BELGAUM, Karnataka

Main Attraction: YELLAMMA TEMPLE AT SAUNDATTI

Saundatti reminds us of the beautiful and ancient temple of Goddesss Renuka (also known as the Yellamma). It is at a distance of 70 km. from Belgaum and the place can be reached from all the other places by road. At a distance of 5 km. from the Soundatti town, there is a big hill on which the temple is situated. The hill was earlier known as Siddhachal Parvat. The temple is built in the Chalukya and Rashtrakuta style and the Carvings reflect the Jain architecture. The temple was constructed by Bomappa Naik of Raybag in the year 1514. There are temples of Lord Ganesh, Mallikarjun, Parshuram, Eknath, Siddeshwar etc., in the temple premises. Devotees from Maharastra, Goa and Andhra Pradesh also come here, apart from Karnataka, especially during the time of Jatras which are held twice in a year. The management of the temple has been handed over to the Government in 1975 and the government has made provisions such as Dharmashalas, Health centres and other facilities to make the devotees feel at home.

Brief History

Belgaum district has several places of historical importance and a few which are identified with places mentioned in Hindu mythological accounts. Saundatti-Yellamma, for example, is identified as the place where Parashurama, the VI incarnation of Lord Vishnu, beheaded his own mother at the behest of his father, sage Jamadagni. The narrative further states that, when his immensely pleased father granted him with a boon, Parashurama asked for and got his mother restored to life at this place. Legends associate Yadur and Godchi villages with the events mentioned in the Daksha Yagya and the exploits of Veerabhadra. About the early historical period, it may be mentioned that Halashi (located in Khanapur taluk) was the capital of the early Kadambas. Saundatti was the capital of the Rattas and some historians identify Kakati near Belgaum as the original abode of the famous Kakatiyas of Warangal.

There are as many as five Ramateerthas in the district, viz., (1) in the Parasgad fort (2) at Mullur in Ramdurg taluk (3) near Kanabargi in Belgaum taluk (4) at Ramateertha in Athni taluk and (5) near Halasi in Khanapur taluk, which are described as visited by Rama who installed Ramalingas at these places. Ramdurg fort is ascribed to Rama and Shabarikalla near Sureban is described as the place where Shabari had lived and met Rama. Sogal in Saundatti taluk is described as the place where one Sugalamuni performed penance and where the marriage of Shiva and Parvathi is described to have taken place. Jamboti in Khanapur taluk is associated with Jambavati, Lord Krishna’s consort and Jambavanta’s daughter. Samptasagar, a pre-historic site is claimed to be the place where the SaptaRshis had lived and the ashmond there is ascribed to the sacrifices they had performed. The Mugutkhan Hubli, Narasimha temple is claimed to be place where Sage Chavan had performed a sacrifice.

Belgaum district is believed to have formed part of the ancient Kuntala Desha. During the early historical period, from 327 BC to 229 A.D., the Satavahanas had established their supremacy over parts of the present Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka including the Kuntala Desha. Evidence discovered in the adjacent districts of Bijapur and Dharwad clearly indicate that this part of the country formed part of the early Chalukya kingdom (550-610 A.D.) and then of the western Chalukya kingdom. In 760 A.D., when Rastrakutas over threw the western Chalukyas, along with the rest of the Chalukya domains, Belgaum district, then known as Kundi-three thousand, also came under the control of the Rashtrakutas. For about four centuries from 850 A.D., the Ratta Mahamandaleshwars or Ratta for short, administered large portions of Belgaum district at first as the chief feudatories of the Rashtrakutas, then as the subordinates of the Goa Kadambas and finally, from 1170 A.D., as independent monarchs. Merada and his son Prathivarma, who were originally priests, founded the Ratta dynasty. 

Rashtrakuta king Krishna II formally invested Prathivarma with the rank and title of Mahamandaleshwara and entrusted him with the administration of a large territory. The capital of the Rattas was located at Sungandavarti which corresponds to the modern Saundatti-Yellamma town, till it was moved to Velugrama i.e. Belgaum, in about 1208 A.D. An inscription found at Hannikeri near Sampgaon refers to this shifting of the capital and mentions that the Rattas acquired Velugrama Seventy from the Kadambas by conquest. The over-throw of the Rattas by the Yadavas of Devagiri is mentioned in a grant of VII Yadava King Krishna, which is dated in 1253 A.D., and is found at Byahatti in Dharwad district. By 1250 A.D., the Yadavas had established their sway over entire Belgaum district and their supremacy in this region lasted till they were finally over-thrown by Allauddin Khilji in 1320 A.D. In 1327 A.D., emperor Muhammed-bin-Tughlak subdued Karnataka and appointed two of his noblemen to administer these territories from their respective headquarters at Hukeri and Raybag. However, this position did not last long. Within a few years of its founding, the Vijayanagara empire extended its sway over Belgaum district as well. 

However, from this period till 1472 A.D., there was constant rivalry between the Vijayanagara kings and the Bahamani sultans for possession of the territories around Belgaum. In 1357 A.D., the Bahamani kingdom was organised into four divisions and that which stretched from Gulbarga to Dabhol in Ratnagiri in the west and to Raichur and Mudgal in the south was placed under Malik-Serif-Uddin Ghore. Southern parts of Belgaum including the Belgaum fort, and Goa however acknowledged the suzerainty of the Vijayanagara kings. This position changed in 1470 A.D., when Muhammad Gilani, a Governor under the Bahamani Sultan, captured Goa. On this occasion, the Bankapur chief tried to recapture Goa with the reinforcements from Vijayanagara kings whereupon the Bahamani’s mounted an attack on Belgaum Fort. Karna Raja, who stoutly defended the fort, was finally vanquished and with this, the whole of Belgaum district came under Bahamani rule.

In 1478 A.D., the Bahamani kingdom was reorganised into eight tarafs, each with a governor. The western parts, including the fort at Belgaum, came under the governorship of Fakru-ul-Mulk. About a decade later, the governor of Junnar and Bijapur provinces virtually threw off their allegiance to the Bahamani sultans. About this time, Bahadur Gilani, the governor of Konkan rebelled against his master and with his headquarters at Sankeshwar, seized Goa and Belgaum. Yusuf Adil Shah, the Bijapur governor sent an army against Gilani and re-established his supremacy. Gilani himself was killed during this campaign and his estate became a part of the possessions of the Bijapur kingdom, which soon emerged as an independent power. In 1510 A.D., the Portuguese wrested Goa from the control of Bijapur. In 1511 A.D., the Bijapur king, Ismail Adil Shah appointed Khursu Turk as the Governor of Belgaum, administered Belgaum for about 38 years and came to be regarded as a saint. His son Mohmed Kishwar Khan succeeded him.

The success of the confederate forces of the Bijapur, Bidar, Golkonda and Ahmednagar Sultanates against the Vijayanagara at the battle of Talikote in 1565 A.D., (which took place at Rakkasa Tangadgi), was followed by a period of general disorder and disruption of authority because of the jealousies that arose amongst the conquerors in sharing the spoils. Taking advantage of the chaotic situation, Vitta Gowda seized a few strategic forts in Belgaum district and its neighbourhood, established himself at Torgal as a semi-independent ruler and refused to accept the suzerainty of Bijapur kings. In 1953 A.D., Ali Adil Shah began his campaign and subdued the rulers at Dharwad and Bankapur who too had assumed independence, captured Vitta Gowda and put him to death, thereby establishing the supremacy of the Bijapur kingdom in the entire Belgaum district. From this period, till the entire Bijapur kingdom was conquered by Aurangzeb in 1686 A.D., Belgaum district, by and large, remained under Bijapur rule. However, the Maratha inroads into the district began by about 1659 A.D., when Shivaji followed up his success near Pratapagad by seizing the fort of Panpala and with it, the Kolhapur district including the Sankeshwar region of Belgaum district. Indu Rao Gharpade held Hukeri and Raybag from 1668 A.D. Shivaji plundered Hukeri and Raybag and took large territories in Belgaum district into his possession. After the fall of Bijapur in 1686 A.D., the Marathas were practically driven out of Belgaum district by the Moghuls.

The Moghul rule in this part of the country was purely of a military nature and it did not last long. The emperor appointed Abdul Rahuf Khan as Mansabdar and granted him administrative powers over 22 mahals including Belgaum and Torgal. Abdul Rahuf Khan, who had his headquarters first at Bankapur and then at Savanur, was content to entrust the revenue management of his territories to the hereditary officers such as the Desais. The death of emperor Aurangazeb in 1707 A..D, led to the establishment of two Maratha principalities under two of Shivaji’s grandsons, Satara under Sahu and Kolhapur under Sambhaji. In 1719 A.D., Sahu received imperial grants from the emperor, which conferred on him the right to collect chaut or onefourth and Sardeshmukhi or one-tenth of the revenues of the six Deccan provinces including Belgaum. In 1723 A.D., Nizam-ul-Mulk, the viceroy of Deccan interfered to suppress the disturbances in the Bijapur province, took Athni and the fort of Belgaum and then appointed the Nawab of Savanur as the Governor of Subedar of this region. Though Sahu had received the imperial grant to levy one-fourth and one-tenth of the revenues of all lands formerly held by the Moghuls, the power of the local chiefs of Kolhapur and Savanur was so great that the Maratha forces scarcely ventured to cross the Krishna River. In 1726 A.D., on the pretext of collecting these revenues Peshva Baji Rao marched into Karnataka and plundered places as far south as Shrirangapattana. In 1730 A.D., under a treaty between the chiefs of Satara and Kolhapur the country between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra was assigned to Kolhapur. In 1746 A.D., the Savanur Nawab ventured to resist the authority of the Marathas to collect their due share of the revenue of this region. 

This resistance led to a Maratha invasion in 1747 A.D, when the Nawab was forced to yield large tracts of lands to the Peshwa. Belgaum Fort passed to Peshva’s in 1756 A.D. and in 1763 A.D.; Peshva Madhav Rao subdued the Desai of Hukeri. Later in 1790, during the reign of Tipu Sultan, the Marathas formed an offensive alliance with the British and mounted an attack under Parashuram Bhau and a detachment of the British troops under Captain Little. On this occasion, the whole of Bombay Karnataka region passed to Marathas and remained in their possession till 1818 when General Munro captured Belgaum and ushered in the British era. For a couple of decades that followed, the hereditary chiefs’ estate holders were allowed to administer their respective territories under the suzerainty of the British. In 1824 A.D., the Desai of Kittur, who did not have a son, adopted a boy and named him as his successor. The British masters however refused to accept the right of the adopted child to the Chieftaincy and in accordance with ‘doctrine of lapse’ demanded the surrender of Kittur. This was resented by the widowed queen, Rani Chennamma, who raised the banner of revolt against the British Raj. She put up a valiant fight against the mighty British who finally succeeded in annexing Kittur. In 1829 A.D., there was a second rebellion in Kittur under the leadership of Sangolli Rayanna. This was also put down and Rayanna was captured and put to death at Nandagad of Khanapur Taluk. 

In 1830, the then Governor of Bombay Province brought under the Regulations, the territories of Bombay-Karnataka region which had been acquired either by conquest from the Marathas or by treaty and agreement from other States. These territories were formed into a district (and named after Dharwad), which was divided into two collectorates in 1836. The headquarters of the northern Collectorates was actually shifted to Belgaum in 1830. In 1840, following the death of the local chief, Nipani lapsed to the British and in 1842, another estate belonging to a representative of the divided family of the Miraj Peshva’s also lapsed to the British. There were unsuccessful rebellions in Kolhapur and Savantawadi in 1844 and then again in 1857. Babasaheb of Nargund who was arrested on the charge of murdering Manson, the political agent, was tried at Belgaum in 1858, sentenced to death on the Haystack Hills at the outskirts of Belgaum city. The British rule came to an end in August 1947 and with the merger of the princely states in 1948 and the consequent integration of areas, the boundaries of Belgaum district were redefined. In 1956, as a consequence of the reorganisation of States, the then Belgaum district excluding Chandgad taluk came to be included in the erstwhile Mysore State. This enlarged Mysore State has since been renamed as Karnataka and Belgaum city happens to be headquarters of Revenue Division, the jurisdiction of which extends over the districts of Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag and Uttar Kannada i.e. the territories which formerly belonged to the Bombay Province.