Rajgad Fort | राजगड किल्ला

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Rajgarh enjoys a unique position among the hill forts of Maharashtra.  It possesses all the salient features of fort architecture which are peculiar to the Deccan region.  Situated on one of the spurs of the Sahyadri Mountains known as Murum hill, Region is about 35kms south-west of Pune.  The fort is at a height of approx.  1300 metres from sea-level and comprises three terraces (machis) and a citadel (Balekilla).  There are four gates called Gunjavane, Pali, Alu and Kaleshwari or Dindi gate.  The first two gates lead to the Padmavati machi, the third to the Sanjivani and the last to the Suvela machi.  Rajgarh looks like a winged bird flying in the sky – the Padmavati and the Sanjivani machis forming its two wings and the Balekilla and the Suvela machi its main body.

All the four of the fort have remains of buildings which included residential quarters, sadar or state offices, bazaar or business quarter, granary, armoury, temples, etc.  the fort had ample supply of water through tanks, cisterns and wells.  The water-supply being better on the Padmavati machi, it was major centre of activity on the fort.

Rajgarh, formerly known as Murumdeo, was earlier held by the Nizamshahi and Adilshahi rulers.  By 1648 AD, it was under the firm control of Shivaji, who gave it the new name Rajgarh, the king’s fort.   Shivaji’s construction activities here continued till 1670 AD.  For nearly twenty five years Rajgarh was the pre-coronation capital of Shivaji.  Out of Shivaji’s short life of fifty years (18,306 days) his stay of 2827 days at Rajgarh was the longest.  The fort witnessed a number of major political events of the Maratha period.

It was from Rajgarh that Shivaji went to meet Afzal Khan in 1659 AD.  His departure to Agra return from there, both these historic events took place at Rajgarh.  Rajgarh, Shivaji’s second son, was born here.  By ‘Treaty of Purandar’ in 1655 AD, shivaji ceded 23 forts to the Mughals, but not Rajgarh.  During the Peshwa period Rajgarh did not play any significant part mainly due to the shifting of political activities from the hill forts to the cities.  Rajgarh remained with the Sachiv family of Bhor till 1947 AD.

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 4620 feet 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.

 

 

 

Rajgad Fort (near Pune, India) is one of the most grand forts of the Sahaydris. It was Shivaji Maharaj's capital for 26 years before moving to another grand fort, Raigad. Treasure found on adjacent Torna fort was used to fortify this beautiful fort. This fort is a must visit in any ones trekking/adventure list. One has to stay in the padmavati temple which can house 50 people. Water tanks provide water all over the year. This Lingana and Sinhagad are also visible from Rajgad.

Reaching this fort is by taking a ST bus from Pune(preferably swargate) to Velhe village which takes around 1.5 hrs. This fort has seen lots of historic events. The origins of this fort date back to 2000 years. This fort was ruled by Adilshahis then Nizamshahis and then finally the Marathas.
Rajgad is tristar shape with each ends having the grand machis and the bale killa or citadel at the center. The diameter of the fort at the base is 40 Kms and hence difficult to capture.

Main parts of the fort are: 

 
Padmavati Machi: Facing north this has Padmavati Temple, Padmavati Lake, chor darwaja, Pali darwaja, Gunjavane darwaja, Daru Kothar (storage of arms and ammunition) and remains of the castle. 

Sanjivani Machi: This huge, beautiful and royally constructed machi faces west and has 3 layered fortifications making it extremely difficult to conquer. Each layer has a depth of 20 feet and just 2 feet wide which looks like a scary narrow well. This type on construction was to aide guerilla warfare. 

Suvela Machi: This is another grand machi facing east with lots of secret routes, doorways, nedha (Mountain hole).
Bale Killa: This is the highest part of the fort which has remains of palaces, water lakes and water towers. One can view the whole fort and the vast surrounding expanse.