Torna Fort, also known as Prachandagad, is a large fort located in

Pune district Pune district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uɳeː is the most populous district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The district's population was 9,429,408 in the 2011 census, making it the fourth most populous district amongst I ...

, in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

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 ...

. It is historically significant because it was the first fort captured by

Chhatrapati 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 Adilsh ...

in 1646, at the age of 16. The hill has an elevation of above sea level, making it the highest hill-fort in the district. The name derives from ''Prachanda'' (

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

for huge or massive) and ''gad'' (

for fort).

History

This fort is believed to have been constructed by the Shiva Panth in the 13th century. A Menghai Devi temple, also referred to as the Tornaji temple, is situated near the entrance of the fort. Malik Ahmed, a

Bahamani The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,

ruler, captured this fort during the reign of

Alauddin Khilji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...

during the late 1470s. In 1646, Shivaji captured this fort at the age of sixteen , thus making it one of the first forts that would become one of the forts of the Maratha empire. Shivaji renamed the fort ' 'Prachandagad' ' as ''Torna'', and constructed several monuments and towers within it. In the 18th century, the

Mughal empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

briefly gained control of this fort after the assassination of Shivaji's son Sambhaji raje.

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

, the then Mughal emperor, renamed this fort ''Futulgaib'' in recognition of the difficult defense the Mughals had to overcome to capture this fort. It was restored to the

Maratha confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

by the Treaty of Purandar.

Location

The fort is about 50 km via Pabe ghat southwest of

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

in the Western Ghats of the Sahyadri mountain ranges at the base village

Velhe Velhe taluka (''Vēlhē tālukā''), is a taluka in Haveli subdivision of Pune district of state of Maharashtra in India. See also *Mangdari Mangdari is a village in Velhe Taluka in the Pune District of Maharashtra, India. Geography Mangdar ...

. One can go from Pune via Satara road and take right at Nasarapur village. This distance is near about 65 km. It is the highest fort in Pune district.

Tourism

The Torna Fort is a popular destination for trekkers specially after the

south-west monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

, from September to December. Staying at fort isn't allowed as per orders of District Collector, everyone is asked to leave the fort after 5:00pm. The Raigad,

Lingana Location Lingana is a 2969 feet high pinnacle on the mainline of the Sahyadris between Raigad and Torna. It is in the Mahad Taluka of Raigad district and is 35 km from Mahad town. It takes its name from its shape which is like a linga. T ...

Rajgad Rajgad (literal meaning ''Ruling Fort'') is a Hill region fort situated in the Pune district of Maharashtra, India. Formerly known as ''Murumdev'', the fort was the first capital of the Maratha Empire under the rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji for ...

, Purandar fort,

Sinhagad Sinhagad is an ancient hill fortress located at around 49 km southwest of the city of Pune, India. Previously known as ''Kondhana'', the fort had been the site of many battles, most notably the Battle of Sinhagad in 1670. The Sinhagad ...

are seen from Torna.

Gallery

File:Kille torna zunjar machi.jpg, Torna fort with the ''zunjar machi'' fortification on right File:069torna2.jpg, File:Entrance Torna Fort.JPG, File:Torna Entrance.JPG, File:Torna_Fort_Walls.JPG, Fort Walls File:Maharaja Shivaji.jpg, Statue of

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 ...

near fort File:Zunzar Machi at Torna.jpg, Zunzar Machi at Torna File:Budhla Machi.jpg, Budhla Machi at Torna File:Torna From Zunzar Machi.jpg, Torna From Zunzar Machi File:Way to Torna.jpg, Way to Torna File:Torna from Budhla Machi.jpg, Torna from Budhla Machi File:Way to Rajgad from Torna.jpg, Way to

from Torna

References

{{Forts in Maharashtra Forts in Pune district