Golconda - A gem of a fort



Mention of the word 'Golconda' immediately brings to mind images of diamonds of the "Hope" and "Kohinoor" kind. It is also wrongly believed that there existed diamond mines called Golconda - but Golconda was just a trading center and the mines were located in Kallur and Paritala on the Krishna river delta.


Golkonda also known as Golla konda (shepherd's hill) is ruined fort and capital of ancient Kingdom of Golkonda built by Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah Wali, the fourth Qutub king of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty - a breakaway dynasty of the Bahamanis.


It is believed that there existed an underground tunnel between the fort and Charminar of Hyderabad.


Building of Ram Temple was an issue even then...

This fort is also where Bhakta Ramadas, an ardent devotee of Lord Rama was imprisoned. It is said that Ramadas, who was also the collector in Abul Hasan Tana Shah, the eighth Qutub Shahi ruler's court, used the taxes for construction of Lord Rama temple in Bhadrachalam. For this, Ramadas was put behind the bars until he repaid all the money.


Out of grief, he prayed Lord Rama who then appeared to Tana Shah in the disguise of Ramoji and Laxmoji - as the servants of Bhakta Ramadas. These two men repaid the amount owed by Ramadas, 6 lakh Mohurs (gold coins used as money in those days), to the Nawab and asked him to free their devotee. Tana Shah gave a voucher to the men and the same voucher was found under the pillow of Ramadas in this jail. Tana shah then realized the devotion of Bhakta Ramadas and realized that the two men in disguise were none other than Lord Rama and Lord Lakshmana. The king then ordered for immediate release of Ramadas and also placed the 6 lakh Mohurs at his feet. Ramadas refused to take the entire money and just took two coins from it as a mark of divine significance. The Nawab also ordered that the money collected as tax from Bhadrachalam Tahasil shall be used for the Rama temple here. This is the story behind this legendary jail seen in Golconda Fort.


The fort of Golkonda is known for its magical acoustic system. The highest point of the fort is the "Bala Hissar", which is located a kilometer away. The palaces, factories, water supply system and the famous "Rahban" cannon, within the fort are some of the major attractions.


The prison scenes in the Telugu movie "Sri Ramadasu" was shot at Golconda fort for authenticity.

Here is the song 'Paluke Bangaramayena' (made famous by Balamuralikrishna) from the movie "Sri Ramadasu":


Text content on Golconda Fort is from Wikipedia
Location: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

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