This Diwali the family and me decided to take a break from the routine and visit the historic city of Kolhapur. Kolhapur is a beautiful city and like every city in Maharashtra has its own set of stories and history. One such place is Panhala. The taluka of Panhala houses the great Panhala Fort which had utmost importance in the Maratha history. 20 kilometers from the city of Kolhapur, Panhala literally means the "house of serpents". The fort of Panhala was built by the Shilhara ruler Raja Bhoj II between the years 1178 - 1209 BC. There is historical evidence which proves that Raja Bhoj held his court in Fort Panhala during the 1191-1192.
The Maratha history goes something like this. In 1659, after killing the Bijapuri General Afzal Khan, in Pratapgad, Shivaji fled from Pratapgad and captured Panhala from the Bijapur kingdom. Simultaneously Shivaji's General Netaji Palkar, attacked the Bijapur kingdom and started scraping it from the South. As a retaliation, the then Adil Shah II of Bijapur sent his army under the command of Siddhi Johar to lay siege on Panhala. Siddhi Johar brought with him an army of 40,000 men and lay siege to Panhala. The siege lasted for 5 months, wherein the provisions were exhausted. The Maratha army could not continue like this any further.
Under these circumstances, Shivaji Maharaj decided to escape and formulated a plan. His barber Shiva Kasheed, had very close physical resemblance to him. So it was decided that Shiva Kasheed would surrender to the Bijapur army in the front and Shivaji, and few of his trusted men would escape to Vishalgad. The distance to Vishalgad had to be made on foot as horses would make a lot of noise in the dark and taking them along would actually be a handicap. The distance between Panhalgad to Vishalgad was approximately 40 odd Kilometers and this had to be done in one night.
So as planned, on the night of 13th July 1660 Shiva Kasheed surrendered from the North gate and kept the Bijapuri army engaged. And Shivaji, his trusted general Baji Prabhu Deshpande and 900 Mavlas exited from the rear end, broke open the siege and began their journey. It was not very long, when Siddhi Johar and his men realized the mistake. They killed Shiva Kasheed and started following Shivaji to Vishalgad.
It was tough for Shivaji to loose trail of the large army following him. When Shvaji's batallion reached the foot hills of Vishalgad, they came across a narrow opening known as Ghodkhind in those days. Ghod stands for horse and Khind stands for narrow opening. It is said that only a couple of horses could pass through Ghodkhind then. At this stage Baji Prabhu Deshpande suggested that, he would wait near Ghodkhind and stall the Bijapuri army until Shivaji would reach Vishalgad. The sign that Shivaji had reached Vishalgad would be the firing of 4 Cannons. Though Shivaji did not agree to this idea, Baji Prabhu Deshpande convinced him and pushed him off to Vishalgad. So, with 300 armed infantry Baji Prabhu Deshpande fought ferociously with 2 swords in his hand and killing as many enemy as possible. It is said that he was injured very badly, but he kept fighting until the canons were heard, and only then he gave up his life. Shivaji later named Ghodkhind to Pavankhind in honor of the great warriors that lost their life. It is said that 3 sons of Siddhi Johar and approximately 20,000 odd men were killed by Baji Prabhu Deshpande and his men in the Battle of Pavankhind. Nevertheless, the enemy could not capture Vishalgad, but for the next 13 years or so, the Adil Shah II ruled the fort Panhala.
In 1673, Shivaji Maharaj refused to be coronated as the Chhatrapati of Swaraj in Raigad, unless Panhala fort was captured. Shivaji and his soldiers had made various attempts to recapture the fort but had failed miserably. During the coronation, Shivaji was mourning the death of his very close associate and General, Tanaji Malusare, who was killed by the Bijapuri General by ambush and sheer betrayal. Shivaji knew that Panhala needed to be under Swaraj as it opened up trade routes connecting main land with coast. So this time when Shivaji decided to re-capture the fort, Kondaji Farzand volunteered to lead the attack.
In the previous war around 1666, Shivaji had lost almost 1000 odd men while capturing the fort. Under the reign of Adil Shah around 1488-90, the fort was fortified extensively, making it practically impossible to conquer. Farzand picked 300 men instead of a large army. These 300 men docked in Ratnagiri and did very extensive research on the fort. Timings of gatekeepers, when the gates would open and close. It is said that a map was re-created with information of the most important buildings, densely guarded areas, poorly guarded areas and many such intricacies. One information they received was the South of the fort was poorly guarded as it opened up directly into a dense forest. So with only 60 men (and others left at base to fight with enemy soldiers who would retreat), Farzand and his team climbed the south wall. When they reached the tip (at midnight), they made a very large noise with which caused panic amongst the enemy soldiers. The 60 men took the most important buildings and cut down all supplies for the army. Kondaji Farzand defeated the chief of the Army in a one-on-one battle which caused the army to surrender.
In honor of this great warrior Shivaji had the Wagh Darwaza carved, which is one of Teen Darwaza at the rear exit of the fort. The Wagh Darwaza, depicts the Tiger overpowering the Elephant. The Marathas are depicted by the Tiger and the Mughals by the Elephant.
Such are 2 stories in history associated with the Maratha Empire and Panhalgad. Reading about the great warriors in history, always makes me proud. I always think, that if we were even 1% of what these Kings and Warriors were, Maharashtra would have been a very different place to live in. More developed, more advanced with great visionaries.
Jai Bhavani! Jai Shivaji!
The Maratha history goes something like this. In 1659, after killing the Bijapuri General Afzal Khan, in Pratapgad, Shivaji fled from Pratapgad and captured Panhala from the Bijapur kingdom. Simultaneously Shivaji's General Netaji Palkar, attacked the Bijapur kingdom and started scraping it from the South. As a retaliation, the then Adil Shah II of Bijapur sent his army under the command of Siddhi Johar to lay siege on Panhala. Siddhi Johar brought with him an army of 40,000 men and lay siege to Panhala. The siege lasted for 5 months, wherein the provisions were exhausted. The Maratha army could not continue like this any further.
Under these circumstances, Shivaji Maharaj decided to escape and formulated a plan. His barber Shiva Kasheed, had very close physical resemblance to him. So it was decided that Shiva Kasheed would surrender to the Bijapur army in the front and Shivaji, and few of his trusted men would escape to Vishalgad. The distance to Vishalgad had to be made on foot as horses would make a lot of noise in the dark and taking them along would actually be a handicap. The distance between Panhalgad to Vishalgad was approximately 40 odd Kilometers and this had to be done in one night.So as planned, on the night of 13th July 1660 Shiva Kasheed surrendered from the North gate and kept the Bijapuri army engaged. And Shivaji, his trusted general Baji Prabhu Deshpande and 900 Mavlas exited from the rear end, broke open the siege and began their journey. It was not very long, when Siddhi Johar and his men realized the mistake. They killed Shiva Kasheed and started following Shivaji to Vishalgad.
It was tough for Shivaji to loose trail of the large army following him. When Shvaji's batallion reached the foot hills of Vishalgad, they came across a narrow opening known as Ghodkhind in those days. Ghod stands for horse and Khind stands for narrow opening. It is said that only a couple of horses could pass through Ghodkhind then. At this stage Baji Prabhu Deshpande suggested that, he would wait near Ghodkhind and stall the Bijapuri army until Shivaji would reach Vishalgad. The sign that Shivaji had reached Vishalgad would be the firing of 4 Cannons. Though Shivaji did not agree to this idea, Baji Prabhu Deshpande convinced him and pushed him off to Vishalgad. So, with 300 armed infantry Baji Prabhu Deshpande fought ferociously with 2 swords in his hand and killing as many enemy as possible. It is said that he was injured very badly, but he kept fighting until the canons were heard, and only then he gave up his life. Shivaji later named Ghodkhind to Pavankhind in honor of the great warriors that lost their life. It is said that 3 sons of Siddhi Johar and approximately 20,000 odd men were killed by Baji Prabhu Deshpande and his men in the Battle of Pavankhind. Nevertheless, the enemy could not capture Vishalgad, but for the next 13 years or so, the Adil Shah II ruled the fort Panhala.
In 1673, Shivaji Maharaj refused to be coronated as the Chhatrapati of Swaraj in Raigad, unless Panhala fort was captured. Shivaji and his soldiers had made various attempts to recapture the fort but had failed miserably. During the coronation, Shivaji was mourning the death of his very close associate and General, Tanaji Malusare, who was killed by the Bijapuri General by ambush and sheer betrayal. Shivaji knew that Panhala needed to be under Swaraj as it opened up trade routes connecting main land with coast. So this time when Shivaji decided to re-capture the fort, Kondaji Farzand volunteered to lead the attack.In the previous war around 1666, Shivaji had lost almost 1000 odd men while capturing the fort. Under the reign of Adil Shah around 1488-90, the fort was fortified extensively, making it practically impossible to conquer. Farzand picked 300 men instead of a large army. These 300 men docked in Ratnagiri and did very extensive research on the fort. Timings of gatekeepers, when the gates would open and close. It is said that a map was re-created with information of the most important buildings, densely guarded areas, poorly guarded areas and many such intricacies. One information they received was the South of the fort was poorly guarded as it opened up directly into a dense forest. So with only 60 men (and others left at base to fight with enemy soldiers who would retreat), Farzand and his team climbed the south wall. When they reached the tip (at midnight), they made a very large noise with which caused panic amongst the enemy soldiers. The 60 men took the most important buildings and cut down all supplies for the army. Kondaji Farzand defeated the chief of the Army in a one-on-one battle which caused the army to surrender.
In honor of this great warrior Shivaji had the Wagh Darwaza carved, which is one of Teen Darwaza at the rear exit of the fort. The Wagh Darwaza, depicts the Tiger overpowering the Elephant. The Marathas are depicted by the Tiger and the Mughals by the Elephant.Such are 2 stories in history associated with the Maratha Empire and Panhalgad. Reading about the great warriors in history, always makes me proud. I always think, that if we were even 1% of what these Kings and Warriors were, Maharashtra would have been a very different place to live in. More developed, more advanced with great visionaries.
Jai Bhavani! Jai Shivaji!
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