Siddhavatam is a village in
Kadapa district
Kadapa district (officially: YSR district; formerly: Cuddapah district) is one of the twenty six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. On 19 August 2005 nomenclature of “Cuddapah” has been changed as “Kadapa” by the Governm ...
of the
Indian state of
Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Siddavatam
mandal
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
of
Kadapa revenue division.
This village was initially under the rule of Matli Kings and was later transferred to
Pemmasani Nayaks. As the Muslim rulers ruled the South India, it was then brought under the control of the Nawab of Cuddapah. With the advent of British, it was ceded to them by the Nawab. Under the rule of British, Siddavatam served as the headquarters of the district briefly. Currently the city of Cuddapah serves as the headquarters and Siddavatam was reduced to a Mandal in the district.
Geography
Siddhavattam is located at .
It has an average elevation of 111 meters (354 feet). It is located on the left bank of river
Penna
Penna may refer to:
* 7mm Penna, a handgun cartridge
* Monte Penna, a mountain in northern Italy
* Penna (surname)
* Penna, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
* Penna in Teverina, a comune in Terni, Umbria, Italy
* Penna River, a ri ...
on the route to
Badvel from
Kadapa at a distance of about 25 km.
Etymology
It was said that this place used to be inhabited by people who wanted to meditate in the sereneness of climate and had a thick canopy of
Indian Banyan trees which served as shades for them. In Sanskrit, ''Sidda'' means people who perform meditation and ''vata'' is the Indian Banyan tree. Hence, the name Siddavatam is said to be a portmanteau of two words Sidda + vatam.
History
Siddavatam Fort was constructed by Matti Raja, a Tuluva dynasty feudatory chief to the Vijayanagara Empire, in 1303 CE.
It lies on the banks of the Pennar River. The fort extends over an area of . Visitors can view gateways and decorated pillars at the two ends of the fort. Top of the fort has been adorned with carvings of
Gajalakshmi. It is noteworthy that the 17
bastion
A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
s which once used to protect the region are still visible in the fort.
The fort houses an ancillary passage which allows the visitors to gain access even after the closure of the main gates. It is considered as the gateway to
Dakshina Kashi. The temples and masjid present inside its premise include the Ranganatha Swamy Temple.
The fort here was much developed under the rule of king
Varadha Raju, who is the son-in-law of
Sri Krishna Deva Raya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the g ...
. This fort was just a
mud fort at the time the area was ruled by "
Matli Rajulu
Matli is a town of Matli Taluka in Badin District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the capital of Matli Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district. The town is located at 25°2'0N 68°39'0E with an altitude of 9 metres (32 f ...
". Later it came under the control of Varadha Raju.
Earlier it was a part of
Udayagiri Kingdom.
Matli Yellama Raju
Matli is a town of Matli Taluka in Badin District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the capital of Matli Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district. The town is located at 25°2'0N 68°39'0E with an altitude of 9 metres (32 f ...
used to support the second
Venkatapathi Rayalu in many wars. For this favour, Siddavatam was given to Matli Yellama Raju as a gift along with some other places. Later
Matli Anantha Raju
Matli is a town of Matli Taluka in Badin District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the capital of Matli Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district. The town is located at 25°2'0N 68°39'0E with an altitude of 9 metres (32 f ...
remodelled the fort as
Rock Fort.
Later
Aurangzeb's commander
Mir Jumla II in 1682 along with
shah nawaz khan
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
captured Siddavatam along with other places in the region. Later Aarkatu Nawabs occupied the town. In 1714 Abdul Nabi Khan, who was ruling Kadapa conquered Siddavatam. This place was also ruled by Mayana Nawabs for some period. In 1799, it went into the hands of British
East India Company.
From 1807 to 1812 Siddavatam was the district headquarters. However, since it is on the bank of river Penna, every time there was a flood, the place was marooned from other places of the district giving rise to administerial difficulties and subsequently the district headquarters was shifted to Kadapa.
Climate
Siddavatam has a tropical climate as is the encompassing region of
Rayalaseema
Rayalaseema () is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises eight south western districts of the State namely, Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, YSR, Annamayya, Tirupati and Chittoor districts ...
. The summers have temperatures ranging between 37°C and 45°C and normally occurs between the months of April and July.
During
monsoons the climate starts to cool down and the river swells up during the rains which could sometimes be very hazardous especially during the torrential rains in the months of August to October.
The months between September and March are relatively cool, January being the coolest with a temperature averaging at 18°C.
Other attractions
The fort built here attracts many tourists. This popular fort was taken under control by
Archaeological Survey of India in 1956. Not only fort, this place is also famous for many temples. Among these are Ranganatha Swamy temple, Jyoti Siddavateswara Swamy temple, Panchalingala and others. There is also a 16 pillar Mantapam built in the name of Bhakara Panthulu, who also lends his name to the nearby hamlet of Bhakarapeta. Bhakara Pantulu seems to be the corrupted form for Bhaskara Pantulu.
References
{{Kadapa district
Villages in Kadapa district
Archaeological sites in Andhra Pradesh