Namakkal Fort

Panoramic View of Namakkal from Hillock

According to Hindu legend, the hillock on which the fort is located was carried by Hanuman, a deciple 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.[2] 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.

The fort was built by the Madurai Nayaks during the 17th century.[1] It is reported to have been built by Ramachandra Nayakar, the Poligar of Sendamangalam, during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak. The fort was captured by the British in 1768, to be lost to Hyder Ali.

Image of the fort structure

The fort is located in the centre of Namakkal town over a hillock made of single rock named Namagiri.[2] The fort is located on the top of the rock, 75 m (246 ft) tall. There is a Narasimha Murthy temple and a mosque that are located within the fort, both of which are popular tourist attractions of the town.[3] Kamalalayam tank, located at foothills, is commonly associated with the fort.[4] The fort is made up with well-cut blocks of the same stone as the hill and cemented to the rock by mortar. The higher portions of the fort are held by their own weight and accurate fitting.

In modern times, an 18 ft image of Hanuman is installed in the city, facing the Narasimha image on the top of the fort. The fort is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.[5]