Pratapgad
Encyclopedia
Satara district
Satara District is a district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of 10,480 km² and a population of 2,808,994 of which 14.17% were urban . Satara is the capital of the district and other major towns include Wai, Karad, Koregaon, Koyananagar, Rahimatpur, Phaltan, Mahabaleshwar...
, in the state of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Significant as the site of the Battle of Pratapgad, the fort is now a popular tourist destination.
Geography
Pratapgad is located 15 kilometres from PoladpurPoladpur
Poladpur is a census town in Raigad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.- Etymology :vikas.d.shinde from kabeswarvadhi no.1...
and 22 kilometres from Mahabaleshwar
Mahabaleshwar
Mahabaleshwar is a city and a municipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a hill station located in the Western Ghats range. With one of the few evergreen forests of the world, it served as the summer capital of Bombay province during the British Raj.-Geography...
, 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.
History
The MarathaMaratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
king Shivaji commissioned Moropant Trimbak Pingle, his prime minister, to undertake the construction of this fort in order to defend the banks of the Nira
Nira River
Nira is a river flowing through the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a tributary of Bhima river and flows through Pune and Solapur districts of Maharashtra. Karha is a tributary of Nira....
and the Koyna
Koyna River
The Koyna River rises in Mahabaleshwar and is a tributary of the Krishna River in western Maharashtra, India. It rises near Mahableshwar, a famous hill station in the Western Ghats. Unlike most of the other rivers in Maharashtra which flow East-West direction, the Koyna river flows in North-South...
rivers, and to defend the Par pass. It was completed in 1656.
The Battle of Pratapgarh
Battle of Pratapgarh
The Battle of Pratapgadwas a land battle fought on November 10, 1659 at the fort of Pratapgad near the town of Satara, Maharashtra, India between the forces of the Maratha king Shivaji and the Adilshahi general Afzal Khan. The Marathas defeated the Adilshahi forces despite being outnumbered...
between Shivaji and Afzal Khan was fought below the rampants of this fort on November 10, 1659. This was the first major test of the fledgling kingdom's army, and set the stage of the establishment of the Maratha empire
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
.
Pratapgad continued to be involved in regional politics. Sakharam Bapu, a well-known minister of Pune, was confined by his rival Nana Phadnis in Pratapgad in 1778. He was later moved from fort to fort until he finally died at Raigad. In 1796, Nana Phadnis, while escaping from the intrigues of Daulatrao Shinde and his minister Baloba, assembled a strong garrison in Pratapgad before heading to Mahad
Mahad
Mahad is a city and a municipal council in Raigad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated about 175 km to the south of Mumbai . It has become the center of attraction because of its beautiful surroundings and pleasant climate. Mahad has a personality of its own due to its...
.
In 1818, as part of the Third Anglo-Maratha War
Third Anglo-Maratha War
The Third Anglo-Maratha War was the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha territory by 110,400 British East India Company troops, the largest...
, Pratapgad surrendered by private negotiation. This was a great loss to the Maratha forces, as Pratapgad was an important stronghold, had a large garrison, and could annoy much of the country round Wai.
A 17-foot high equestrian bronze statue of Shivaji was unveiled by Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India, on the 30th November 1957, the same year a road was constructed by the Public Works Department from Kumbhrosi village up to fort. A guest house and a national park were built inside the fort in 1960.
The fort is currently owned by Udayan Raje Bhosale, the heir of the Satara princely state.
Structure
The fort can be divided into the lower fort and upper fort.The upper fort was built upon the crest of the hill. It is roughly square, 180m long on each side. It has several permanent buildings, including a temple to the god Mahadev
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. It is located at the northwest of the fort, and is surrounded by sheer cliffs with drops of up to 250m.
The lower fort is around 320m long and 110m wide. It is located at the southeast of the fort, and is defended by towers and bastions ten to twelve metres high.
The Afzul tower extends out from the fort proper and defends the approach to the fort. It is said to have been constructed after the Battle of Pratapgad, and Afzul Khan's head is said to be buried under the tower.
In 1661, Shivaji was unable to visit the temple of the goddess Bhavani at Tuljapur. He decided to dedicate a temple to the goddess at this fort itself. This temple is on the eastern side of the lower fort. The hall has been rebuilt since the original construction, and consists of wooden pillars about 50' long, 30' broad and 12' high. The shrine is made of stone, and contains a clothed black stone image of the goddess. The roof of the temple is flat inside, but covered in lead covering put up by the Satara Raja Pratapsinh (1818–1839). A small spire or shikhar covers the shrine.
A darga of Afzul Khan is located a short while away from the fort to the south-east.
Tourism
Pratapgad is usually visited as a day-trip from MahabaleshwarMahabaleshwar
Mahabaleshwar is a city and a municipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a hill station located in the Western Ghats range. With one of the few evergreen forests of the world, it served as the summer capital of Bombay province during the British Raj.-Geography...
, a popular tourist destination located 25 kilometres away.
One can take ST from Panvel to Poladpur at night & then stay at Poladpur ST stand for the first ST to WADA (Base village). Its around 7am. When you reach at Wada village you can hire a 4 wheeler to the base of the Fort. But there is an alternate fantastic trekking road surrounded by greenery, for that you have to ask villagears 1st.(its bit hidden). But if you first go by main road by walking then you can see a arrow on the road showing the exact path & after that you can see old rock stairs. From this rout you can go walking in around 1/2 hrs to the top of the fort. (total time 1.1/2hrs). This was the old rout of mawlas in anciant time. The main road was built by governament when bronze statue of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was placed on the fort. Or they made it wide.
Regards:- Mohit Gopal Shedge...