Dindigul Fort

Dindigul Rock Fort
Part of History of Tamil Nadu
Dindigul
Dindigul in 1913
Dindigul Rock Fort
Coordinates	10°21′40″N 77°57′42″E / 10.36109°N 77.96167°E / 10.36109; 77.96167
Type	Rock fort and temple complex
Height	900 feet
Site information
Owner	Archaeological Survey of India
Controlled by	Archaeological Survey of India
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Under renovation
Site history
Built	1605
Built by	Muttu Krishnappa Nayak
In use	circa early 1800s
Materials	Granite

The Dindigul Fort or Dindigul Malai Kottai is a 17th-century hill fort, built by Madurai Nayak situated in the town of Dindigul in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The fort was built by the Madurai Nayak king Muthu Krishnappa Nayak in 1605. In the 18th century the fort passed on to Kingdom of Mysore (Mysore Wodeyars). During the reign of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan the fort was of strategic importance. In 1799 it went to the control of the British East India Company during the Polygar Wars. There is an abandoned temple on its peak apart from few cannons sealed with balls inside. In modern times, the fort is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India and is open to tourists.

Dindigul city derives its name from a portmanteau of Thindu a Tamil word which means a ledge or a headrest attached to ground and kal another Tamil word which means Rock. Appar, the Saiva poet visited the city and noted it in his works in Tevaram. Dindigul finds mention in the book Padmagiri Nadhar Thenral Vidu thudhu written by the poet Palupatai sokkanathar as Padmagiri. This was later stated by U. V. Swaminatha Iyer (1855-1942) in his foreword to the above book. He also mentions that Dindigul was originally called Dindeecharam.

The history of Dindigul is centered on the fort over the small rock hill and fort. Dindigul region was the border of the three prominent kingdoms of South India, the Pandyas, Cheras and Cholas. During the first century A.D., the Chola king Karikal Cholan captured the Pandya kingdom and Dindigul came under the Chola rule. During the sixth century, the Pallavas took over most provinces of Southern India and Dindugul was under the rule of Pallavas until Cholas regained the state in the 9th century and the Pandyas regained control by the 13th century.