elected four watchtowers at the four cardinal points predicting that in course of time the town would extend up to those points.

Historically, the earliest dynasty, which established its sway over this part of the country including Bangalore district, is that of the Gangas. In about the second century A.D., the Gangas established themselves at Kolar (a place which is hardly at a distance of 75 km from Bangalore City) from which they took the title Kuvalalapuravaradhishvara. The territory comprised in Bangalore district formed part of Gangavadi ninety-six-thousand and Honganur of Channapatna taluk was the chief town of a sub-division, called Chikkagangavadi, which occupied the Shimsha valley. During the seventh century, Makunda was a place of great importance and was the royal residence of Bhuvikrama and also of Sivamara. The earliest Ganga grant found in this district is dated in 430 A.D., and relates to king Avinita. In the eighth century, Shripurusha made Manyapura (Manne of Nelamangala taluk) his royal residence. During the reign of Satyavakya II, in about 870 A.D., a Nagattara chief is said to have fixed sluices to two tanks at Agara (near Bangalore East) and in about 890 A.D., Ereyappa who killed Nolamba king Mahendra and earned the title Mahendrantaka, is referred to as ruling over the country. Obviously, though the Gangas were reigning supreme, the Pallavas and the Nolambas for varying periods of time held certain parts of this district, especially in the east.

Inscriptions belonging to the reign of Rajendra Chola and Kulottunga Chola II discovered in different parts of this district amply testify to the fact that Bangalore district too was annexed by the Cholas who overran the Gangas and established their unquestioned supremacy in this part of the country by early eleventh century. After their conquests, among other things, the Cholas renamed Malurpatna of Channapatna taluk as Nikarili-Cholapuram and the area around Manne of Nelamangala taluk as Vikrama Chola-mandalam. Magadi town is said to have been founded by one of the Chola kings and the renowned king Cholaganga was born in Hejjaji-Twelve of Dodballapur taluk. 

The next important dynasty to hold sway over the district is that of the Hoysalas. Inscriptions of the Hoysala kings, including those belonging to Vira Ballala (1172 - 1219 A.D.) are found all over the district. Shantala Devi, the queen of king Vishnuvardhana, it is said, breathed her last at Shivaganga of Nelamangala Taluk. When the Hoysala Kingdom was divided between the brothers Narasimha III and Ramanatha, the northern parts of Bangalore district came to be included in the possessions of Ramanatha who used to hold his court in Kundana of Devanhalli taluk. Honganur of Channapatna taluk was the provincial capital and the residence of a Hoysala governor. Yelahanka and its neighbourhood have yielded several inscriptions relating to the last days of the Hoysala rule and the reign of Ballala III. 

Shortly after the fall of Hoysala rule, Bangalore district too became a part and parcel of the great Vijayanagara Empire. An inscription discovered in Magadi taluk is dated in 1368 A.D. and belongs to the reign of Bukka I. It records the reconciliation effected by Bukka between the Jainas and Vaishnavas of his kingdom and thus indicates that Bangalore district too formed part of his empire. Under the patronage of the Vijayanagara sovereigns, as in other parts of the empire, in Bangalore district too, many local rulers flourished and attained glorious positions. Avati Nad Prabhus have an unique place in the modern annals of Bangalore district.

Jaya Gauda, who ruled for 15 years, acquired the title Yelahanka Nadu Prabhu (Lord of Yelahanka-nad) and was succeeded by his son Gidde Gauda. It is only after the goddess, Kempamma, the consort of Baire Deva, was appeased by prayers and austerities that this Gidde Gauda was rewarded with a son whom he named Kempa Nanje Gauda. This chief governed the territory with benevolence for about 70 years (1443-1513 A.D.). His son Kempe Gauda distinguished himself as the most illustrious ruler of the family. In 1537, he founded Bangalore at its present location, duly fortified it and made it his capital. In appreciation of his good deeds, zeal and devotion to the Vijayanagara throne, king Achuta Raya granted him the right to administer a territory of twelve hoblis around Bangalore, which together yielded a revenue of 30,000 pagodas. Kempe Gauda cherished a greater ambition. Not being content with the feudal honours, which he had achieved, Kempe Gauda established a mint, issued Baire Deva coins tried to appropriate the prerogatives of royalty for himself. It was at this juncture that his patron Achuta Raya died and Sadashiva Raya ascended the throne under the guardianship of Rama Raya. Sensing the danger posed by Kempe Gauda, Rama Raya summoned him to Vijayanagara court in a routine manner. On reaching the court, Kempe Gauda was seized and cast into a prison to suffer for his misdemeanours. Kempe Gauda secured his release and reinstatement after he suffered imprisonment for five years and also paid a heavy fine. 

Five years later, he was succeeded by Immadi Kempe Gauda - the chief who is known to have built a large number of tanks in various parts of the district and also the temple of Someshwara at Ulsoor and at Magadi. He extended his territory westwards and took over Sawandurga as well as Magadi. While the chiefs belonging to the main line of the Avati family flourished in the immediate neighbourhood of Bangalore, the chiefs of Devanhalli and Dodballapur branches too administered the territories assigned to them from time to time, in what may be termed in a mediocre manner. The Sugatur Chiefs usually had the name Tamme Gauda and their possessions included part of the present Kolar district. One of these chiefs founded the town of Hoskote and extended his territory from Anekal to Punganur. He earned the title Chikka Raya from the Vijayanagara king in recognition of the able manner in which he repelled the aggressors. The western parts of the district were, during this period, under the control of Jagadeva Raya who had his capital at Channapatna and administered a large territory. Chamaraja Wodeyar annexed Channapatna and its neighbourhood in about 1630 A.D.

In 1638 A.D. Randulla Khan, the Bijapur general captured Bangalore, forced Kempe Gauda to retire to Sawandurga and made Bangalore his chief residence for a brief period. After his return to Bijapur, Shahji was appointed governor of the southern Carnatic districts subdued by the Bijapur forces. Bangalore, Hoskote, Dodballapur, Kolar and Sira were granted as a Jagir to Shahji and he too stayed at Bangalore for some time and then shifted his residence to Dodballapur and Kolar. On the death of Shahji in 1664 A.D. the administration of the Jagir devolved on his eldest son Venkoji. Later, with a view to establish his claims over his parental estate, Shivaji overran these territories in about 1677. Thereupon the brothers came to an amicable settlement according to which Bangalore and its neighbourhood remained in the possession of Venkoji. In the meantime, with their capital at Srirangapatana, the Wodeyars of Mysore had established themselves as an important and rising power in the south. In 1654 A.D. Kantirava Narasa Raja Wodeyar attacked and defeated Kempe Gauda of Magadi and forced the latter to pay a heavy contribution. A couple of decades later, Bangalore itself was annexed to Mysore under the following circumstances. Shivaji died in 1680 A.D. and by 1687 Venkoji, who had established himself on the throne of Tanjore, found his distant dominion of Bangalore to be an expensive possession. Therefore he wanted to sell it away to the highest bidder, namely Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar of Mysore for Rupee three lakhs. The latter sent a detachment to occupy the estate and pay the money. But, at this stage the negotations became protracted and became a matter of notoriety. Hari Raja, the Maratha Commander-in -chief at Ginjee, and Aurangzeb who had just raised the siege of Golconda simultaneously turned this attention to the transactions pertaining to Bangalore and both of them sent a detachment each.

Khasim Khan, the general of Aurangzeb, arrived first and occupied the place with relative ease. The detachment of Hari Raja, finding itself forestalled, marched back to the base. Then, Khasim Khan accepted the large sum of money and handed over the possession of Bangalore, which thenceforth became a part of Mysore Kingdom.

According to an inscription it was in the year 1695 that the Venkateshwara temple near the fort of Bangalore was erected by Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar and endowed by his son, Kantirava Narasa Raja. In 1689, Khasim Khan captured Dodballapur. Two years later, in 1691, Dodballapur came to be bestowed upon Sheik Abdullah Faruk - a descendant of one of the courtiers at Delhi. In 1728, Deva Raja, the Dalavayi of Dodda Krishna Raja Wodeyar, attacked Magadi and forced Kempe Gauda to surrender his territories, which included the then impregnable Sawandurga hill-fort, and the wealth accumulated therein over a period of nearly two hundred years. Kempe Gauda was taken to Shrirangapattana as a State prisoner. In 1749, Devanhalli was annexed to Mysore Kingdom. It was during the siege of Devanhalli that Haidar Ali distinguished himself as a volunteer horseman. In 1758, the fort and the neighbourhood of Bangalore were conferred on Haidar Ali as a Jagir in recognition of his services to the State. In 1761, Haidar Ali secured Hoskote and Dodballapur, the Jagir of Abbas Kuli Khan, from Basalat Jang. It was during this year that Haidar Ali virtually took over the administration of the entire Mysore kingdom of which his own personal estate in and around Bangalore was only a small part. 

In 1791, Lord Cornwallis captured Bangalore from Tipu Sultan on behalf of the British. Soon Devanhalli and other places were also annexed and the hill-forts like Sawandurga, Ramagiri, Sivanagiri etc., too were captured. On the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, Bangalore district came to be included in the treaty of Srirangapatana as the territory of the Wodeyars of Mysore. Under the restored government, which followed, the districts of Bangalore and Kolar constituted the Bangalore Faujdari, which was afterwards called the Bangalore Division. This position continued until the formation of Nandidurg Division in 1863 whereafter the name Bangalore Division came to be confined to the area included in Bangalore district only. During the past hundred years and more the boundaries of the district have remained almost unchanged, though along with the other parts of the State, this district too has witnessed several administrative and political changes. The district now consists of four taluks, which has one revenue sub-divisions for administrative purposes. The erstwhile composite Bangalore taluk was constituted into two separate units named Bangalore North and Bangalore South for the administrative convenience and again after 2001 Census Bangalore East taluk was created by bifurcating Bangalore South taluk.