Panhala

Panhalgad holds a place of honour in the glorious history of the splendid Maratha Raj. Situated on the Sahayadri ranges on one of its junctures leading to the Konkan, at an altitude of 953 mts. above sea level, the fort held importance as a working capital for all the dynasties that managed to conquer it, owing to its solid construction and the dense forest surrounding it. No history, whether of the Sheelahar, Yadav, Bahamani, Adilshahi, Marathas or the Moghul rule would be complete without the mention of Panhalgad. So splendid was the history of this impregnable fort, that when Shivaji the Great finally captured and entered it at nightfall, he insisted upon seeing the splendor of this fort in torchlight. What better way to explore Panhalgad, immersed in history as ancient as the penance of Parasher Muni and the Buddhist monks to the patriotic vigor of Shivaji, unmatched deeds of Sambhaji and the able administration of Tararani than through this site.

One has to pass through Kolhapur, well connected by land and air from Mumbai to reach Panhalgad, a 45 minute drive by frequent state transport buses plying from the Rankala bus stand. It is advisable to alight the bus at the check post so as to see the ruins of the Char Darwaza, the four entrance gates to the fort. On the left side of the road, just below the tarmac is the original Raj Rasta, the royal path leading to the fort. A small pathway leads down from the fort to the Samadhi, a memorial of the brave Shiva Kashid, whose statue is seen just inside the ruins of the Char Darwaza. The statue has been sculpted by the late Ravindra Mistry, a famous sculptor from Kolhapur and has been put up by the Veer Shiva Kashid Samiti. At the entrance of the fort are the remnants of a buruj, (a watch tower) inside which one finds some remains of the third door to the fort which was broken down in 1844 A.D. during the British Raj. Very few know the existence of the tiny fourth door to the fort which lies above the third one. Behind the check post is the revered Sadhoba Darga with the Parasher Tirth (tank) beside it.

A tar road left of this water tank leads to the Harihareshwar temple which basically leads to two squat temples with a Shivling and an idol of Lord Vishnu carved in black stone with the beautiful Lord Ganesh residing within a niche. Adjacent to the temple runs a brook named Nagzari, rich in iron content , the medicinal water of which is even now used by locals to cure various maladies. An inscription next to the temple reveals that the Nagzari was created during the reign of Ibrahim Adilshah by Dawood Aka. There is a mention of this brook as a divine pilgrimage in the olden Karveer scriptures which explains how the brook got its name from the ancient lineage of the snake people.

A footpath left of the Nagzari leads to a flight of stairs, on top of which hidden by foliage is the temple of Vitthal Rukmai. The kalash and the memorial stones around it are worth seeing. On either sides of the temple are two memorial stones, so situated that one can observe the footprints of both these memorial stones standing in the temple. Naturally, the temple walls are hollow, hence this possibility. A path further down leads to the ancient laterite cave of Parasher muni with five rooms, one leading to the next, the last one having a stone slab for meditation used by the muni to attained enlightenment.

A bunglow opposite the site once belonged to Bhalji Pendharkar and now is owned by the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar. The road further down leads to Kali Buruj which was an effective watch tower of the eastern side of Panhala and Pawangad and which is accessible only by a flight of stairs. On climbing the buruj, one can even now see the circular indentations made to rotate cannons. The road further leads past the Kolhapur Radio Station to the Naagfani Darwaza, called so due to the hooded cobra images carved on either sides of the archway to the door. It was very easy to bombard Panhalgad with cannons from Pawangad which made this side of the fort very weak and hence special care was taken to strengthen this side by building a re-enforcement wall, an underground pathway leads to the base from this very boundary wall.

A cement seat built at the mouth of the underground pathway is the only means of identification. This became an emergency exit, a similar one found at Vishalgad, too. Thus, the Kali Buruj area basically is significant from the angle of warfare. Retracing the way back past Lata Mangeshkar’s bunglow, down the tar road, one comes across a doorway in the wall on the left side which is a must stop to experience the fierce winds blowing off the valley.

The road continues down to the Andhar Baav, the darkened step-well. This is a three storeyed architecture in black stone, the lowest being the well with steps leading down to it while the upper two being spacious rooms with a hidden doorway that led a way out of the fort. There are separate steps from outside, leading to the upper floors of the Andhar Vaav, also known as Shreenagar, where one finds beautifully carved lotuses on the upper curves of the archways. This is a unique architecture wherein one finds plenty of water-supply, emergency hidden exits and living quarters, all rolled into one. The road continues down to the Teen Darwaza, on the right of which one finds the memorial of Shiv Bhakt Bhalji Pendharkar.

There is a tiny Hanuman Temple on the left side of the Teen Darwaza dating back to the Shivaji raj. On entering the Teen Darwaaza with highly carved peocock motifs on its arches, one comes upon an inner courtyard where a long, long time ago in 1673, Shivaji the Great was welcomed into the fort with Dattajipant Waknis and Kondaji Farjand showering gold flowers over him. The courtyard, with its beautiful carvings and magnificent doorways takes you back into the pages of history. The first door, also known as the Konkani Darwaaza leads a way down into the valley with Hanumaan Shilp and Mahadev Appa being two water sources enroute. On entering the courtyard through the Konkani Darwaaza, one finds an underground water cistern named Vishnu Tirth with perennial water supply throughout the year. The only other fort to have such a cistern apart from Panhalgad is the Rohlda Fort.

The neighbouring Gopal Baug is nature lover’s paradise with rare trees and bird life; the samadhis of Daulatrao and Vishwasrao Gaikwad who were sardars during the Chhatrapati’s reign in Karveer are situated in one corner of this beautiful garden. There is a beautifully constructed well in this area. The verdant forest found here is enough to make you forget today’s world. Out of this garden on the left side of the Teen Darwaaza one gets a glimpse of a masjid which was once upon a time used as an ammunition store.

Following the road from Teen Darwaaza to the main entry of the fort, one comes across the majestic statue of Bajiprabhu Deshpande, undoubtedly the crowning glory of Panhalgad who sacrificed his life for swaraj. The statue was made by the famous sculptor, late Ravindra Mistry. Following the road behind this statue, one comes upon the Pusati Buruj, a small pathway adjoining the broken Nandi leading to the Masai Pathara, an elevated tableland. As the elevated part of this tableland was so close to the buruj, subsequently another buruj was built next to the Pusati Buruj with a deep pit between the two thus making this a very strong watch tower which one can climb only through narrow steps on one side. This watch tower situated on the western side of Panhala offers spectacular sunsets and one can enjoy them sitting on the ancient stone seats on top. Climbing down the tower and following the road to the left leads to the Raj dindi which has only its two watch towers left, minus the doors. The hidden exit of the Raj dindi was used by Shivaji Maharaj when he escaped to Vishalgad during the siege of Siddhi Johar. The road left of the Raj dindi leads to the dual faced watch tower, the Dutondi Buruj, called so as it has stairs going up and down on either sides. At a little distance from here is the Daulati Buruj. From the Dutondi Buruj, one ends up straight to the Tabak Udyaan.

One of the most popular tourist spots, The Tabak udyaan can be reached up and down a long flight of steps, through the solid Waagh Darwaaza with beautifully carved Lord Ganesh nestling on the top. The forest department has made a model of Panhala on the left side which keeps many a young one interested. Giant trees with their botanical name plates on them adore this garden where people can relax with their picnic hampers before retracing their steps to the main road and following it to the left that eventually leads to the Sajja Kothi.

Built during the reign of Ibrahim Adilshah, this architecture was known as Sadar-e-mahal and has stood mute testimony to the heartwarming meeting between the great Maratha King Shivaji with his son Sambhaji, fondly called Shambhuraje, on their escape from the clutches of Aurangzeb the Moghul emperor. It was from this very building that Shivaji the Great set out towards Vishalgad to escape from the siege laid by Siddhi Johar the Adlishahi nobleman. Shambhuraje used to manage the administration of Panhala district from this very building. From here one can go straight down to Bajiprabhu Buruj but as the steps leading to this buruj are broken one does need to be a bit adventurous to reach the top. But once there, the view of the surrounding landscape and the dish shaped evergreen garden below called Tabak Udyan so named, as it is shaped like a dish, is breathe taking. As you return from this buruj towards Tabak Udyan, a small pathway on the left off the tarmac road leads down to village Apti. If you walk a distance of five minutes on this path there is another left turn which brings you to the contramure of the fort with a secret doorway but which is completely destroyed today. This outer wall was used as a vantage point for the eastern boundary of the fort. There is a big face carved in this outer wall named Patkoti Mhasoba. One must not miss seeing this excellent carving if you visit the fort.