Chaytime: The Legend Pratapgarh Fort

Pratapgarh Fort

Pratapgarh Fort is the place from where the history of the Maratha Emperor Shivaji took the decisive turns. The fort stands as the witness of historic Battle of Pratapgarh, the belligerents of which were adilshahi forces of Afzal Khan and Maratha forces of Shivaji. In this battle the emperor Shivaji killed his rival Afzal Khan.

The fort was built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1656, which is now a popular hill station in the area. This fort stands 1,080 metres above sea level. We went there on April 30, 2012 when we went to Mahabaleshwar. For reviews about Mahabaleshar go to http://chaytime.blogspot.in/2012/06/mahabaleshwar-amasing-treat-for-eyes.html. It is around 24 km west of Mahabaleshwar. The 45 minutes journey to it offers commanding views of Koyana Basin and surrounding hilly terrains.The fort from a distance gives the appearance of a round topped hill. The wall of the lower fort forms a sort of a crown.Its a must watch place if anybody goes to Mahabaleshwar.

Short history:

The Maratha king Shivaji commissioned Moropant Trimbak Pingle, his prime minister, to undertake the construction of this fort,. The architect of the fort is Hiroji Indulkar. The fort was constructed to protect the banks of the Nira and the Koyna rivers, and the Par pass from governor Javali Basin.This huge fort which is made from stone, is still in good condition. The construction was started in 1656 and was completed in 1658, that is, in just 2 years.

Battle of Pratapgadh: It took place between the forces of the Maratha king Shivaji and the Adilshahi general Afzal Khan who was commanding the soldiers of Sultan Adil Shah of Bijapur . The Marathas defeated the Adilshahi forces despite being outnumbered. In short, it can be said that in this very critical situation, Shivaji showed his presence of mind and Afzal Khan paid the price for his rash overconfidence. It was their significant military victory against a major regional power, and thus led to the eventual establishment of the Maratha Empire. The Battle of Pratapgarh between Shivaji and Afzal Khan was fought in the toe of this fort on November 10, 1659 in which shivaji killed him and made his grave there. Now a days tourists are not permitted to visit his grave.

Bronze Statue of Shivaji

A 17-feet high equestrian bronze statue of Shivaji was unveiled on the 30th of November 1957 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. The main road was built by government when this statue was to be placed in the fort. Now cars can go right up to the base of the fort, near the main gate.

The fort is presently owned by Udayan Raje Bhosale, the heir of the Satara princely state.

Structure:

A special feature of the fort is its double line of fortification and walls on all sides, their heights varying according to the nature of the ground. The fort comprises two ancient forts, one is the upper fort built on the top of the hill, while the other is the lower fort.

The upper fort was built upon the crest of the hill. It is roughly square, 180m long on each side and comprises of several buildings, including the temple of Mahadev. These buildings are made of stone and till today these are much stronger.

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 which are 10-11m high.

Steps at Fort

Various notice able points at fort: The fort lies in the beauty of the surroundings.There are around 450 steps that we have to climb to reach the fort. After climbing there are beautiful sceneries all around. There are many ponds and walkways. The fort beautifully showed the intelligence that Shivaji Maharaj had. He had made all the arrangements that were needed in a fully secured fort.

Many of the points like the living rooms, khas darbaar etc. were destroyed by the britishers during their rule. They also took away the sword of Shivaji Maharaj to England to keep that into the museum. It is said that the idol worship Goddess Bhavani stays in the sword of Shivaji Maharaj.

Graveyard of Afzal Khan: On the foot of the fort there lies the grave yard of Afzal Khan which was made by Shivaji Maharaj when he was killed. It was marked as a reminder/warning to his rivals to dare him. These days tourists are not allowed to go there.
Enterance Gate of the Fort: Next noticeable point and the point that shows the intelligenge of Shivaji Maharaj is its Enterace gate. It is made between two huge walls in such a way that it is hidden from out side for the purpose of security and to put the enemies into confusion, but if somebody succeeds to find it out anyhow, on the back canons are setteled there to kill them instantly. There is only one gate to enter this fort. Thus the entrance of Pratapgarh fort is well protected and very strong. Till date this main door of the fort opens with sunrise and closes at sunset.
Cave at the enterance: While Shivaji was going for the meeting with Afzal Khan, he made a small but hidden cave near the enterance gate, in which he hides his 40 soldiers for the instant reaction by Shivaji Maharaj against any type of treackery by Afzal Khan.
Under Ground Tunnel: There is a under ground tunnel also from where the soldiers can run to save their lives, if the fort is attacked by the enemies. Tourstists are not allowed to go inside it.
Punishment Point: Punishment point is the steep cliff which is also the highest point of the fort from where the criminals are thrown into the valley. This point is behind the statue of shivaji Maharaj.
Shri Shivaji Maharaj Statue: There is a statue of Shivaji Maharaj inside the fort called Bale killa. On November30, 1957, the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru came here. He unveiled a 17-foot high equestrian bronze statue of Shivaji in this fort which is a beautiful attraction in this fort.
Mahadev Temple: During the digging of this fort for construction, there found a natural Shivling. So Shivaji decided to made a Shiv Mandir inside this fort and that natural Shivling is still present there. On the recruitment of any staff in the administration of Shivaji Maharaj, each new comer had to swear inside this Temple for his faithfulness.
Khas Darbaar: In front of Mahadev temple there is a place where used to be a khas darbaar where veer Shivaji took important and secret meetings.
Bhavani Mata Temple: There is a temple of Bhavani mata (The Hindu Goddess), the idol of worship of King Shivajiraje Bhosle. In 1661, Shivaji was unable to visit the temple of the goddess Bhavani at Tuljapur. So he decided to dedicate a temple to the goddess at this fort itself. Hence, he sculputured the idol of Mata Bhavani by using the Shaligram Stones imported from the Gand River of Nepal which is black in colour. The shrine is made of stone, its roof is flat inside, but covered in lead covering put up by the Satara Raja Pratapsinh (1818–1839).
A small spire(Shikhar) covers the shrine which is made of Gold. There also present a small shivling made of crystals.

In side this temple, there is present the sword of his faithful and strong soldier with six stars over it. Shivaji Maharaj honoured his soldiers by giving the stars over their swords, each for killing 100 soldiers of the enemies.

In the front of Bhavani Mata Temple there are kept some massive instruments that were used during the construction of this fort along with small canons that the soldiers used to keep over their sholders day and night for instant reaction when they are keeping eye over the enemies on the watch towers.
Watch Tower : There are 3 watch towers inside this fort to keep an eye over the routes for the safety of this fort.There are many bastions also. Along with bastions there are many holes in the wall from where the canons and other arms were projected over the enemies.

Hole in the wall

Watch Tower
Javali Forest: There is a deep forest between pratapgarh and Mahabaleshwar which is known as Javali Forest. It can also be seen from the fort.
Royal Path: When Shivaji enters the fort, he was taken inside in the palaki and the path is known as Royal Path.
Ponds: There are ponds also in which rain water was collected and after that used for drinking.
Lassi making fountain

Handicrafts: These days many stalls of beautiful handicraft etc. have also been put up in the fort. Along with Handicrafts there are also stalls of light food and drinks.