Shaniwar Wada is a historical

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

in the city of

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 ...

, India. Built in 1732, it was the seat of the

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

s of the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

until 1818. The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, but the surviving structures are now maintained as a tourist site.

History

The Shaniwar Wada was normally the seven-story capital building of the

s 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 ...

. It was supposed to be made entirely of stone. However, after the completion of the base floor or the first story, the people of Satara (the national capital) complained to the

Chhatrapati Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit used to denote a king. The word "Chhatrapati" is a Sanskrit language compound word of '' chhatra'' ('' parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and '' pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). This title was used by the Ho ...

Shahu I Shahu I (Shivaji Sambhaji Raje Bhonsale; ; 18 May 1682 – 15 December 1749) was the fifth Chhatrapati or head of state of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shivaji I. He was born into the House of B ...

(Emperor) saying that a stone monument can be sanctioned and built only by the emperor himself and not the

s. Following this, an official letter was written to the Peshwas stating that the remaining building had to be made of brick and not stone. By 1758, at least a thousand people lived in the fort. In 1773, Narayanrao, who was the fifth and ruling Peshwa then, was murdered by guards on orders of his uncle Raghunathrao and aunt Anandibai. A popular legend has it that Narayanrao's ghost still calls for help on full moon nights. Various people, working around the area, have allegedly reported the cries of "Kaka mala vachava" (Uncle, save me) by Narayanrao Peshwa after his death. The book, Assassination of the Peshwa, written in English and Marathi, covers this incident in detail. In June 1818, the

, Bajirao II, abdicated his ''Gaadi'' (throne) to Sir

John Malcolm Major-General Sir John Malcolm GCB, KLS (2 May 1769 – 30 May 1833) was a Scottish soldier, diplomat, East India Company administrator, statesman, and historian. Early life Sir John Malcolm was born in 1769, one of seventeen children of G ...

of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and went into political exile at Bithoor, near

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

in present-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India. On 27 February 1828, a great fire started inside the palace complex. The conflagration raged for seven days. Only the heavy granite ramparts, strong teak gateways and deep foundations and ruins of the buildings within the fort survived. According to Haricharitramrutsagar, a biographical text of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, he had visited Shaniwarwada on the insistence of Bajirao II in 1799. Shaniwar Wada Main Entrance

Construction

Peshwa

Baji Rao I Bajirao I (né Visaji, ; 18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740) was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed Peshwa at the age of nineteen by Shahu I, following the death of his father, Balaji Vishwanath. He is credited with establi ...

, prime minister to

Chattrapati Shahu Shahu I (Shivaji Sambhaji Raje Bhonsale; ; 18 May 1682 – 15 December 1749) was the fifth Chhatrapati or head of state of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Shivaji I. He was born into the Bhonsle family and was the son of S ...

, laid the ceremonial foundation of his own residence on Saturday, 10 January 1730. It was named ''Shaniwar Wada'' from the Marathi words ''Shaniwar'' (Saturday) and ''Wada'' (a general term for any residence complex).

Teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

was imported from the jungles of Junnar, stone was brought from the nearby quarries of Chinchwad, and

Lime (mineral) Lime is an inorganic material composed primarily of calcium oxides and hydroxides. It is also the name for calcium oxide which is used as an industrial mineral and is made by heating calcium carbonate in a kiln. Calcium oxide can occur as a ...

was brought from the lime-belts of Jejuri. Shaniwarwada was completed in 1732, at a total cost of Rs. 16,110, a very large sum at that time. The opening ceremony was performed according to religious customs, on 22 January 1732, another Saturday chosen for being a particularly auspicious day. Later the Peshwas made several additions, including the fortification walls, with bastions and gates; court halls and other buildings; fountains and reservoirs. Currently, the perimeter fortification wall has five gateways and nine bastion towers, enclosing a garden complex with the foundations of the original buildings. It is situated near the Mula-Mutha River, in Kasba Peth.

Fort complex

Gates

Shaniwar Wada has five gates: * ''Delhi Darwaza'' :The ''Delhi Darwaza'' is the main gate of the complex, and faces north towards

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. In fact, Shaniwar Wada is the only fort structure in India to have its main gate facing Delhi, the medieval imperial capital of

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

. Even Chhatrapati Shahu is said to have considered the north-facing fort an indication of Baji Rao's ambitions against the Mughal Empire, and suggested that the main gate should be made of ''chhaatiiche, maatiche naahi!'' (

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

for "of the chests of brave soldiers, not made of mud"). :The strongly built ''Delhi Darwaza'' gatehouse has massive doors, large enough to admit elephants outfitted with howdahs (seating canopies). To discourage elephants charging the gates, each pane of the gate has seventy-two sharp twelve-inch steel spikes arranged in a nine by eight grid, at approximately the height of the forehead of a battle-elephant. Each pane was also fortified with steel cross members, and borders were bolted with steel bolts having sharpened cone heads. The bastions flanking the gatehouse has arrow-loops and

machicolation In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...

chutes through which boiling oil could be poured onto offending raiders. The right pane has a small man-sized door for usual entries and exits, too small to allow an army to enter rapidly. Shaniwar Wada was built by a contractor from Rajasthan known as 'Kumawat' of the

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

Sub-caste, after completing construction they were given the name 'Naik' by the Peshwa. :Even if the main gates were to be forced open, a charging army would need to turn sharply right, then sharply left, to pass through the gateway and into the central complex. This would provide a defending army with another chance to attack the incoming army, and to launch a counterattack to recapture the gateway. :As the ceremonial gate of the fort, military campaigns would set out from and be received back here, with appropriate religious ceremonies. * ''Mastani Darwaza'' (Mastani's Gate) or ''Aliibahadur Darwaja'', facing north :This gate was the entrance leading to

Bajirao I Bajirao I (né Visaji, ; 18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740) was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed Peshwa at the age of nineteen by Shahu I, following the death of his father, Balaji Vishwanath. He is credited with establis ...

's wife Mastani's palace and was used by her while travelling out of the palace's perimeter wall. *''Khidki Darwaza'' (Window Gate), facing east : Khidki Darwaja Shaniwar Wada

The ''Khidki Darwaja'' is named for an armoured window it contains. *''Ganesh Darwaza'' (

Ganesh Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

Gate), facing south-east :Named for the Ganesh Rang Mahal, which used to stand near this door. It was used by ladies at the fort to visit the nearby Kasba Ganapati temple. *''Jambhul Darwaza'' or ''Narayan Darwaja'' (Narayan's Gate), facing south :This gate was used by concubines to enter and leave the fort. It obtained its second name after Narayanrao Peshwa's corpse was removed from the fort for cremation through this gate. He is said to have been assassinated at this gate.

Palaces

The important buildings in the palace includes the ''Thorlya Rayancha Diwankhana'' (Marathi: the court reception hall of the eldest royal, meaning Baji Rao I), ''Naachacha Diwankhana'' (Dance Hall), and ''Juna Arsa Mahal'' (Old Mirror Hall). Since the buildings were destroyed in the fire of 1828, only descriptions of the living areas of the fort are available. All the state halls in the buildings are said to have doorways with exquisitely carved teak arches, with ornamental teardrop teak pillars shaped like ''Suru'' (

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

tree) trunks supporting the ceilings, which were covered with beautiful teak tracery, carved creepers and flowers. Exquisite glass chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The floors were made of highly polished

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, arranged in a

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

pattern and adorned with rich Persian rugs. The walls contained paintings with scenes from the Hindu epics, the

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

and the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

. The buildings are said to have been designed and constructed by well-known artisans, including Shivaram Krishna Khasgiwale, Devaji Sutar, Kondaji Sutar, Morarji Patharwat Bhojraja (an inlay-work expert from

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

) and Ragho (a painter). It is said that the Shaniwarwada complex was seven storeys high. On the top floor was the residence of the Peshwa which was called Meghadambari. It is said that the spire of

Jñāneśvar Sant Dnyaneshwar (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪ɲaːn̪eʃʋəɾ, (Devanagari : सन्त ज्ञानेश्वर), also referred to as Jñāneśvara, Jñānadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni ( ...

temple at Alandi, 17 km away, could be seen from there.

The Fountain

The complex had an impressive lotus-shaped fountain: the ''Hazari Karanje'' (Fountain of a thousand jets). It was constructed for the pleasure of the infant Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao. It was designed as a sixteen petal lotus; each petal had sixteen jets with an eighty-foot arch. It was the most complicated and intricate fountain of its time. Shrimant Anandrao Rudrajirao Dhulap-More (an admiral of Maratha navy in 18th century) who visited the Shaniwarwada in 1791 described it as "very magnificent. A hundred dancers can dance here at a time. In one corner is a marble Ganapati statue and the palace is flanked by a fountain and a flower garden.".

Popular culture

*In 2008, Shaniwar Wada was featured on '' The Amazing Race Asia 3''. In the game show, one participant from each team of two had to find the correct pheta (turban) from among those worn by 50 men within the Wada. *It was featured in 2014 Marathi historical drama '' Rama Madhav''. *Shaniwar Wada featured in the 2015 Hindi historical film ''

Bajirao Mastani ''Bajirao Mastani'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language Epic film, epic historical film, historical tragedy film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who co-produced it with Eros International and composed its Bajirao Mastani (soundtrack), soundtrack ...

''. *Shaniwar Wada featured in the 2019 Hindi historical film ''

Panipat Panipat () is an industrial , located 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-44 in Panipat district, Haryana, India. It is famous for three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761. The city is also known as ...

''. *Shaniwar Wada featured in 2019 Marathi TV Series Swamini on Colors Marathi where grand set of Shaniwar wada was constructed in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Film City.

Gallery

File:Shaniwar Wada during sunset.jpg, Shaniwar Wada during sunset File:View of garden.jpg, Inside Shaniwar Wada File:Shaniwarwada(Pune).jpg, Statue of

File:स्वातंत्र्यदिनाच्या अमृत महौत्सवानिमित्त सजविलेला पुणे येथील शनिवारवाडा.jpg, Wada during Indian Independence Day celebrations. File:Shaniwar Wada Top View of Water Storage Space.jpg, Water Storage Space File:Pointed gates of shanivar wada.jpg, Pointed main gates. File:Shanivarwada front.jpg, Top view of entrance to wada

References

External links

*https://www.greatravellers.com/2019/08/top-5-places-to-visit-in-mumbai.html Top 5 Places to visit in Mumbai *https://lifeonweekends.com/2017/02/08/the-burnt-broken-shaniwarwada-pune/ The burnt & broken: Shaniwarwada, Pune {{Coord, 18, 31, 8.67, N, 73, 51, 19.62, E, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1732 Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire Royal residences in India Palaces in Maharashtra Forts in Pune district Tourist attractions in Pune History of Pune Buildings and structures in Pune Reportedly haunted locations in India Monuments of National Importance in Maharashtra