Heritage Walk

 After living a sequence of uneventful days in my life, this was the day when we visited  Nalknad Palace & Padi Sri Igguthappa Temple. Here, I was amazed by the intellectuality of the architects who designed this stupendous structure, which had sophisticated underground passages which served as a good hideout place for the King. This was also the place where the sister of the king was married to the prince of another kingdom, this structure was called "Kalyana Mantapa". Then we traveled to Padi Sri Igguthappa Temple, a temple that has high spiritual importance in the Kodava Tribe. 

History of Nalknad Palace

The palace was built by a Haleri rule Dodda Virarajendra in the year 1792. This palace was built by him because of his victory and escape from the troops of Tipu Sultan’s kingdom. His wedding to Mahadevammaji also took place in this palace in 1796. In order to protect the kingdom against enemies, the king also planned and built an underground tunnel which began at the palace and ended at the borders of Madikeri.

When the British came to the Kodagu district to capture it, the last ruler of the Harari emperor hid in this palace. The Palace has a beautifully designed durbar which was used by the King and his ministers to discuss important issues concerning the rule. The basement of the Palace also had two dark rooms which were used as the hiding room of the king. Everything in this palace was planned meticulously considering that there was always a looming threat. 

History of Padi Sri Igguthappa Temple

After the death of the Kodagu king, Lingaraja I in 1780 AD, Hyder Ali took control of Kodagu under the pretext of being a guardian to Lingaraja's three sons, Dodda Vira Rajendra, Linga Rajendra and Appanna, who were of tender age. [3] The princes were sent to reside in a fort at Gorur in Hassan district, and a garrison was stationed at Mercara (capital of Kodagu). A minister, Amaldar Subbarasaya, who was formerly a Karnika (treasurer) of the Kodagu Raja, was appointed to look after the administration of Kodagu.