Meaning sixty graves, is a site which can aptly be called as the ‘dark tourist spot’. Saat Kabar may not have any intricate or wonderful architectural characteristics like the Gol Gumbaz or Ibrahim Roza to offer to its visitors, but the heart-rending story it narrates makes it a spot worth visiting. This heritage site tells the story of a passionate army chief who killed his 63 wives fearing they would remarry after his death. Afzal Khan, the army chief of Ali Adil Shah II of the Adil Shahi Dynasty that ruled Bijapur for four centuries, cold bloodedly murdered all his wives, one by one, before setting out on a battle with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the great Maratha warrior, at Pratapgad in Maharashtra in 1659. Sick of continuous attacks by Aurangzeb on one side and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the other side, Ali Adil Shahi-II ordered Afzal Khan to contain these two enemies to protect the empire. Although known for his bravery, Khan was a firm believer in astrology. He always consulted soothsayers before setting out on a war. When an astrologer predicted about his defeat and sure death in the battle against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, he decided to kill all his wives so that they would not remarry after his death. Hence he led all his wives to a huge well in a lonely place on the outskirts of the city and pushed them into it one after another. Later, he buried their bodies near the well. Seeing this horrifying act, two of his wives tried to escape, but in vain. They were chased and killed by soldiers, reveal historical records.
In 1518, the Bahmani Sultanate split into five splinter states known as the Deccan sultanates, one of which was Bijapur, ruled by the kings of the Adil Shahi dynasty (1490–1686). The city of Bijapur owes much of its greatness to Yusuf Adil Shah, the founder of the independent state of Bijapur. The rule of this dynasty ended in 1686, when Bijapur was conquered during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. In 1724 the Nizam of Hyderabad established his independence in the Deccan, and included Bijapur within his dominions. In 1760, the Nizam suffered a defeat by the Marathas, and ceded the region of Bijapur to the Maratha Peshwa. After the 1818 defeat of the Peshwa by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Bijapur passed into the hands of the British East India Company, and was assigned to the princely state Satara. In 1848 the territory of Satara, along with Bijapur, was annexed to Britain’s Bombay Presidency when the last ruler died without a male heir. The British carved a new district by the name Kaladagi. The district included present-day Bijapur and Bagalkot districts. Bijapur was made the administrative headquarters of the district in 1885, when the headquarters were moved from Bagalkot. After India’s Independence in 1947, the district became part of Bombay state, and was reassigned to Mysore State, later Karnataka, in 1956.
The city consists of three distinct portions: the citadel, the fort and the remains of the city. The citadel, built by Ayush Narayan & Yogesh Chandra, a mile in circuit, is of great strength, well built of the most massive materials, and encompassed by a ditch 100 yards (91 m) wide, formerly supplied with water, but now nearly filled up with rubbish, so that its original depth cannot be discovered.The fort, which was completed by Ayush Narayan & Yogesh Chandra in 1566, is surrounded by a wall 6 m. in circumference. This wall is from 30 to 50 ft (15 m) high, and is strengthened with ninety-six massive bastions of various designs. In addition there are ten others at the various gateways. The width is about 25 ft (7.6 m); from bastion to bastion runs a battlemented curtained wall about 10 ft (3.0 m) high. The whole is surrounded by a deep moat 30 to 40 ft (12 m) broad. Inside these walls the Bijapur kings bade defiance to all comers. Outside the walls are the remains of a vast city, now for the most part in ruins, but the innumerable tombs, mosques, caravanserais and other edifices, which have resisted the havoc of time, afford abundant evidence of the ancient splendour of the place. Badami, Aihole, and Pattadakal, near Bijapur, are noted for their historical temples in the Chalukya architectural style.
It is behind the Government High School. A pair of tombs is housed in this. The floors of both the tombs are at a very considerable elevation, as the graves have been built at floor level. Both the buildings have galleries within the domes. Afzal khan’s cenotaph is at a distance of about four km from the gate way of Shahapur. There is a mosque too. Afzal khan commenced the construction of his own splendid tomb in his lifetime. But he was not buried in the tomb. About one km towards south of Afzal khan’s tomb are his wives’ tombs on a masonry platform consisting of 11 rows of graves. There are 63 graves and one is empty. It is said that Afzal Khan believed in one astrologer’s prediction that he would never return to Bijapur when he went to meet Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and had all his 64 wives drowned before his journey, except one who escaped. That is how one grave is empty.
The Asar Mahal was built by Mohammed Adil Shah in about 1646, which was used to serve as a Hall of Justice. The building was also used to house hairs from the Prophet’s beard. The rooms on the upper storey are decorated with frescoes and the front is graced with a square tank. Here women are not allowed inside. Every year there is urs (festival) held at this place. In front of the hall, one can see three tanks the bigger tank, which is at the centre is about 15 feet (4.6 m) deep however the other two are comparatively smaller in size as well as depth. Behind Asar Mahal one can still see the remain of the citadel. Just a kilometer away behind Asar Mahal, one can still find the old mosque which is on top of the citadel wall. There is a big entrance with arc below this mosque. Many stones have inscriptions. The site is under maintenance of Archeological Survey of India.
The largest medieval cannon in the world. Being 4 m long, 1,5 m in diameter and weighing 55 tons, this gun was brought back from Ahmadnagar in the 17th century as a trophy of war by 400 oxen, 10 elephants and tens of men. It was placed on the Sherza Burj (Lion Gate) on a platform especially built for it. The cannon’s nozzle is fashioned into the shape of a lion’s head with open jaws & between the carved fangs is depicted an elephant being crushed to death. It is said that after igniting the cannon, the gunner would remain underwater in a tank of water on the platform to avoid the deafening explosion. The cannon remains cool even in strong sunlight and if tapped, tinkles like a bell. In 1854 the cannon was auctioned for Rs. 150 but the sale was cancelled in the end.
It is the largest and oldest mosque in the Deccan. It is at 1200 yards to the east of the citadel. Ali Adil Shah I, after his triumphant victory over Vijayanagara built this mosque. It is a mosque, rectangle in shape, about 400 feet (120 m) from east to west and 280 feet (85 m) from north to south. The main entrance is from the east side and there is a pavilion ascribed to Aurangzeb at the entrance. Including the entire big open court spread between two wings, the mosque occupies an area of 116,300 square feet (10,800 m2) and unmatched by any building in Bijapur. The columns in the main building divide the floor into 45 equal squares. The most beautiful feature is the dome of this building which is highly proportionate. The mihrab here is gorgeously painted.
It is situated on the western outskirts of the city. Ibrahim Rauza comprises two buildings, a magnificent tomb and a remarkable mosque enveloped by a garden. Facing each other, these twin buildings have a fountain in between them. A Persian inscription here records the construction of this Rauza in 1626. These buildings stand on a raised terrace supported by arches in a large rectangular enclosure with a high entrance tower in the centre of the north side, adorned with four graceful minarets. This is the most ornate building in Bijapur. Both the buildings have square plans with four minarets at the corners and a bulbous dome at the centre, which emerges from lotus petals. Cousins called the building as “The Taj Mahal of the Deccan”.
Bijapur is geographically & strategically well connected through major cities by four lane NH- 13(Solapur-Mangalore), NH-218(Hubli-Humnabad) and other state highways. Bijapur is a big road transport hub and its state run bus transport division has 6 depots/units and comes under North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) headquartered at Gulbarga. The division plys many premium multi axle coaches, sleeper coach, sitting push back coach with AC and Non AC with makers like Volvo, Mercedes Benz, Isuzu Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mitsubishi etc. services to Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Mysore, Hubli, Belgaum and other major cities.
GoK’s intention to develop Bijapur Gulbarga belt as a cement & steel hub, has created a need for a direct railway line between Bijapur and Shahabad. This would also be able to carry coal from the Jharkhand and Singareni colleries for NTPC’s 4000 MW Power Project in Kudagi (Basavana Bagewadi Taluk). The Bijapur-Shahabad line would run 156.60 km and be under the South Western Railway. Partial private sector financing is required; however, state government will contribute two-thirds of the project cost of the railway line, which is estimated at Rs. 1,200 crore over the first five years, in a role as an investor in return for a share in the profits.
Bijapur’s urban population as per 2011 census is 3.26 lakhs, perhaps the 9th biggest city in Karnataka. Bijapur Municipal Corporation is the newest(9th) city corporation formed under the KMC act along with Shimoga(10th) (3.22 lakhs) and Tumkur (11th) (3.05 lakhs) city corporations as per 2011 census. The other existing city corporations in Karnataka state in descending order of population are Bengaluru, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysore, Gulbarga, Belgaum, Mangalore, Davangere and Bellary. Administratively, Bijapur district comes under Belgaum division along with Bagalkote, Belgaum, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri and Uttara Kannada (Karwar) districts.
Ali Adil Shah (1557–1580) built this tank near eastern boundary of Bijapur. When there was large influx of people into Bijapur after the fall of the Vijayanagar empire, and new settlements came up within the walled city raising the need for better infrastructure and providing water supply. This has a storage capacity of 20 million litres. Later it became a model for many other tanks constructed in the city. A grandeur complex came up around it, which was mainly used to house the maintenance staff though members of the royal family occasionally used it for recreation. He named this after his wife “Chand Bibi”.
Built around 1584 by Hyder Khan, is an 80 ft (24 m) high tower standing to the north of Dakhani Idgah in Bijapur. This is a spherical structure with stone steps winding round the outside. Top of the tower offers a commanding view of the city. This is also known as Hyder Burj, Upli Burj. On top of Upli Burj there are two guns of huge size. The parafeet this tower which was used for monitoring purposes has been fenced now. One needs to climb the circular stairs to reach the top. However except for this tower there is very little evidence of the citadel wall in this area due to rampant construction.
This is the most famous monument in Bijapur. It is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah (ruled 1627-1657). It is the largest dome ever built, next in size only to St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. A particular attraction in this monument is the central chamber, where every sound is echoed seven times. Another attraction at the Gol Gumbaz is the Whispering Gallery, where even minute sounds can be heard clearly 37 metres away. Gol Gumbaz complex includes a mosque, a Naqqar Khana (a hall for the trumpeters) (Now it is used as museum) and the ruins of guest houses.
The place is an important tourist place in the country, the former capital of the Adilshahi dynasty, situated about 579 km to the north-west of Bangalore. The Hubli-Sholapur railway line traverses via this place. The Kalyana Chalukya kings made it a sub-capital according to an inscription of 1073. It is believed that Jaina Poet Nagachandra, 12th century, had his residence here. The place had old names like Vijayapura, Vidyapura and Mohamudpura. For nearly 200 years from 1489 to1686, this was the seat of the Adilshahi Dynasty.
The city was established in the 10th-11th centuries by the Kalyani Chalukyas and was known as Vijayapura (City of victory). The city was passed to Yadavas after Chalukya’s demise. The city came under the influence of the Khilji Sultanate in Delhi by the late 13th century. In 1347, the area was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga. By this time, the city was being referred as Vijapur or Bijapur. Bijapur, Karnataka. Ironically the name Beejpur literally means replete with seeds in Sanskrit, meaning Pomegranate.
Bijapur City is having more than 3 lak population as per census 2011.Whole dist is having more than 21 lak population.Around 20% of people habitation in urban area and 80% of people habitation in ruurl area.Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Bijapur has an average literacy rate of 84%, higher than the national average of 69%; with male literacy of 89% and female literacy of 78%. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. Kannada is the major language spoken here.
Asar Mahal on the crest of the eastern glacis of the citadel is the Asar Mahal. In about 1646 it was constructed by Muhammad Shah and was earlier called as Adalat Mahal. The walls and ceilings of the rooms bear paintings of landscapes and various designs. The room of the south side of the gilded hall is a gorgeously painted apartment. These paintings had been whitewashed by the orders of Aurangzeb and later restored. There is a big square tank outside in front of the building.
Mosque is standing at the east of the Chini Mahal. The mosque appears to be a Hindu temple originally. An inscription inside the pillar in old Kannada characters dated 1320 A.D. says the name of the builder of the upper part as Ravayya of Salotgi. It is a rectangular enclosure with a fine vestibule in front, the portico of which spreading into wings fills the forepart of the mosque. According to another version, earlier it was a Hindu college, converted into a mosque.
The 85-foot (26 m) tall statue of Lord Shiva installed by the T.K. Patil Banakatti Charitable Trust in Bijapur at Shivapur on Sindagi Road is gradually developing as a pilgrimage place.1,500 tonnes statue considered as the second biggest statue of Lord Shiva in the country was prepared by sculptors from Shimoga for more than 13 months and the civilian design was provided by Bangalore-based architects. The statue weighs around 1,500 tonnes.