Шитрудрга қамалының батыр қызы Онаке Обавва

Folk heroine warrior of Chitradurga fort

Onake Obavva (, 18th Century) was a Karnataka warrior who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single handedly with a pestle (Onake) in the kingdom of Chitradurga of Karnataka, India. Her husband was a guard of a watchtower in the rocky fort of Chitradurga. Government of Karnataka has taken up initiative to celebrate November 11 as Onake Obavva Jayanti since 2021.

During the reign of Madakari Nayaka, the city of Chitradurga was besieged by the troops of Hyder Ali (1754 1779). A chance sighting of a man entering the Chitradurga fort through a hole in the rocks led to a plan by Hyder Ali to send his soldiers through that hole. The Guard (Kahale Mudda Hanuma, who was on duty near that hole) had gone home to have his lunch. During his meal he needed some water to drink, so his wife Obavva went to collect water in a pot from a pond which was near the hole in the rocks, halfway up the hill. She noticed the army trying to enter the fort through the hole. She used the Onake or pestle to kill the soldiers one by one by hitting them on the head and then quietly moving each corpse without raising the suspicions of the rest of the troops. Mudda Hanuma returned from lunch and was shocked to see Obavva standing with a blood stained Onake and several of the enemies' dead bodies around her. Later, the same day, she was found dead either due to shock or having been killed by the enemy soldiers.

She is considered to be the epitome of Kannada female pride. The hole through which Hyder Ali's soldiers snuck in is called Onake Obavvana Kindi (kindi=hole) or Onake kindi. and she is commemorated with a statue sculpted by Ashok Gudigar, erected in front of the District Commissioner’s office in Chittradurga.

The 2019 Kannada language historical drama film Chitradurgada Onake Obavva stars Kannada actress Tara as Onake Obavva. Actress Jayanthi played the role of Onake Obavva in the movie Nagarahaavu. She was played by Ms Neha Gokhale, the younger daughter of veteran actor Vikram Gokhale during Art of Living's Kala Arpan 2023 festival at Bangalore, India in a play called Adnyaat Shalaka directed by Sheetal Talpade which showcases unknown female warriors of India lost to annals of history.