Penukonda Fort is a colossal structure, whose each and every stone
boasts of the royalty of the erstwhile era. Penukonda is a small town in
Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. In the ancient times, it used to
serve as the second capital to the Vijayanagar kings. Perched atop the
hill, the fort offers a spectacular view of the town below. It was named
after its native region. Located at a distance of 70 km from Anantapur,
the Penukonda Fort can be found on the Kurnool-Bangalore Road.Inside the edifice, there are various inscriptions affirming that King Bukka I handed over the province of Penukonda to his son Vira Virupanna Udaiyar of Vijayanagar. It was during his ruling period this fort was built. The far-fetched architecture of the fort made it inaccessible to the enemies. The region has been mention as 'Ghangari' in the ancient inscriptions. The fantastic edifice of Penukonda Fort is a standing testimony to the expert workmanship of those times. To prevent the entry of rivals, the fort had moats full of crocodiles.
There are seven bastions along the circumference of the fort. At the Yerramanchi gate (main entrance); you can see a colossal image of Lord Hanuman, which elongates to the height of 11 feet. Built in the year 1575, Gagan Mahal used to be the summer resort of the aristocracy. The architecture of this resort has both, Hindu and Muslim styles of architecture. Abiding the Vijayanagar traditions, it is quite similar to numerous structures having Islamic style arches, vaults and plaster decoration at Hampi.
"Babayya Dargah" is another attraction of the citadel that represents harmonious co-existence of the Hindus and the Muslims. Penukonda Fort is believed to have 365 temples, one of which was preordained for worship each day of the year. Amongst these temples, the shrines dedicated to Lord 'Yoga Narasimhaswamy', Lord 'Kashi Vishwanatha' Lord 'Yogarama', Adi Laxmi Devi Temple and Chenchu Laxmi Devi are the major ones.
However, most of the temples could not stand the ravages of the times and are no longer present. One can see several ruins and fragments of engraved stones that are speckled on the hill as well as the plains. Another attraction worth-mentioning is the 'Sher Khan Mosque', which has Telugu inscription of 'Sadashiva' (dated 1564) in its courtyard. To put succinctly, Penukonda Fort is a treasure that has kept poignant memories of the royalty of Vijayanagar.
