A 1000 cannons made of Brass and Iron fortied Bijapur during it’s glorious years! Of these two were the pick of the best!
One spot is Upari Buruz built protecting the northern wall of Bijapur, 85 feet high built by the great Commander of Adil Shahi’s King – Hyder Khan in 1580. On top of this watch tower two guns grace it, one can have a spectacular view of Bijapur after climbing a few hundred steps! It’s also known as Hyder’s Buruz or Ali Buruz too. . . Located in the heart of Bijapur or Vijayapura known now!
The other – the best, with a legendary tale behind is the ‘Malik – E – Tope’. It’s one of the best, the biggest cannon which we are going to be talking about. This canon is made up of a special alloy – (panchaloha of metals) – Copper, Iron, Tin, Gold & Silver! (The enthusiastic tourist guide accompaning me claims it has 11 tonnes of copper, iron, tin, gold & silver in equal quantities bringing the total weight to 55 tonnes!). This canon weighing 55 tonnes commanding a length of 4.45 mts (14 feet 6 inches) and a width of 4 feet 9 inches! . . . is monstrous!!! Malik-E-Tope is placed on a built platform on the western wall of the then circular fort of Bijapur especially to challenge the Maratha onslaught! The view of Bijapur city is good here. The bore of this canon is approximately 28 inches – imagine the power of the blast! It’s known to destroy towns of 50 sq.kms to a plain level field. . . flattening everything leaving an open field for the army to march on towards the enemies!
This canon was used at the battle of Talikota in 1565 against the Vijaynagar Empire, which was routed and saw it’s end giving rise to it’s vassals breaking into independent kingdoms viz., nayakas, wodeyars, phelaris etc. This canon is art & engineering joining hands! At the mouth of the canon you see embossed figure of an elephant being crushed in a lion’s jaw – that’s supposed to depict the cannon’s destructive power! The muzzle is shaped in the form of a lion. In it’s days of glory this canon was mounted on a swivel machine which allowed it to be turned 180 degrees, all around! The rear size has massive walls to prevent the cannon to be aimed at the glorious Bijapur city! This canon created loud earth shattering noise breaking one’s ear drums. Only a lone soldier would light the fuse and upon lighting it, he would submerge himself in a tank of water shielding himself from the grave dangerous mission protecting himself. Now the water point is closed to protect the tourists and visitors to this beautiful site. The site is a beautiful garden on a cliff. There’s no entry fee to visit this site which is in the heart of the city and is open from 10 am to 6 pm for tourists. This canon reffered as ‘Malik – E – Maiden’ or lord of the battle field is greenish in colour and has a sheen of polished glass! This canon remains cool even in the scorching summer because of it’s metrugical property of the alloy it has – different melting temperatures of metals it holds – a secret burried for ever! Tapping on it’s huge barrel gives a soft resounding resonating sound like a bell. Touching ‘Malik-E-Maidan’ brings one a stroke of good luck! – it’s believed here!!!
This world’s largest medival canon – Malik-Maidan is stated to be the largest piece of cast canon ordinance in the world. This gun was cast in 1547 at Ahmadnagar (now in Maharashtra) by Md. Bin Husain Rumi a Turkish officer in the service of the Kings of Ahmadnagar. Aurangzeb in 1686 subdued the gun when he captured the Fort of Parnadad, calling it an evil invention of mankind. General Murari Pandit brought this Canon to Bijapur as a trophy of war and set it up on the present bastion. It was set up with the help of 10 Elephants, 400 oxen and a hundred soldiers. It was the pride artillery possession of the Adil Shahi Kings!
In 1854, Malik-E-Maidan, the world’s medival canon was once almost sold for a meager sum of One Hundred & Fifty Rupees to the British by a Magistrate but the auction was called off and cancelled by the Satara Commissioner. The large weight discouraged the British to carry this canon to England which they were keen.
This beautiful canon has Arabian and Persian scriptures on it. Aurangzeb too added his lines when he captured Bijapur after a long seize during 1685-1686. Aurangzeb came in only for the victory ceremony, his son waged this long war. The Mugal Empire annexed all territories ruled by the Adil Shahi Dynasty as they refused to be their vassals. Adil Shah Dynasty were patrons of art, architecture and were very religiously tolerant. They built 50 mosques, 20 tombs, 20 palaces. They also built the Dattaterya temple west of their citadel. Padukas of Saint Narasimha Saraswati are installed here. Bunch of Architectural marvels patronized by Adil Shahis are present even to this day.
Bijapur was rich in history. From 11th century Chalukayas to Yadavas, Bahmanis of Gulburga and later the Deccan Sultanate led by Adil Shahs. Finally Bijapur went to the Nizams and then onward to free independent India.
Bijapur is a half day sight seeing place. Monuments open as early as 6 am and close by 6 pm. Some open at 10 am. Pick and choose. Take a guide most cab, auto and horse carriage drivers double as one. Modest place to visit. Simple food, simple people. The town could do with improvement in civic amenities. 530 kms drive from Bangalore is too long and boring… stick to over night bus or a comfortable over night train. An inexpensive learning holiday destination. Places of nearby interests are the culture rich places of Badami, Aihole, Patadakal and Hampi.
Here’s to a historical learning experience. A historians delight, a photographers and artists pit stop for a long time. More about these places in my following articles. Until then Good Bye, Have a Beautiful Sunday!
-Jagdeesh Laxman Singh
aka Jugie Singh
Text & Photography
[email protected]
