Arikadi fort is a fort located in the

Kasaragod district Kasaragod ( and Malayalam language, Malayalam: , English language, English: ''Kassergode'', Tulu language, Tulu: ''Kasrod'', Arabic language, Arabic: ''Harkwillia'') is one of the 14 List of districts of Kerala, districts in the southern Indi ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is also known as Kumbla fort. The fort is located at a distance of 2 km from Kumbla on the

NH 66 National Highway 66, commonly referred to as NH 66 (erstwhile NH-17 and a part of NH-47), is a mostly 4 lane long busy National Highway (India), National Highway that runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India, parallel to t ...

National Highway between kumbala River and shiriya River There is a

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

temple just below the fort. Excavations by a team from the Department of Archeology,

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

in 2015 uncovered a large hall possibly meant for congregation. The excavation was carried out as part of the 'A Survey of Forts' research project jointly funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the University of Kerala. Excavations have also uncovered large quantities of roof tiles, local pottery, Chinese pottery, lead bullets and the mold used to make them.

Geography

The fort is located in the

Arikady Arikady is a village in Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics As of 2011 India census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given popula ...

village in Kumbla, Kasaragod district. The nearest railway station and busstand is at Kumbla and the nearest airport is

Mangalore International Airport Mangalore International Airport , is an international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India. It is one of the only two international airports in Karnataka, the other being Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore. Mangalore ...

. The fort is located on a lateritic hillock on the right bank of the Arikady River.

History

According to the South Canara Manual, the

Keladi Nayaka Nayakas of Keladi (1499–1763), also known as Nayakas of Bednore and Ikkeri Nayakas, were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in post-medieval Karnata ...

s (1500–1763) who had their capitals at

Keladi Keladi is a temple town in Sagara Taluk of the state of Karnataka in India. Keladi is located about 8 km from the town of Sagara. History It is the place whence the ''Ikkeri'' chiefs derived their origin, which is thus related: Two broth ...

Ikkeri Ikkeri is a hamlet situated in Sagara taluk (township) about 6 km to the south of the town centre in Sagara, it's known for the Aghoreshvara Temple, dedicated to an avatar of Shiva. The word ''Ikkeri'' in Kannada means "two streets". Naya ...

and

Bednore Nayakas of Keladi (1499–1763), also known as Nayakas of Bednore and Ikkeri Nayakas, were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in post-medieval Karnata ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

built few forts in the Hosdurg-Kasargod region of Kerala. Arikadi Fort is one of them. According to historical records, Arikady Fort was built by Ikeri Hiriya Venkadappa Nayak in 1608. In the second volume of the South Canara District Manual, Stuart records that there was an inscription in Kannada at the entrance to the fort, which states that the fort was built by Nayak. Other histories are also being told. Most commonly, it is believed that the fort was built during the reign of

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He int ...

. Another belief is that it was built for the headquarters of the Kumbala dynasty. Another belief is that the fort existed during the reign of the

Kolathiri Rajas Kolattunādu (Kola Swarupam, as Kingdom of Cannanore in foreign accounts, Chirakkal (Chericul) in later times) was one of the four most powerful kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of the Portuguese Armadas in India, along with Za ...

and that after the collapse of the Kolathiri kingdom and the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...

, the area came under the control of the Ikkeri Nayakas and they rebuilt the forts. Some historians say that the fort was under the rule of the Maypadi Kovilakam, which had jurisdiction from Kumbala to the Chandragiri river. The area was under their control during the heyday of the Vijayanagara Empire, which was later handed over to the Nayaks of Bednore and the local king acted as their feudatory. After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, it fell into the hands of the Mysore rulers and after the defeat of Tipu Sultan by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, the fort fell to the British control.

References

{{Reflist Forts in Kerala Kasaragod district