Akola Fort
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Akola fort (also called Asadgad) along with the
Narnala Narnala Fort or Narnala Killa Sarkar, also known as Shahnoor Fort, is a hill fortress in the Satpura Range of Vidarbh, Maharashtra, India, named after the Rajput Solanki Chaulukya Ruler, Raja Narnal Singh, also known as Narnal Singh Swami. ...
and Akot forts forms the major fortifications of the
Akola district Akola district (Marathi pronunciation: kolaː is a district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city of Akola is the district headquarters. Akola district forms the central part of Amravati Division, which was the former British Raj Ber ...
, Maharashtra, India.


History

The fortress was built in 1697 by Asad Khan, during the reign of Aurangzeb by Asad Khan, from whom the fort took its name (Asadgad). In 1803, Arthur Wellesley camped here before proceeding to win the Battle of Argaon in the
Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War ...
. The fortress was dismantled by the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
in about 1870. It was reported in 1910 in a district gazetteer that the central part of the fort (the ''hawakhana'') was used as a school.


Major features

Akola fort is notable in that it is bereft of any decorative embellishments. There are several inscriptions on the fort. An inscription on the ''Dahi handa'' gate gives its date of construction as 1114 AH (1697 CE)deepak, 'during the reign of emperor Aurangzeb when Nawab Asad Khan was minister.' Another on the Fateh Buruj bastion has no exact date. It too mentions the same minister but a different emperor (Shah Alam). One on the
Eidgah Eidgah or Idgah, also Eid Gah or Id Gah ( fa, "site of Eid bservances; bn, ঈদগাহ; pnb, ; ur, ; hi, ईदगाह) is a term used in South Asian Islamic culture for the open-air enclosure usually outside the city (or at th ...
contains texts and a statement that the building was finished by Khawja Abdul Latif in 1116 AH (1698 CE). On the ''Agarves'' gate an inscription in Marathi reads that Govind Appaji in 1843 CE constructed the fort. The latter statement contradicts all the other inscriptions.


Shri Raj Rajeshwar Mandir

Akola's oldest
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
temple is Rajeshwar Mandir. The Shiv temple was built by Chola Empire king Raj Rajeswar.


Folklore

While King Akolsingh was living in the Asadgad Fort, there is a famous story associated with this payas temple. Every night his queen went to this temple to worship
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
at midnight. Once King Akolsingh thought that his queen was going out at midnight for illicit reasons, so he followed her with a sword; the queen realised that King Akolsingh was following her. She felt gloomy and guilty and went straight to the Shiva temple and pleaded to the god that her husband the king was thinking wrong about her, and that it was insulting that he was having no faith in her loyalty and her character. So she pleaded to be allowed into Shiva's Pind (Shiva
Ling Ling may refer to: Fictional characters * Ling, an ally of James Bond's from the film ''You Only Live Twice'' * Ling, a character in the ''Mulan'' franchise * Ling, a playable character from the mobile game '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'' * Ling ...
) (a stone of God Shiva that is worshipped)". The Shiva ling broke in two parts and the queen jumped in, and then it was closed. The king understood his mistake and could not forgive himself. Still the Shiva ling in this temple has a little crack which is said to corroborate this story. This temple is the bas
aastha
of this Akola city. There are 2 bridges: the first one is the dagadi pool (stone bridge) (also known as 'chota pool' meaning smaller bridge) and the other is lokhand pool (iron bridge) (also known as 'motha pool' meaning bigger bridge). This iron bridge was built at the time of British rule.


See also

List of forts in Maharashtra This is list of forts in Maharashtra a state of India # Achala Fort (Nashik) # Agashi Fort # Ahmednagar Fort # Ahivant Fort # Ajinkyatara # Akola Fort # Akluj Fort # Alang Fort # Ambolgad # Anjaneri # Anjanvel Fort # Ankai Fort # Antur Fo ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akola Fort Forts in Maharashtra Akola district