Ancient Tulunadus capital Barkur Barkur was the ancient capital of the Tulu kingdom. It was known as Barakanur. The rulers were known as Tulu kings or rulers. They spoke Tulu language. Most of the districts ruled by them were in coastal Karnataka. Many ancient inscriptions found in Barkur are in Tulu language. These are an essential part of history of Tulunadu. The Coastal Town of Barkur was also a flourishing port in the 15th and 16th centuries. Apart from the Tulu rulers, Cholas too had their share of rule on Barkur, who are said to have ruled the city in the 11th century A.D. Alupa rulers made Barkur as their capital. There are two forts whose remains have been built by the Alupas and Vijayanagara governors. It was also a sub capital of the Hoysala kings for some period. The city had ten extensions called Keris - each being named after its professional residents. Each Keri had a tank and number of temples. Tradition says that, the King visited a temple every day, thus visiting all the temples of the city and on the last of the year, he visited the most important Panchalingeshwara Temple. That day was the day of car festival of this temple situated with the old Fort area called Kotekeri. As per tradition, the city contained 365 temples, the remains of which can be seen to-day. A few of them are now in renovated condition. Besides, there are Bhutastanas (spirit worshipping centres). There are remains of palaces and other constructions in both the Fort areas. The port town was a busy commercial centre almost from 2nd Century B.C. Evidences of Megalithic and mesolithic ages have been discovered recently. The place abounds with history and has yielded a little over 100 stone and several copper plate inscriptions. They belong to the Alupa, the Hoysala, the Vijayanagara and the Keladi periods. Today, the main language spoken in Barkur is Kannada, which is the official language of the State of Karnataka. Konkani, another local language, which is also said to be an Aryan language, is widely spoken in Barkur. The place has several ancient temples with their typical sloping terracotta-tiled roofs. Many of these temples also contain inscriptions of historical value. Most of these temples are built between 9th and 12th centuries. As you enter Barkur the first thing you see is the Kallu chappara, which means roof of stone. A nandi is seated in this chappara.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 10:55:12 +0000
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