Kille Mahur

Mahur village, also called Mahor, is 40 kms north-west of Kinwat town in Handed district in the Marathawada division of Maharashtra.  Earlier Mahur was a big city and a Suba of southern Berar.  Situated on an eastern branch of Sahyadri Mountains, the hill fort here is very old and exists at least from the time of the Yadavas.  It was subsequently occupied by many powers - the Gonds, the Bahamanis, the Adilshani and the Nizamshahi rulers and finally the Mughals and their vassals.  The fort on its three sides is girded by the Painganga River.

The fort built on top of two adjoining hills, was protected by walls, ramparts and bastions.  It had two main gateways - one on the southern side and the other on the northern side.  The northern gate is still in a reasonably good condition, and so is its southern rampart nearly five metres wide.  The fort had a palace, a mosque, a granary, an armoury, etc., now all in ruins.  At the centre of the fort, there is a big tank call Ijalatalav.

Being situated on the main route from the north to the Deccan, Mahur has a long history.  There is evidence to show that Mahur, ancient Matapur, was an important place at the time of the Satavahanas and the Rashtrakutas.  The Renuka temple on an adjoining hill was built by the Yadavas.  After remaining with the Gond rulers for sometime, Mahur passed on to the Bahamanis in the 15th century and was made a Suba.  In the 16th century, Mahur, being strategically placed at their centre, faced a lot of fire from the infighting between the Nizamshahi, Adilshahi and Imadshahi rulers.  Then in the early 17th century, Mahur became a part of the Mughal Empire and came to be ruled by their Subedars.  When Shahjahan rebelled against his father Jahangir, he took refuge in the Mahur fort along with his wife and children, including 6 years old Aurangzeb.

About 2kms from Mahur bus-stand, there are two Elephant type (situated on an island near Mumbai) rock-cut caves of the Rashtrakuta period.

Pictures: Remains of rampart and a bastion on the South-Western side of the Mahur fort, and its northern gate ‘Hathi Darwaja’ (inset).  Behind the bastion, on another hill, is the Renuka temple.

Ballalpur, Chandrapur and Manikgarh Forts

Situated in Chandrapur (old Chanda) district of Maharashtra, all the three forts are of tribal origin.  Ballalpur, now known for its coal mines and paper mills, is 16kms south-eat of Chandrapur, the district headquarters, Ballalpur was the capital of the Good king Khandakya Ballalshah during 1437-62 AD.  The land fort that he built here on the eastern bank of the Wardha River is square in shape with walls and bastions.  There are still two intact gates set at right angle to each other.  There is also a small postern gate on the river side.  The fort walls are still intact, but all the old buildings are in total ruins.

The credit for establishing Chandrapur also goes to Khandakya Ballalshah.  When the capital was shifted from Ballalpur to Chandrapur, the Ballal kings built here an extensive land fort with high walls and bastions.  The fort had at its four cardinal points four impressive gates.  The original buildings have vanished, but the gates and a portion of the wall still exists.  Chandrapur was annexed by Raghuji Bhosale of Nagpur in the middle of the 18th century.  Finally the fort was captured by the Britishers in 1818 AD.  Now an industrial town, Chandrapur is also famous for it s old Mahakali temple.

Manikgarh, made famous by a newly established cement factory near by, is about 35kms south-west of Chandrapur.  Built by tribal Naga kings in the 9th century, the Manigarh hill fort stands at the height of 507 metres above sea-level.  It was strongly fortified with walls and bastions.  There were several tanks and buildings inside the fort.  Today, the fort is in complete ruins and has become a sanctuary for wild animals.  A pukka road through a dense forest leads very close to the gateway of the fort.  Nearby is an old temple of Vishnu.

Pictures: The Wardha river-side rampart and bastion of the Ballalpur for (above, left).  The main gate of the Ballalpur for from inside (above, right).  The ruined gate-way of the Manikgarh hill fort (below, left).  A portion of the rampart of the Chandrapur fort (below, right).

Ahmadnagar Fort

One of the most well planned and strongly built, the Ahamadnagar land fort is situated in the centre of the cantonment in the eastern part of the city.  Oval in shape, the fort is about 1.70km in circumference and is strengthened by 24 bastions.  It is surrounded by a moat, now dry, about 30 metres wide and 4 to 6 metres deep, and beyond it there is a wooded glacis.  The massive curtain wall, built of cut stone masonry, rises above 25 metres from the bottom of the ditch.  The two entrances to the fort could be reached only after crossing the moat over the suspension drawn bridges.  Inside the fort there are some old and new buildings, fairly in good condition.  Presently the fort is under Indian military command.

The Ahamadnagar fort was built by Husain Nizam Shah in 1559 AD.  The fort was besieged by the vast Mughal army in 1596 AD, but the garrison led by Chandbibi valiantly defied the attack for four months and the Mughals had to beat a retreat.   In the next attack in 1600 AD, the fort was captured by Akbar.  It remained with the Mughals till 1759 Ad, when it was sold to Sadashiv Bhau, the cousin of the third Peshwa.  In 1797 AD, the fort was assigned to Daulatrao Shinde, from whom it was captured by General Welleslay in August, 1803.  Finally under the Treaty of Pune (June, 1817 AD) the fort was handed over to the British by Bajirav Peshwa II.

The Ahamadnagar fort was often used as royal prison, both by the Marathas and the British, Nana Phadnis, who was instrumental in imprisoning many Martha noblemen in this fort was himself locked up in the fort by Daulatrao Shinde.  During the Quit India Movement of 1942, the entire Congress Working Committee was detained here.  Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru wrote his famous work Discovery of India while in confinement at the Ahamadnagar fort.

Pictures: The main entrance to the Ahamadnagar for with its two gateways placed at right angles (above).  The outer gate (only is upper half) is on the left side and the inner gate is the front one.  A water-outlet on the left wall of the inner gate with a sculpture of a tiger trampling on an elephant (insert, above).  A portion of the massive wall of the fort with a bastion, the most on the left is grown with babul and other trees (below).

Pauni and Nagardhan Fort

Pauni, in Bhandara district, is 82kms south-east of Nagpur.  The present town, about three kms south-west of the Wainganga River, is engirdled by medieval fortifications embellished by imposing gateways, of which those situate to the west are almost intact.  The majestic fortifications, which at some places are extant to a height of about 20 metres, were encircled by a moat of about 20 metres in width.  The ancient moat has now turned into a small seasonal lake and is called Balasamudra.  The fort was constructed by the Gond ruler Bakht Buland in the early 18th century and was taken over by Raghuji Bhosale I around 1710 AD.

Pauni, an ancient place, has yielded the relics of one of the greatest Stupas of India and definite evidence of a flourishing Buddhist establishment.  The Pauni rampart has yielded the copper plate grant of Pravarasena II of the Vakatakas who ruled over this region.  So it is possible that the clay of the rampart goes back to a period much earlier than the medieval.

Nagardhan, ancient Nandivardhan, the first capital of the Vakatakas, is 34 kms northeast of Nagpur and about 5kms south of Ramtek, famous for its fortified hill temple.

The present land for at Nagardhan, probably built by Raghuji Bhosale I around 1740 AD, must have served the purpose of guarding the eastern approaches to Napur.  Square in shape, it has an outer rampart with bastions and had an inner wall surrounding the buildings.  The main gate, still in good condition, is on the north-west side.  In the fort there is a temple below the ground level and the idol is placed on a ledge of a well like structure.

Not far away from the present for there is a place where big sized bricks of ancient periods are often discovered.  This is said to be a site of the capital-cum fort of the Vakatakas.

Pictures: A distant view of the Pauni fort with the ancient moat, now turned into a seasonal lake (above).  Wide rampart and high parapet of the fort (inset).  Front wall with a bastion and the main gate of the Nagardhan fort (below).  The main gate (inset).

Narnala, Akola and Achalpur Forts

Narnala fort, standing upon an isolated hill of the Satpuda range, is 18kms north of Akot, a taluka town in Akola district.  It is 973 metres above sea-level and consists of three distinct hill forts: Jafarabad in the north-east, Narnala, the principal fort, in the centre,and Teliagarh in the south-west.  It was protected by a curtain wall about 9 metres high with 67 bastions and six large gates.  The Shahnur or “Mahakali” gate, built by Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk in 1487 AD, is not notable example of Sultanate architecture.  The white sandstone gateway has Arabic inscriptions on it and is flanked upon on either side by galleries and rooms, probably for guards, but the most striking feature of the gateway is the overhanging balconied windows, two on either side.  Within the fort are a number of tanks and cisterns, large cannon, known as nau-gazi top, and old palace, an armoury, a baradari, a mosque and other buildings, all in ruins.

According to tradition a very old fort, Narnala was repaired by Ahmad Shah Bahamani around 1425 AD, and in 1487 AD it came under the control of Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk, the founder of Imadshahi at Ellichpur, now called Achalpur.  During Akbar’s rule.  Narnala was a Suba. Narnala was captured by Parsoji Bhosale I in 1701 AD and remained with the Marathas till it was taken over by the British in 1803 AD.

The history of Achalpur, formerly known as Ellichpur, could well be said to be history of Vidarbha (Berar) itself.  Nawab Sultan Khan, the first of his dynasty, built the fort at Sultanapura in Achalpur on the south the bank of the Sarpan River in about 1754 AD.  Much of the part of the fort is now in completely dilapidated condition.  The city was fortified by Sultan Khan’s son Ismail Khan by a huge and solid rampart wall of masonry with four gates.  Most of the fortifications and the gates are still intact.

Pictures: The Shahnur or Mahakali gate of the Narnala fort (above, left).  The overhanging balconied windows on the left flank of the Mahakali gate (above, right).  The remaining high tower of the Akola fort (below, left).  A gate flanked by two bastions of the Achalpur fort (below, right)

Tryambak and Chakan Forts

Tryambak or Brahmagath hill fort, overlooking the holy temple of Tryambakeshwar, is 32kms south-west of Nasik town.  The fort was built on a high hill with steep scarps to its each face.  Besides, it was fortified by walls and bastions.  There are only two gateways.  The main southern access is through the steep steps (about 300 in numbers) cut out of a near vertical scarp and passing through rock cut gates.  The northern access is through only a single gate approached by a narrow passage with steps cut from the rock.  The fort is now in ruins.  From the top of Tryambak, one can have grand view of the Harihar, Anjaneri and a few other hill forts.

Being in the category of Devagiri, Tryambak fort seems to be of Rashtrakuta-Yadava origin.  After the Yadavas (1271AD) it was occupied by the Nizamshahi sultans, the Mughals and the Marathas.  Tryambak and its cluster of forts provided cover to upper Konkan and so was of strategic importance.  In 1818 AD, when Tryambak was taken over by the British with a tough fight, the surrounding forts surrendered without any resistance.  The river Godavari originates from the Tryambak hill.

Chakan village and its landfort is 29kms north of Pune. Nearly square, the fort was protected by a strong wall with bastions and corner towers surrounded by a moat.  There was also an inner wall.  The fort is now in ruins.

The Chakan for is quite old and was occupied by several powers.  An Abyssinian chief is said to have made the first fortification in 1295 AD.  In 1595 AD.  It was given in jagirto Shivaji’s grandfather, Maloji Bhosale.  An important event occurred here when the fort was captured by Shaista Khan in 1660 AD. Being on the shortest route from Ahmadnagar to Konkan, Chakan was a place of great strategic importance.  The fort was captured from the Marathas by the British in 1818 AD.

Suvarnadurg Fort

The island fort of Suvarnadurg stands close to Harne in Ratnagiri Distric, a natural harbour famous for fishing and its marketing.  A very strong fort, its walls are cut out of solid rock and the ramparts are raised by using huge square blocks.  No mortar was used in the walls.  The fort has many bastions and a postern gated on the western side.  The hidden main gate opens towards the east.  It has on its threshold a carved figure of a tortoise and on the side wall, that of Maruti (Hanuman).  Inside the fort there were several buildings, water tanks and a place for ordinance.  All the buildings are now in ruins.

The fort was probably built by the Bijapur kings in the 17th century.  Captured and strengthened by Shivaji, it became a stronghold of Maratha navy and remained with the Peshwas till 1818 AD.  It was one of the main naval bases of the Angres.

Gova, Kanakadurg and Fatehgarh forts on the mainland are separated from Suvarnadurg by a narrow channel.  The small Gova fort was stronger than the other two.  It has two gates, one towards the land and another towards the sea.  On the wall of the sea-gate there are carved figures of a tiger, eagle and elephants.  The old buildings inside the fort are in ruins.

Kanakadurg has the sea on three sides.  Nothing remains of the fort, except two broken bastions.  There is a light at its higher point.  Fatehgarh is in complete ruin.  Most probably, these three small forts were built by Kanhoji Angre (1667-1729AD) to protect Suvarnadurg from the land route.

Pictures: A distant view of Suvarnadurg from the Gova fort (above), and a wall with a bastions of the Gova fort (below).