Rajgad (literal meaning ''ruling fort'') is a Hill region fort situated in the

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

district of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, India. Formerly known as ''Murumbdev'', the fort was the first capital of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

under the rule of

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit used to denote a king. The word "Chhatrapati" is a Sanskrit language compound word of ''Chatra (umbrella), chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''Pati (title), pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). T ...

for almost 26 years, after which the capital was moved to the

Raigad Fort Raigad, seen in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India, is a hill fort located in the city of Mahad. It is one of the strongest fortresses on the Deccan Plateau and was historically referred to as Rairee or Rairy fort. Chhatrapati Shivaj ...

. Treasures discovered from an adjacent fort called Torna were used to completely build and fortify the Rajgad Fort. The Rajgad Fort is located around to the south-west of Pune and about west of Nasrapur in the Sahyadris range. The fort lies above the sea level. The diameter of the base of the fort was about which made it difficult to lay siege on it, which added to its strategic value. The fort's ruins consist of palaces, water cisterns, and caves. This fort was built on a hill called Murumbadevi Dongar (''mountain of the goddess Murumba''). Rajgad boasts of the highest number of days stayed by Shivaji on any fort.

History

The fort has stood witness to many significant historic events including the birth of Shivaji's son Rajaram I, the death of Shivaji's wife Saibai, the return of Shivaji from

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

, the burial of Afzal Khan's head in the Mahadarwaja walls of Balle Killa, the strict words of Sonopant Dabir to Shivaji. The Rajgad Fort was also one of the 12 forts that chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj kept when he signed the Treaty of Purandar in 1665, with the Mughal general Jai Singh I, leader of the Mughal forces. Under this treaty, 23 forts were handed over to the Mughals.

List of chronological events

Tourism

The fort is a significant tourist destination and is most sought after especially during

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

. Visitors prefer to stay overnight on the fort considering the fort itself is huge and cannot be explored in a single day. The Padmavati temple on the fort can accommodate around 50 people. Water tanks provide fresh water all throughout the year. Villagers from the foothills of Rajgad sell local antiques and items to these tourists.

Gallery

File:Gadancha Raja, Rajancha Gad.jpg, Suvela machi File:Rajgad 28.JPG, Main door bastion File:Rajgad Fort.jpg, Bastion File:Rajgad 30.JPG, steps File:Rajgad 37.JPG, Pali darwaza File:Rajgad3.jpg, Duba File:Rajgad5.jpg, Duba view File:Rajgad012.jpg, Fort mountain File:Bali Khila Rajgad Maharashtra.jpg, Bale Killa of Rajgad File:Ballekilla, Rajgad.jpg, Ballekilla, Rajgad File:Sanjivani Machi-view from Rajgad Mahadwar.jpg, Suvela Machi view from Rajgad balekilla Mahadwar File:.... Rajgad 16.JPG, Sanjeevani machi File:Nedha- TheNeedle Head of Fort Rajgad 01.jpg, Nedha at Suvela machi

References

External links