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DEVARAYANADURGA

Devarayanadurga is a hill station near Tumkur in the state of Karnataka in India. The rocky hills are surrounded by forest and the hilltops are dotted with several temples including the Yoganarasimha and the Bhoganarasimha temples and an altitude of 3940 feet. It is also famous for Namada Chilume, a natural spring considered sacred and is also considered the origin of the Jayamangali river. Another famous temple in the area is the Mahalakshmi Temple at Goravanahalli.

Devarayana Durga is a fortified hill, about nine miles east of Tumkur town, situated in the midst of picturesque scenery. It consists of three elevations and seven gates leading to the top. On the lowest elevation situated is the Lakshmi-Narasimha Swamy Temple. Near by is a spring know as Ane-done. On the slope of the hill is a pond said to the source of stream Mangali. Higher up is another small spring named Jaya-tirtha representing the source of another stream Jaya. Both the streams unite at Irukasandra at the foot of the hill and form the Jayamangali. The hills are also the source of the river Shimsha.

On the middle elevation are the Govt travellers Bungalow and few other places of rest. There are also two other springs known as Rama-tirtha and Dhanus-tirtha. There is a large cave nearby with figures of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana.

History
The place was originally known as Anebiddasari then as Jadakana Durga after a chief named Jadaka and finally as Devarayana Durga subsequent to its capture by Mysore king Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar.

Tradition relates that a robber chief named Andhaka or Lingaka had his stronghold here, and he was subdued by sumati, a prince, whose father, Hemachandra, was the king of Karnata and ruled from Yadupattana. On accomplishing the enterprise on which he had set forth, Sumathi is said to have established the city of Bhumandana near the present Nelamangala and taken up residence there for the protection of that part of his fathers kingdom.

Under the Hoysalas, there seems to have been, on the hill, a town called Anebiddasari or the precipice where the elephant fell. A rogue elephant, which the sthala purana describes as a Gandharva suddenly appeared before the town to the great consternation of the people and after doing considerable mischief, tried to walk up the steep rock on the west, when it slipped, fell back and was killed. The hill is accordingly called as Karigiri in the Puranas.

Under the Vijayanagara Kings, the use of the same name continued, and a large tank, named Bukkasamudra, was formed after throwing an embankment across the gorge from which the river Jayamangali has its source. Remains of the embankment and of the adjacent town can still be traced.

Getting there
It is 65 km from Bangalore, India, by road on Tumkur road. The nearest railway station is 25 km away in Dobbespet.

There are 2 routes to this place.

1. From Banglore, go till Dobbespet. Go under the flyover and take a right. (note: The left here leads to Shivagange betta and right leads to Devarayandurga.) This road is in quite bad shape and it is a longer approach to Devarayanadurga. On this route you get Devarayanadurga first, and then as you go towards Kyatsandra, you get another Hanuman and Shankara temple, a little further is Namada Chilume and then Siddaganga mutt (different from Siddagange betta) and a kilometer from there is Kyatsandra where you hit Banglore Tumkur road.
2. The other route from banglore is from Kyatsandra. About 1Km after crossing second toll gate on Tumkur road take right at Kyatsandra. After crossing railway level cross you reach Siddaganga Mutt then Namada Chilume then Hanuman Temple and finally Devarayanadurga. The roads on this side are much better and this route is shorter.

Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple
The temple, built in the dravidian style of architecture, faces east and is said to have been constructed by Kanthirava Narasaraja I. From the inscriptions numbered Tumkur 41 and 42, we learn that the enclosure and tower were repaired in 1858 by the Mysore king Krishnaraja Wodeyar III.

The TVS Group, a south Indian automobile company, has helped a great deal in the improvement and maintenance of the temple environs.

BhogaNaraishma temple is at the base of the hill and Yoga Narasimha temple is on top of the hill.