The Palamu Kila are two ruined forts located 3 k.m from Betla National Park district Latehar in the bank of North Koel river , in the Indian state of Jharkhand.The old fort in the plains, which existed even before the Chero dynasty, was built by the King of Raksel dynasty.The original fort in the plains and the other on an adjoining hill are attributed to the kings of the Chero dynasty.The fort in the plains had defences on three sides and three main gates.The New fort was constructed by Raja Medini Ray.The Palamu Kila are two ruined forts located around south east of the city of Daltonganj in the Indian state of Jharkhand. These are large forts located deep in the forests of Palamu near Daltonganj The first fort (old fort) is in the plains and the second fort (new fort)is in an adjoining hill, and both overlook the meandering Auranga River (also known as Ornaga River) in Palamu. The river looks like jagged teeth due to extensive rock exposures in the bed of the river which may perhaps be the source of the name 'Palamau', meaning the "place of the fanged river."The forts are in a densely forested area of the Betla National Park.The forts are close to each other and lie about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Daltonganj.The old fort in the plains, which existed even before the Chero dynasty, was built by the King of Raksel Rajput Dynasty. However, it was during the reign of King Medini Ray (also spelled Medini Rai), who ruled for thirteen years from 1658 to 1674 in Palamau. The old fort was rebuilt into a defensive structure.Ray was a Chero tribal king.[8] His rule extended to areas in South Gaya and Hazaribagh. He attacked Doisa now known as Navratangarh (33 miles (53 km) from Ranchi) and defeated the Nagvanshi Raja Raghunath Shah. With war bounty he constructed the lower fort close to Satbarwa, and this fort became famous in the history of the district.The old fort was built over an area of 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi). It has three gates with rampart of 7 feet (2.1 m) width. The fort has been constructed with lime and surkhi mortar. The external boundary walls of the fort, all along its length, is built with "lime-surki sun-baked bricks", which are flat and long bricks. The central gate is the largest of three gates and is known as "Singh Dwar". The courtroom, located in the middle of the fort, is a two-storied edifice, which was used by the king to hold court. The fort had an aqueduct bringing water to meet the needs of people and animals within the fort but now seen in a ruined state. After entering from the second gate, the fort had three Hindu temples (attesting to the fact that Medini Ray was a religious Hindu king) which were partly modified into mosques when Daud Khan occupied the fort after defeating Medini Ray.On the south-western part of the fort, which is surrounded by hills on three sides, there is a small stream called the Kamadah Jheel which was used by the women of the royal family for their daily ablutions. Between this stream and the fort there are two watch towers (dom kilas) located on the hilltop which were used to track any enemy intrusions. Of these two towers, one tower houses a small temple of a goddess called...
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