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| Kakatiya Kala Thoranam, Warangal en.wikipedia.org |
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| Kakatiya Kala Thoranam, Warangal, TAdeccanchronicle.com |
The city of Warangal, Telangana has many tourist spots around it and during their heyday the great Kakatiya rulers had built a strong fort to repel the invasion and temples for their spiritual needs. This part of Warangal is one of the heritage cities in India and it showcases the extraordinary skill and artistic talents of the artisans of the past era who had left behind rich monuments that bear testimony to the opulence, power and rich heritage of the past rulers. With the ebb and flow of time and foreign invaders, many of the monuments are in ruins and their remnants are all over the historical fort. But they are till specks of diamonds strewn across the land. No doubt, the ethos of this city's culture and the legacy of mighty Kakatiya dynasty are inseparable.
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| location Warangal city, Telangana , censusindia.co.in. |
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| Warangal fort, nandi mantap, Shiva temple, discoverindiasite.wordpress.com |
Above image: Nandi mantap, part of Shiva temple, destroyed by the invading army from the Delhi sultanate....
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| Ruined Warangal fort and temple. warangaltourism.in |
The historical and artistic arch called Kakatiya Kala Thoranam (also called Warangal Gate) is part of the Warangal fort that lies on the outskirts of the eastern part of the city. Located in the Warangal district, of the new Indian state of Telangana (29th state) , it was one among the four gates that adorned the place forming entrance to the destroyed great Shiva temple. It was Ganapati Deva, the nephew of Rudradeva shifted the capital from Hanumakonda to Warangal sometime between 1252 and 1254 CE.
The architectural feature of these historical arches of the Warangal Fort was adopted as the symbol of the Kakatiya Dynasty and was officially incorporated as the Emblem for the state of Telangana (with capital at Hyderabad) along with 400 year old Charminar of Hyderabad. Also included in the emblem is Ashoka Chakra.
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| ornamental Thoranam, Warangal fort. discoverindiasite.wordpress.com |
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| ruins of Warangal fort, Telangana. discoverindiasite.wordpress.com |
Built around 12th century during the reign of the Kakatiya dynasty, several years ago the UNESCO included he ornamental thoranam on its tentative list of World heritage site. The Monument was included in the "tentative list" of UNESCO World Heritage Site. Way back in 2010 in September a petition was made by the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO to get it on the permanent list. It is mentioned the gates of Warangal have very much similar architectural features as those of the the Sanchi stupa, Bihar.
The great Swayambhusiva temple of Shiva in the fort built by Ganapati Deva (1199-1262) during the 12th century was revered by the rulers and all the four identical ornamental gates were part of the fort. The great big temple is said to have been massive in size and its sculptural and artistic splendor was comparable to that of the Rudra Mahalaya Temple at Siddhpur in Gujarat.
To avoid being vulnerable to enemy attacks, famous queen Rudrama Devi and Pratap Rudra II of the Kakatiya Dynasty improved the fortification with three concentric circles to retard the progress of the intruders. The four ornamental gates (char kaman) forming the part of the Shiva temples were destroyed during the raid by the Muslim invader Jauna Khan in 1323 who had desecrated many Hindu temples in that region as his rule never encouraged idolatry.
The vestiges of the famous Swayambhusiva temple, are in the middle part of the fort now in the form of free standing "Entrance Portals" (Thorana Vaayal), or gates on the four sides, all being similar in design. Each gate of the 10 meter - 33 ft high gate has twin pillars on either side with angled brackets over which lies the huge ornamental lintel/
What is so impressive about the gates that are devoid of religious symbols, is they are richly ornate with intricate carving of "lotus buds, looped garlands, mythical animals, and birds with foliated tails". Historians say the Muslim invaders did not destroy them because of the absence of any religious figure or symbol.
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