Gowalkot is a small fort located on the southern bank of

Vashishti River River Vashishti is one of the larger rivers in the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, India. The river begins in the Western Ghats and snakes its way westwards towards the Arabian Sea. Kolkewadi Dam near Alore has a vast reservoir, which feeds a ...

, about from

Chiplun Chiplun ( ͡ʃipɭuːɳ is a city in Ratnagiri district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the financial and commercial Hub of Ratnagiri, and the headquarters of Chiplun taluka. It is about 320 km south of Mumbai in the Konkan ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This fort is guarded by the river on three sides and a trench on the fourth side. Its population which includes

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s, and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

s. According to old natives of Gowalkot, the history of Gowalkot goes back to a King, who was Hindu and finally was converted in Muslim, his surname was "Chougle", and most of the land in Gowalkot is owned by the Chougle family. All other owner of land in Gowalkot must have either received the land as gift r boughtfrom Chougle family must have lost in "kul kaida" a rule by the government.

History

Famous for its ancient fort build by

Siddi The Siddi (), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, or Habshi are an ethnic group inhabiting India and Pakistan. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa and Ethiopia, most whom arrived to ...

Habshi of Janjira in 1690. The Gowalkot Fort covers an area of around two acres. In 1660,

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

Maharaj won this fort and renamed as Govindgad.

Sambhaji Sambhaji Bhosale (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, ruling from 1681 to 1689. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing ...

Maharaj lost this fort to

. In 1736,

Chimaji Appa Chimaji Balaji Bhat was born in a Chitpavan caste family in 1707 and died in 1740, commonly referred to as Appa or Bhau, was the son of Balaji Vishwanath, Balaji Vishwanath Bhat and the younger brother of Baji Rao I, Bajirao Peshwa of Maratha E ...

won this fort by killing Siddi Sat in battle. In this battle Siddhi Sat lost 1300 soldiers and Maratha army lost 800 soldiers. Tulaji Angre/Sarkhel Tulaji, in 1745, captured it from. Later in 1755, Tulaji Angre lost it to the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

and eventually in 1818

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

took control from the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

ships attacked this fort during the Siege of

Dabhol Dabhol (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪aːbʱoɭ, also known as Dabul, is a small seaport town in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra in India. It is located on the northern and southern sides of the Vashishti River, Vashishth ...

Description

The fort is dilapidated at present. This fort is spread over 2 acres of land. There is a temple of goddess Karanjeshwari at the foothills of the fort. However, from within the fort, there are trees, buildings and dwellings and a dry well which is approximately deep. From the top of the small hill on the fort, the most beautiful and stunning glimpse of the smoothly flowing

and the undulating valley is visible. It takes about 1 hour to reach the fort and view all places in the fort. There were about 22 cannons around the fort. The 10 cannons were shifted from the port area to the fort on 29 May 2017 by archeologist from Pune and Chiplun. The longest cannon is 7.5 feet in length. These cannons are British made but, supposed to be used by Maratha army.

References

{{MarathaEmpire Islands of Maharashtra Forts in Maharashtra River islands of India Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire 16th-century forts in India Former populated places in India Hiking trails in India

History

Description

See also

References