Vairagad is a small fort situated in the
Gadchiroli district district of
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, at the confluence of rivers Khobragadhi and Satnalas. The small dusty village of same name is adjacent to the fort. The fort is situated 180 km from
Nagpur and 80 km from
Chandrapur.
History
This village is supposed to have been established in
Dvapara Yuga
''Dvapara Yuga'' ( Dwapara Yuga), in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Treta Yuga'' and followed by ''Kali Yuga''. ''Dvapara Yuga'' lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divine y ...
by a king named Vairacan (Son from a moon family). The city was ruled by the
Mana chiefs, who about the 9th century fell to the
Gonds. The Gonds ruled it along with Garbori and Rajgad. Vairagad once possessed diamond mines and are referred in the
Ain-i-Akbari
The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...
of
Abul Fazal Abul is an Arabic masculine given name. It may refer to:
* Abul Kalam Azad
* Abul A'la Maududi
* Abul Khair (disambiguation), several people
* Abul Abbas (disambiguation), several people
* Abul Hasan
* Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi
* Abu'l-Fazl ibn ...
. On a hill at the foot were supposed to be a mine, now an old
Idgah, and 108
Musalman
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 Abraham ...
tombs which appear to be of those soldiers killed in the battle when
Ahmad Shah Bahamani of
Bahmani Sultanate
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, raided Vairagad around 1422. In 1925 the fort was declared as protected monument
Places to visit
The fortress lies north of the village spread over a area. There are three gates at the entrance of the fort. A river moat (Khandak) nearly deep runs around the fort. There are many wells inside the fort. The step well with two arches, still containing water, is in a ruined state. there are two rectangular wells with large stone coverings. Presently the Archeology dept artment has taken up work of reconstruction of the main entrance. Outside the fort proper is the tomb of the Gond Prince Durga Sah and a grave of unknown English Girl who is believed to be the daughter of a British commandant of the garrison between 1818 and 1830.
[https://cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/CHANDRAPUR/places_Wairagadh.html]
About a mile from the fort stands a small temple of Bhandareshwar similar in style to the
Markandeya Temple.
See also
*
List of forts in Maharashtra
*
Gadchiroli
Gallery
Vairagad2.jpg, Main entrance gate
Ruins of Vairagad Fort Wall.jpg, Ruins inside the fort
Vairagad4.jpg, Rectangular well
Vairagad5.jpg, Bastion
References
{{Forts in India
Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire
16th-century forts in India
Forts in Vidarbha
Forts in Maharashtra