The Koulas Fort is located in Koulas village, Jukkal Mandal of Kamareddy district, Telangana. Reportedly, the evidence shows that Koulas fort was once spread across six square kilometers in the 14th century and has the potential of becoming a popular tourist destination.
The village of Koulas is a historical place that is situated in Jukkal Mandal of Kamareddy District. Moreover, Koulas were also called the Kailas, as five Shivalingas were established by the Kakatiya rulers on five sides. The Koulas, Bodhan, and Nizamabad kingdoms together were called Indur in ancient times. Koulas Fort was built by Rashtrakutas in the 9th Century CE.
And the Fort was captured by Chalukyas of the Kalyani dynasty in the 10th Century CE. Later then, the fort was again captured by the Kakatiya of Warangal and it was part of the Kakatiya kingdom till 1323 CE. After the occurrence of the Muslims, the fort was officially under the control of Bahamanis, Qutb Shahis, Naikwaries, Mughals, Marathas, and finally Asaf Jahi, and then later occupied by the Nizams.
To dig into history more, the fort walls were built in a three-tier system of defense. The Fort is approximately 1 km in length and 700 meters in width. It has 52 strongholds the most important strongholds are Hussaini, Mula, Mallika, and Kadika Burz, 3 temples, Venkateswara temple, Ramalayam, and Mahadev temple, two mosques, five wells, four granaries, and other structures such as Rani mahal, Elephant well, etc along with the two main entrances. Koulas Fort is a very big fort dating back to the 14th century, spread across 6 sq. km and the fort was built by the Kakatiya rulers. This fort was taken control by Muslim rulers Bahamanis, Qutb Shahis and later occupied by the Nizams.
However, the Koulas fort was built in the semi-Dravidian style at an altitude of about 1100 ft. additionally, the fort is surrounded by a large citadel and spread over approximately 600 acres. Also, there are around 20 large cannons spread across the fort. It has 52 small and big strong holds with water tanks. Even the fort temple and dargah were declared as protected monuments by the Archaeology department and are now under control.
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In the fort, there is one Kasikund temple which was built similarly to the Kasi temple. Also, there are other 3 temples in the fort, that are dedicated to Lord Rama, Balaji, and Shri Hanuman. And, there is one Asthabuji Mata temple or also called Jagdamba behind the fort. Well, Currently, all the structures inside the fort are in ruins. The Rajput kings used to pray there in the Jagdamba temple before going to battle.
Well, this is not the end, there are two natural water tanks inside the fort that are used to serve as perennial water sources.
Two natural tanks inside the fort are used to serve as perennial water sources. The successor of Rani Sone Kunwar Bai, who ruled the area in the 19th century, lived in Koulas village. In the 16th century, the fort fell to the Rajput king Raja Gopal Singh Gaur. He later captured the Kandhar and Mahore forts which are now in Maharashtra.
Jagadamba Bhavani, the deadliest cannon
There were supposed to be 10 cannons in the early 19th century. The cannon, which is 23 feet in length and weighs 70 tonnes, is made of iron and other alloys and is larger than that of the Jaivana tope at Jaipur fort and one at the Bijapur fort which was earlier considered the bigger cannons in India. The Jagadamba Bhavani tope has a caliber of 16’’ and an explosive head of 150 kg.
As per historical reports, the Jagadamba Bhavani cannon is the largest and deadliest cannon in the world. This is a rare example of technology and metallurgy which was even unknown to humans in 1725 AD when this was set up on the fort. It sounds like a bell when hit by a hard object and has two parts, the cannon, and primer.
Koulas has the ruins of an ancient fort dating back to the Kakatiya period and there are many caves on the nearby hill. The famous Ananthagiri Temple, Kalyana Ramadasu Mandir, and Shankaracharya Temple are the most famous temples in Kaunas. Koulas original name was Kailasa Durgam. It became popular for quite some time as Muslim rulers called it Koulas. After the end of the Kakatiya Dynasty, the Bahmani Sultans captured Kaulas Durga.
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