SINHGAD FORT

INTRODUCTION
Sinhgad is a hill fort in the Bhuleshwar ranges of the Sahyadri toward
the southwest of Pune city. Sinhagad, ealier known as ‘Kondhana’ is
the most prominent and popular fort in Pune. It is located at village
Donaje, taluka-Haveli. It is 25 km away from Pune on a hill 1328 m high.

For many centuries, Sinhagad was the place to conquer if you wanted
to command Pune and its surroundings. Located in the centre of a
number of other Maratha forts in the region, it was a safe haven
whenever Pune was under siege. On numerous occasions, many
notable personalities stayed here, among them Rajmata Jijabai Saheb,
Chhatrapati Shivaji (who renamed the fort 'Sinhagad' earlier known as
'Kondana'), Chhatrapati Rajaram, Maharani Tarabai, Balaji Vishwanath
Peshwa and most of the Peshwas, Lokmanya Tilak and even Mahatma
Gandhi in the early 20th century.

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BRIF INFORMATION COLLECTION
The fort was a rich history that goes back to the Satavahana period (2nd
century BCE to 3rd century CE)- the caves used for water storage and
temple carvings indicate as much. It was a small wooden fortification
which was enlarged over time. Its importance lay in the fact that anyone
who controlled the fort also dominated the strategic route from Pune
down to the Konkan coast. There is a reference that the Sultan of Delhi,
Muhammad bin Tughlaq seized it from a local Koli chieftain in 1328.
Later it came under the Bahmanis (14th to early 16th century CE) and
the Nizam Shahs of Ahmednagar controlled it till 1636.

After 1636, according to the treaty between the Mughals and Adil
Shah, the Nizam Shahi kingdom was extinguished and its possessions
were split into two among the victors and Shahaji Raje Bhosale, the
father of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji, got the Pune pargana from
Adil Shah. Years later Chhatrapati Shivaji captured the fort in 1647. He
had to give the fort back to Adil Shah when the Bijapur court
imprisoned Shahaji Raje. Around 9 years later, the fort came back in
Maratha control, when Chhatrapati Shivaji recaptured it in 1656 with
the help of his commander Bapuji Mudgal Deshpande.

The most famous of Sinhagad's tales is the one of a daring nocturnal

attack in 1670 by Shivaji's military commander Tanaji Malusare, which
has been also been the subject of a recent movie 'Tanhaji'. The attack
resulted in the Maratha conquest of the fort, but Tanaji had to sacrifice
his own life on the battlefield. The legend says that Tanaji used a
monitor lizard to climb the high cliffs and when Tanaji was slain while
fighting the Rajput commander Udaibhan Rathod, Tanaji's brother
Suryaji took over the command and made sure that Tanaji's martyrdom
was not a waste.

It was the Marathi play in the 19th century, Gad Ala Pan Sinh Gela, that
popularized the legend of Tanaji. He was the 'sinh' or the 'lion' of the
play, which rhymed well with the name of the fort. Thus popular
opinion assumes that the fort was renamed Sinhagad due to Tanaji's

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conquest. But this is not true, since the Shivapurkar Deshpande Bakhar
(an old 17th century Maratha chronicle) contains an entry indicating
that the Kondana fort was called Sinhagad even before Tanaji's
conquest - "Shaka 1569 (27 March 1647 to 14 March 1648) Bapuji
captured Sinhagad and handed it over (to Chhatrapati Shivaji)"

Unfortunately, not many authentic details of the Tanaji story have

survived and what you read about this battle is largely fiction conjured
up in novels. However, we do learn a lot more about Sinhagad from the
original Farsi documents from Aurangzeb's reign, along with Maratha
letters. One finds that during the epic Maratha-Mughal war of 27 years
(1680-1707AD), this al-important fort changed hands eight times.

Another letter dated 1693 tells the story of an equally daring conquest,
this time by Navji Balkawade and Vithoji Karke over the Mughals under
Aurangzeb.

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FORT MAP

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FORT IMAGES

AERIAL VIEW

LANDSCAPE FORT VIEW

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 ZUNJUR BURJ KALYAN DARWAJA

SMALL BUILDING INSIDE THE PUNE DARWAJA

KONDHANESHWAR TILAK VILLA

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 HORSE STABLE KALYAN DARWAZA: THIS PORTAL WAS THE
MAIN ENTRANCR TO THE FORT IN TH 17TH
CENTURY

ARCHITECTURAL DATA
Sinhagad Fort is built on a plateau on top of the Sahyadri mountains.
The slopes of the mountains are steep and provided better defence
against intruders. The historic structure is located over 1328 metres
above sea level and around 750 metres above the base of the
mountain. What remains of the fort today are the ancient stone
stairways that lead to one of the two entry gates, some strategically
placed bastions and the walls that enclose the massive structure.

The two entry gates are the Pune and Kalyan Darwaza which are
located to the north-east and south-east sides of Sinhagad Fort
respectively. The fort also houses a temple dedicated to Goddess Kali,
a brewery, some military sheds and the tombs of Rajaram Chhatrapati
and Tanaji Malusare. A 350-year-old memorial of Tanaji Malusare that
was discovered buried somewhere inside the fort premises and
restored also has a place inside the fort premises.

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  Darwaja (Gates)

1. Pune Gate 1
2. Pune Gate 2
3. Pune Gate 3
4. Kalyan Gate 1
5. Kalyan Gate 2
6. Dindi Gate (Small Size Gate)

 Burj (Tower)

1. Khadkadyacha Burj
2. Kalavanti Burj
3. Aale Burj
4. Yashwant Burj
5. Dalkathicha Burj
6. Zunjar Burj

 Mandir (Temple)

1. Amruteshwar Mandir
2. Kondhaneshwar Mandir
3. Hanuman Mandir
4.
 Samadhi

1. Tanaji Malusare Samadhi

2. Rajaram Maharaj Samadhi

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REFERENCE
OFFLINE

- Lal mahal library Articles

ONLINE

https://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/

https://pune.gov.in/tourist-place/sinhagad/

https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/monuments/sinhagad-fort-
the-lion-still-roars?email=

https://veloviewer.com/segment/1053236

https://punetrekss.blogspot.com/2017/10/sinhgad-fort-kondhana-
how-to-reach-to.html

http://double-dolphin.blogspot.com/2015/06/sinhagad-sinhgad-
fort-pune-maharashtra.html

https://veloviewer.com/segment/1053236

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