Forts of Shivaji Maharaj

Torna Fort (तोरणा किल्ला)

 

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Torna Fort or Prachandagad is a large fort located in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is historically significant because it is the first fort captured by Shivaji in 1643, forming the nucleus of the Maratha empire. The hill has an elevation of 1405 mts. above sea level, making it the highest hill-fort in the district. The name derives from Prachanda (Marathi for huge or massive) and gad (Marathi for fort).  In 1643, Shivaji Maharaj captured this fort at the age of sixteen, thus making it one of the first forts in what would become the Maratha Empire. Shivaji renamed the fort Torna, and constructed several monuments and towers within it.

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Panhala Fort (पन्हाळगड)

 

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Panhala fort (Marathi: पन्हाळा), also known as Panhalgad, Pahalla and Panalla (literally "the home of serpents"), is located in Panhala, 20 kilometres northwest of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India. It is strategically located looking over a pass in the Sahyadri mountain range which was a major trade route from Bijapur in the interior of Maharashtra to the coastal areas. Due to its strategic location, it was the centre of several skirmishes in the Deccan involving the Marathas, the Mughals and the British East India Company, the most notable being the Battle of Pavan Khind. Here, the queen regent of Kolhapur, Tarabai, spent her formative years. Several parts of the fort and the structures within are still intact.

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Pratapgad (प्रतापगड)

 

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Pratapgad (also transcribed Pratapgarh or Pratapgadh) is a large fort located in Satara district, in the state of Maharashtra in India. Significant as the site of the Battle of Pratapgad, the fort is now a popular tourist destination. Pratapgad is located 15 kilometres from Poladpur and 22 kilometres from Mahabaleshwar, a popular hill-station in the area. This fort stands 1,080 metres above sea level.  The fort is built on a spur which overlooks the road between the villages of Par and Kinesvar.

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Purandar Fort (किल्ले पुरंदर)

 

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Purandar fort (also called Purandhar fort) पुरंदर किल्ला (in Marathi) figures repeatedly in the rising of Shivaji against the Bijapur kingdom and the Mughals. Purandhar fort stands 4,472 ft. above the sea (1,387 m) in the Western Ghats, 20 miles southeast of Pune. It actually consists of two forts - Purandar and Vajragad (or Rudramal). The latter is the smaller of the two and is on the eastern side of the main fort. The village Purandar takes its name from this fort.

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Rajgad Fort (राजगड)

 

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Rajgad (Marathi: राजगड), literally meaning King of forts, one of the forts of Maharashtra state in India. Situated in the Pune district, the fort is approximately 1326 meters above sea level. Formerly known as Murumdev, it was capital of the Maratha Kingdom (Hindavi Swarajya) ruled by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for almost 26 years, after which he moved to Raigad fort and made that his capital.

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Shivneri (शिवनेरी किल्ला)

 

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Shivneri Fort is a historic military fortification located near Junnar. It is the birthplace of Shivaji. Shahaji, Shivaji's father, was a general in the army of the Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur. He was concerned for the safety of his wife Jijabai during her pregnancy as there was constant warfare going on. He therefore moved his family to Shivneri fort. Shivneri is a highly defensible location, with steep rocks on four sides and a strongly built citadel. Shivaji was born at the fort on 19 February 1630, and spent his childhood there.he got his name SHIVBA here. Inside the fort is a small temple dedicated to the goddess Shivai Devi, after whom Shivaji was named.

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Sindhudurg Fort (सिंधुदुर्ग किल्ला)

 

Sindhudurg (Marathi - सिंधुदुर्ग) is a fortress which occupies an islet in the Arabian Sea, just off the coast of Maharashtra in western India. The fortress lies on the shore of Malvan town of Sindhudurg District in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, south of Mumbai.  Sindhudurg (sindhu = sea, durg = fort) was built by the great Maratha warrior King Shivaji in 1664. Shivaji selected the strategic rocky island location, then known as 'Kurte' for the fort, himself - to counter foreign forces, and to keep the nearby Siddis of Murud-Janjira in check. One of the best preserved forts of the Marathas, Sindhudurg fort has zigzag rampart with 42 bastions. Apart from the huge stones, the building material involved 2000 khandis (72,576 kg) of iron erecting the massive curtain wall and bastions. A notable feature is that the foundation stones were laid down firmly with 5 khandis (181.5 kg) of molten lead.

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Sinhagad Fort (किल्ले सिंहगड)

 

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Sinhagad, Sinhgarh, or Sinhgad (Marathi - सिंहगड, The Lion's Fort), is a fortress located roughly 30 kilometres southwest of the city of Pune, India. Previously called Kondhana (Marathi - कोंढाणा), the fort has been the site of many important battles, most notably the battle of Sinhagad in 1670. It was also strategically located at the centre of a string of other forts such as Rajgad, Purandar and Torna. Perched on an isolated cliff of the Bhuleswar range of the Sahyadri Mountains, it is situated on a hill rising 1312 meters above sea level. Given natural protection by its very steep slopes, the walls and bastions were constructed at only key places; it has two gates – the Kalyan Darwaza in the south-east and the Pune Darwaza in the north-east.

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(Source - WikiPedia)

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