Penukonda, in the Anantapuram District of AP, is a great historical & pilgrim center for most of the religions.
It was here where the Emperor, Sri Krishnadevaraya was Coronated to rule the Vijayanagara Empire. First capital of Sri Krishnadevaraya which was later shifted to Hampi near Hospet.
Penukonda name itself comes from the Big Hill at the town on which the Summer Capital of Vijayanagara Empire was built. Penukonda in Telugu means Big Hill.
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Accessability: All the town attractions can be approached using autorickshaw. There is a road recently laid to reach the top of the hill too...
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Attractions:
1. Penukonda was the second capital to the great Sri Krishnadevaraya, the emperor of Vijayanagara Empire. It used to be his summer capital. The fort's outer wall particularly was built by stones as big as a 5 ft human and the inscriptions state that the stones were too heavy for humans to lift and place and hence the elephant army was put in place to build it. The fort has 4 entrances to it and the main entrance is protected by an ever growing Hanuman statue. It is house for the famous Gaganmahal, the palace of the king. this Gaganmahal was also seen in the Nagarjuna's telugu Superhit, Annamayya. This is the place where we can see the Tomb of Timmarusu, Prime Minister & Guardian of SriKrishnadevaraya. His horse also has its Tomb here. The tank, which was build in those days is still operational and serves water to the locals.
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2. Coming to the pilgrimage we talk about, there are 365 Hanuman temples, Shiva temple, Venkateswara Temple, Nrisimha Temple, Vinayaka temple, and the list goes on. All built by the Krishnadevaraya period. So its a major Hindu piligrim center. Its also is a very famous for Babaiah Dargah, which is flocked by both Hindus & Muslims during the annual Urs festival. Its a major Jain piligirm center too. There is a famous temple for Parshvanahta, one of the deities of Jains. The idol here is carved in a Green granite stone, only such in India and is said to be 1000 yrs old.
One can make a day trip to Penukonda to understand and feel its legacy.
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3. Kumbhakarna project built by the AP govt. at a distance of 6 kms near the PKD-DMM railway level crossing is a popular tourist attraction.
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In Pics:
1. Gaganmahal Source: click here (More Penkonda attractions can be seen in this link.
2. Kumbhakarna Statue Source: click here
3. A small building in the fort source: click here
4. Hazrat Babaiha Dargah source: click here
5. Fort & Town Main Entrance Source: click here
6. Parswanath, a jain diety carved in a Green Granite, 1000 yr old source: click here