Tulapur is a village in

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 ...

district,

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, associated with the last moments of

Sambhaji Maharaj 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 ...

, second Chatrapati of Hindavi Swarajya and son of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

History

Tulapur has great significance in Maratha history.

Chatrapati Sambhaji Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit language.The word ‘Chhatrapati’ is a Sanskrit language compound word (tatpurusha in Sanskrit) of ''Chatra (umbrella), chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). Th ...

was brought to Tulapur to be tortured and executed after he was captured by Mughal forces. Chatrapati Sambhaji was originally captured in Sangameshwar, a renowned Hindu holy place in Ratnagiri, about 40 miles west of Shrirangpur in Western India. Note: The Sangameshwar temple located at Tulapur should not be confused with the place called

Sangameshwar Sangameshwar Taluka is a taluka in Ratnagiri subdivision of Ratnagiri district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The headquarters for the taluka is the town of Devrukh.The headquarters was moved from the village of Sangameshwar to Devrukh in 1 ...

. Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj had recently visited Shrirangpur to resolve a family dispute before arriving at Sangameshwar. Ganoji Shirke led Sheikh Nizam Hyderabadi (later known as Muqarrab Khan, a title bestowed by

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 ...

) through dense and inaccessible Sayadari jungles via Ambay ghat in order to ambush and arrest Chatrapati Sambhaji.Ishwardas Nagar Futuh-i-Alamgiri Sambhaji could have easily escaped with the early warning of the arrival of Mogul forces by his spies. Sambhaji also had better horses, and could outrun the enemy forces who were exhausted from their approach through the hills and passages of Sayadari. Some of his forces safely retreated to Raigad on his advice. However, it is unknown why he stayed and fought with such a small force. A place with more than 360 ancient Hindu temples. Sambhaji was a great devout of Lord Shiva and was paying his respects at the holiest place. The false propaganda was to malign him for political gains by his enemies. When humiliated before Aurangzeb, Sambhaji Mahraj was singing praises of Lord Shiva , thus affirming the fact that his presence at the holy place was for religious purposes only. He thoroughly fell in trance with Lord Shiva before capture, not very uncommon among devotees visiting Sangameshwar for pilgrimage.

Geography

Tulapur is about 40 Kilometres north-east of Pune. It is situated at the confluence of the

Bhima In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The ''Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. Af ...

and

Indrayani Indrayani is a village and former Village Development Committee that is now part of Shankharapur Municipality in Kathmandu District in Province No. 3 of central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread ...

rivers and was originally known as 'Nagargaon'. The Sangameshwar temple built on their banks is a popular site for tourists and devotees. The

Samādhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditation, meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ash ...

at Vadhu was unattended to until recently. It is now being renovated. Kavi Kalash's samadhi is also present at Vadhu. A Samadhi of Sambhaji is situated at Tulapur as well. It is disputed as to where exactly he was cremated, with a group of historians asserting that he was cremated at Tulapur itself and not at Vadhu. Nonetheless, both these places have their equal share in Maratha history.

Gallery

File:Tulapur arch.jpg, Stone arch at Tulapur confluence under which Sambhaji was executed File:Public_noticeboard_at_tulapur.JPG, Talks about the historic event (September 12, 1633) at Tulapur File:sangameshwar_tulapur.JPG, Sangameshwar at Tulapur, confluence of rivers File:Samadhi of Sambhaji Maharaj.jpg, Samadhi of Kavi Kalash at Tulapur File:Temple of Sambhaji.jpg, Samadhi of Sambhaji File:Chhatrapati sambhaji maharaj samadhi vadu.jpg, Sambhaji's and Kavi Kalash's Samadhi(Mausoleum) at Vadhu

References

{{MarathaEmpire Maratha Empire 17th-century Indian monarchs Hindu martyrs Villages in Pune district