Shaniwar Wada

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Coordinates: 18°31′8.67″N 73°51′19.62″E
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Shaniwar Wada
 Shaniwar Wada

Location Pune, India

Built 1732; 291 years ago

Architectural style(s) Maratha imperial architecture

 Maratha Empire (1732–1818)

Owner
 United Kingdom (1818–1947)

o Company Raj (1818–1858)

o British Raj (1858–1947)

 India (1947–present)

Shaniwar Wada is a historical fortification in the city of Pune, India.

Built in 1732,[1] it was the great seat of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire until 1818.
Following the rise of the Maratha Empire, the palace became the center of Indian
politics in the 18th century.[2]

The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, but the surviving
structures are now maintained as a tourist site.

History[edit]
 An equestrian statue of Peshwa Baji Rao I, Prime Minister of
the Maratha Empire, in the Shaniwar Wada complex. He was the first resident of the
fortified palace.
The Shaniwar Wada was normally the seven-story capital building of the Peshwas of
the Maratha Empire. It was supposed to be made entirely of stone. However, after the
completion of the base floor or the first story, the people of Satara (the national capital)
complained to the Chhatrapati Shahu I (Emperor) saying that a stone monument can be
sanctioned and built only by the emperor himself and not the Peshwas. Following this,
an official letter was written to the Peshwas stating that the remaining building had to be
made of brick and not stone. Even today if you visit and see the walls carefully, they are
partly made of stone and partly of bricks. The Wada was then completed and upon
being attacked by the British Artillery 90 years later, all the top six stories collapsed
leaving only the stone base, which was immune to the British artillery. Hence only the
stone base of the Shaniwar Wada remains and can be seen even today in the older
parts of Pune.

By 1758, at least a thousand people lived in the fort.

In 1773, Narayanrao, who was the fifth and ruling Peshwa then, was murdered by
guards on orders of his uncle Raghunathrao and aunt Anandibai. A popular legend has
it that Narayanrao's ghost still calls for help on full moon nights. Various people, working
around the area, have allegedly reported the cries[3][4] of "Kaka mala vachava" (Uncle,
save me) by Narayanrao Peshwa after his death.

In June 1818, the Peshwa, Bajirao II, abdicated his Gaadi (throne) to Sir John
Malcolm of the British East India Company and went into political exile at Bithoor,
near Kanpur in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India.

On 27 February 1828, a great fire started inside the palace complex. The conflagration
raged for seven days. Only the heavy granite ramparts, strong teak gateways and deep
foundations and ruins of the buildings within the fort survived.[5]
According to Haricharitramrutsagar, a biographical text of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, he
had visited Shaniwarwada on the insistence of Bajirao II in 1799.[6][7][8][9][10]

Construction[edit]

The imposing walls of the Shaniwar Wada, in an 1860

photograph
Peshwa Baji Rao I, prime minister to Chattrapati Shahu, laid the ceremonial foundation
of his own residence on Saturday, 10 January 1730. It was named Shaniwar Wada from
the Marathi words Shaniwar (Saturday) and Wada (a general term for any residence
complex). Teak was imported from the jungles of Junnar, stone was brought from the
nearby quarries of Chinchwad, and Lime (mineral) was brought from the lime-belts
of Jejuri. Shaniwarwada was completed in 1732, at a total cost of Rs. 16,110, a very
large sum at that time.[11]

The opening ceremony was performed according to religious customs, on 22 January

1732, another Saturday chosen for being a particularly auspicious day.

Later the Peshwas made several additions, including the fortification walls, with bastions
and gates; court halls and other buildings; fountains and reservoirs. Currently, the
perimeter fortification wall has five gateways and nine bastion towers, enclosing a
garden complex with the foundations of the original buildings. It is situated near
the Mula-Mutha River, in Kasba Peth.

Fort complex[edit]
Gates[edit]
 Shaniwar Wada palace's Delhi Gate or Delhi

Darwaza, with its original decorations,1820 Shaniwar

Wada palace fountain, the Hazari Karanje Jharokhas at

the Shaniwar wada. A hall in the first floor above dilli

darwaja (Delhi Gate) Gardens of Shaniwar Wada

Shaniwar Wada has five gates:

 Delhi Darwaza
The Delhi Darwaza is the main gate of the complex, and faces north
towards Delhi. In fact, Shaniwar Wada is the only fort structure in India to have its
main gate facing Delhi, the medieval imperial capital of Mughal Empire.
Even Chhatrapati Shahu is said to have considered the north-facing fort an
indication of Baji Rao's ambitions against the Mughal Empire, and suggested that
the main gate should be made of chhaatiiche, maatiche naahi! (Marathi for "of
the chests of brave soldiers, not made of mud").
The strongly built Delhi Darwaza gatehouse has massive doors, large enough to
admit elephants outfitted with howdahs (seating canopies). To discourage
elephants charging the gates, each pane of the gate has seventy-two sharp
twelve-inch steel spikes arranged in a nine by eight grid, at approximately the
height of the forehead of a battle-elephant. Each pane was also fortified with
steel cross members, and borders were bolted with steel bolts having sharpened
cone heads. The bastions flanking the gatehouse has arrow-loops
and machicolation chutes through which boiling oil could be poured onto
offending raiders. The right pane has a small man-sized door for usual entries
and exits, too small to allow an army to enter rapidly. Shaniwar Wada was built
by a contractor from Rajasthan known as 'Kumawat' of the Vadar Sub-caste,
after completing construction they were given the name 'Naik' by the Peshwa.[citation
needed]

Even if the main gates were to be forced open, a charging army would need to
turn sharply right, then sharply left, to pass through the gateway and into the
central complex. This would provide a defending army with another chance to
attack the incoming army, and to launch a counterattack to recapture the
gateway.
As the ceremonial gate of the fort, military campaigns would set out from and be
received back here, with appropriate religious ceremonies.

 Mastani Darwaza (Mastani's Gate) or Aliibahadur Darwaja, facing

north
This gate was the entrance leading to Bajirao I's wife Mastani's palace and was
used by her while travelling out of the palace's perimeter wall.[12]

 Khidki Darwaza (Window Gate), facing east

Khidki Darwaja (Window Gate)The Khidki

Darwaja is named for an armoured window it contains.

 Ganesh Darwaza (Ganesh Gate), facing south-east

Named for the Ganesh Rang Mahal, which used to stand near this door. It was
used by ladies at the fort to visit the nearby Kasba Ganapati temple.[12]

 Jambhul Darwaza or Narayan Darwaja (Narayan's Gate),

facing south
This gate was used by concubines to enter and leave the fort. It obtained its
second name after Narayanrao Peshwa's corpse was removed from the fort for
cremation through this gate.[12] He is said to have been assassinated at this gate.
[13]

Palaces[edit]
The important buildings in the palace includes the Thorlya
Rayancha Diwankhana (Marathi: the court reception hall of
the eldest royal, meaning Baji Rao I), Naachacha
Diwankhana (Dance Hall), and Juna Arsa Mahal (Old
Mirror Hall).
Since the buildings were destroyed in the fire of 1828, only
descriptions of the living areas of the fort are available. All
the state halls in the buildings are said to have doorways
with exquisitely carved teak arches, with ornamental
teardrop teak pillars shaped like Suru (cypress tree) trunks
supporting the ceilings, which were covered with beautiful
teak tracery, carved creepers and flowers. Exquisite glass
chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The floors were made
of highly polished marble, arranged in a mosaic pattern
and adorned with rich Persian rugs. The walls contained
paintings with scenes from the Hindu epics,
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

The buildings are said to have been designed and

constructed by well-known artisans, including Shivaram
Krishna, Devaji Sutar, Kondaji Sutar, Morarji Patharwat
Bhojraja (an inlay-work expert from Jaipur) and Ragho (a
painter).

It is said that the Shaniwarwada complex was seven

storeys high. On the top floor was the residence of the
Peshwa which was called Meghadambari. It is said that the
spire of Jñāneśvar temple at Alandi, 17 km away, could be
seen from there.

The Fountain[edit]
The complex had an impressive lotus-shaped fountain:
the Hazari Karanje (Fountain of a thousand jets). It was
constructed for the pleasure of the infant Peshwa Sawai
Madhavrao. It was designed as a sixteen petal lotus; each
petal had sixteen jets with an eighty-foot arch. It was the
most complicated and intricate fountain of its time.[citation needed]

Shrimant Anandrao Rudrajirao Dhulap-More (an admiral

of Maratha navy in 18th century) who visited the
Shaniwarwada in 1791 described it as "very magnificent. A
hundred dancers can dance here at a time. In one corner
is a marble Ganapati statue and the palace is flanked by a
fountain and a flower garden.".

Popular culture[edit]
 In 2008, Shaniwar Wada was featured on The
Amazing Race Asia 3. In the game show, one
participant from each team of two had to find the
 correct pheta (turban) from among those worn by 50
men within the Wada.
 It was featured in 2014 Marathi historical drama Rama
Madhav.
 Shaniwar Wada featured in the 2015 Hindi historical
film Bajirao Mastani.
 Shaniwar Wada featured in the 2019 Hindi historical
film Panipat.
 Shaniwar Wada featured in 2019 Marathi TV Series
Swamini on Colors Marathi where grand set of
Shaniwar wada was constructed in Mumbai Film City.

See also[edit]
 New Palace, Kolhapur of the Bhonsle Chhatrapatis
 Laxmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara of the Gaekwads
 Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior of the Scindias
 Bhor Rajwada of Pant Sachivs
 Rajwada, Indore of Holkars
 Thanjavur Maratha palace of the Bhonsles
 List of forts in Maharashtra

References[edit]
1. ^ Gajrani, S. (2004). History, Religion and Culture of India.
Vol. III. p. 255. ISBN 978-81-8205-062-4.
2. ^ "Shaniwarwada was centre of Indian politics: Ninad
Bedekar". Daily News and Analysis. Mumbai,India. 29 November
2011. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
3. ^ Preeti Panwar. "Top 10 most haunted places in India". Zee
News. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
4. ^ Huned Contractor (31 October 2011). "Going ghost
hunting". Sakal. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
5. ^ "Pune and its ghosts". Rediff. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 21
July 2015.
6. ^ "Pune's iconic Dance Festival held at Shaniwarwada - Times of
India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
7. ^ "Pune's pride: Shaniwarwada". Times of India Travel.
Retrieved 13 September 2018.
8. ^ "Amenities elude visitors at iconic Shaniwarwada - Times of
India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
9. ^ "Shaniwar Wada to be recreated for 'Panipat' - Times of
India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
10. ^ Sengar, Resham. "Know why you should avoid visiting Pune's
Shaniwarwada Fort on full moon nights". Times of India Travel.
Retrieved 13 September 2018.
11. ^ "288 years of Shaniwarwada: No battle cry from this historic
Pune fort, only a cry for restoration". Hindustan Times. 23
January 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
 12. ^ Jump up to:a b c Podder, Tanushree (18 March 2017). "In
Bajirao's backyard". Deccan Herald.
13. ^ Gadre, Vivek (20 June 2022). "Narayan Darwaja". Atlas
Obscura. Retrieved 3 September 2023.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shaniwar Wada.

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to-visit-in-mumbai.html Top 5 Places to visit in Mumbai
 https://lifeonweekends.com/2017/02/08/the-burnt-
broken-shaniwarwada-pune/ The burnt & broken:
Shaniwarwada, Pune
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