Shaniwarwada gate.JPG
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Shaniwar Wada is a historical fortification in the city of Pune, India. Built in 1732, it was the great seat of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire until 1818. Following the rise of the Maratha Empire, the palace became the center of Indian politics in the 18th century. The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, but the surviving structures are now maintained as a tourist site.


History

The Shaniwar Wada was normally the seven-story capital building of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire. It was supposed to be made entirely of stone but after the completion of the base floor or the first story, the people of Satara (the national capital) complained to the Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj(King) saying that a stone monument can be sanctioned and built only by the king himself and not the Peshwas. Following this, an official letter was written to the Peshwas stating that the remaining building had to be made of brick and not stone. Even today if you visit and see the walls carefully, they are partly made of stone and partly by bricks. The Wada was then completed and upon being attacked by the British Artillery 90 years later, all the top six stories collapsed leaving only the stone base, which was immune to the British artillery. Hence only the stone base of the Shaniwar Wada remains and can be seen even today in the older parts of Pune. By 1758, at least a thousand people lived in the fort. In 1773,
Narayanrao Narayanrao Bhat (10 August 1755 – 30 August 1773) was the 10th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy from November 1772 until his assassination in August 1773. He married Gangabai Sathe who later gave birth to Sawai Madhavrao. Early life Narayanra ...
, who was the fifth and ruling Peshwa then, was murdered by guards on orders of his uncle
Raghunathrao Raghunathrao Bhat (a.k.a. Ragho Ballal or Ragho Bharari) (18 August 1734 – 11 December 1783) was the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire for a brief period from 1773 to 1774. He was known among the Hindus for his extremely successful North-west ...
and aunt
Anandibai Anandibai was a Peshwa Queen and the wife of Raghunathrao, the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. In August 1773, she successfully plotted the death of her nephew, the 17-year-old Peshwa Narayanrao. Her husband was acting regent at the time and n ...
. A popular legend has it that Narayanrao's ghost still calls for help on full moon nights. Various people, working around the area, have allegedly reported the cries of "Kaka mala vachava"(Uncle, save me) by Narayanrao Peshwa after his death. In June 1818, the Peshwa,
Bajirao II Shrimant Peshwa Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851) was the 13th and the last Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He governed from 1795 to 1818. He was installed as a puppet ruler by the Maratha nobles, whose growing power prompted him ...
, abdicated his ''Gaadi'' (throne) to Sir John Malcolm of the British East India Company and went into political exile at Bithoor, near
Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...
in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. On 27 February 1828, a great fire started inside the palace complex. The conflagration raged for seven days. Only the heavy granite ramparts, strong teak gateways and deep foundations and ruins of the buildings within the fort survived. According to Haricharitramrutsagar, a biographical text of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, he had visited Shaniwarwada on the insistence of Bajirao II in 1799.


Construction

Peshwa
Baji Rao I Baji Rao I (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740), born as Visaji, also known as Bajirao Ballal (Pronunciation: ad͡ʒiɾaːʋ bəlːaːɭ, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he defeated Nizam-ul-M ...
, prime minister to
Chattrapati Shahu Chhatrapati Shahu Bhosale I (Pronunciation: aːɦuː CE) was the fifth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Born into the Bhonsle family, he was the son of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj ...
, laid the ceremonial foundation of his own residence on Saturday, 10 January 1730. It was named ''Shaniwar Wada'' from the Marathi words ''Shaniwar'' (Saturday) and ''Wada'' (a general term for any residence complex). Teak was imported from the jungles of Junnar, stone was brought from the nearby quarries of
Chinchwad Chinchwad is an upscale, affluent locality in the city of Pune, India. The neighbourhood is home to extensive industry and is well known for its automotive, pharmaceutical, electrical, cons. products, electronics & hardware, aerospace and manuf ...
, and Lime (mineral) was brought from the lime-belts of
Jejuri Jejuri (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʒed͡zuɾiː is a city and a municipal council in the Pune district of Maharashtra, India. The town has an important mandir to the Hindu Lord Khandoba, the Khandoba Mandir, which is one of the most visited ...
. Shaniwarwada was completed in 1732, at a total cost of Rs. 16,110, a very large sum at that time. The opening ceremony was performed according to religious customs, on 22 January 1732, another Saturday chosen for being a particularly auspicious day. Later the Peshwas made several additions, including the fortification walls, with bastions and gates; court halls and other buildings; fountains and reservoirs. Currently, the perimeter fortification wall has five gateways and nine bastion towers, enclosing a garden complex with the foundations of the original buildings. It is situated near the Mula-Mutha River, in
Kasba Peth Kasba Peth in the Marathi language, is mostly used in Maharashtra. Its general key term is for "locality" in English. This term is currently used in Indian cities, for example cities like Pune, Solapur, Madhavnagar, Karad, Ahmednagar Ahmedn ...
.


Fort complex


Gates

Shaniwar Wada has five gates: * ''Delhi Darwaza'' :The ''Delhi Darwaza'' is the main gate of the complex, and faces north towards Delhi. Infact, Shaniwar Wada is the only fort structure in India to have its main gate facing Delhi, the mideaval imperial capital of Mughal Empire. Even
Chhatrapati Shahu Chhatrapati Shahu Bhosale I (Pronunciation: aːɦuː CE) was the fifth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Born into the Bhonsle family, he was the son of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj ...
is said to have considered the north-facing fort an indication of Baji Rao's ambitions against the Mughal Empire, and suggested that the main gate should be made of ''chhaatiiche, maatiche naahi!'' (
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 "of the chests of brave soldiers, not made of mud"). :The strongly built ''Delhi Darwaza'' gatehouse has massive doors, large enough to admit elephants outfitted with howdahs (seating canopies). To discourage elephants charging the gates, each pane of the gate has seventy-two sharp twelve-inch steel spikes arranged in a nine by eight grid, at approximately the height of the forehead of a battle-elephant. Each pane was also fortified with steel cross members, and borders were bolted with steel bolts having sharpened cone heads. The bastions flanking the gatehouse has arrow-loops and
machicolation A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at t ...
chutes through which boiling oil could be poured onto offending raiders. The right pane has a small man-sized door for usual entries and exits, too small to allow an army to enter rapidly. Shaniwar Wada was built by a contractor from Rajasthan known as 'Kumawat' belongs to Vadar Sub-caste, after completing construction they were given the name 'Naik' by the Peshwa. :Even if the main gates were to be forced open, a charging army would need to turn sharply right, then sharply left, to pass through the gateway and into the central complex. This would provide a defending army with another chance to attack the incoming army, and to launch a counterattack to recapture the gateway. :As the ceremonial gate of the fort, military campaigns would set out from and be received back here, with appropriate religious ceremonies. * ''Mastani Darwaza'' (Mastani's Gate) or ''Aliibahadur Darwaja'', facing north :This gate was the entrance leading to Bajirao I's wife Mastani's palace and was used by her while travelling out of the palace's perimeter wall. *''Khidki Darwaza'' (Window Gate), facing east :The ''Khidki Darwaja'' is named for an armoured window it contains. *''Ganesh Darwaza'' ( Ganesh Gate), facing south-east :Named for the Ganesh Rang Mahal, which used to stand near this door. It was used by ladies at the fort to visit the nearby
Kasba Ganapati The Kasba Ganapati refers to both a particular murti of the god Ganapati in Pune, India, as well as to the temple built around the murti. The Kasba Ganapati is the presiding deity ( gramadevata) of Pune. History The temple was commissioned by ...
temple. *''Jambhul Darwaza'' or ''Narayan Darwaja'' (Narayan's Gate), facing south :This gate was used by concubines to enter and leave the fort. It obtained its second name after
Narayanrao Peshwa Narayanrao Bhat (10 August 1755 – 30 August 1773) was the 10th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy from November 1772 until his assassination in August 1773. He married Gangabai Sathe who later gave birth to Sawai Madhavrao. Early life Narayanra ...
's corpse was removed from the fort for cremation through this gate.


Palaces

The important buildings in the palace includes the ''Thorlya Rayancha Diwankhana'' (Marathi:The court reception hall of the eldest royal, meaning Baji Rao I), ''Naachacha Diwankhana'' (Dance Hall), and ''Juna Arsa Mahal'' (Old Mirror Hall). Since the buildings were destroyed in the fire of 1828, only descriptions of the living areas of the fort are available. All the state halls in the buildings are said to have doorways with exquisitely carved teak arches, with ornamental teardrop teak pillars shaped like ''Suru'' (
cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...
tree) trunks supporting the ceilings, which were covered with beautiful teak tracery, carved creepers and flowers. Exquisite glass chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The floors were made of highly polished marble, arranged in a mosaic pattern and adorned with rich
Persian rug A Persian carpet ( fa, فرش ایرانی, translit=farš-e irâni ) or Persian rug ( fa, قالی ایرانی, translit=qâli-ye irâni ),Savory, R., ''Carpets'',(Encyclopaedia Iranica); accessed January 30, 2007. also known as Iranian ...
s. The walls contained paintings with scenes from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The buildings are said to have been designed and constructed by well-known artisans, including Shivaram Krishna, Devaji Sutar, Kondaji Sutar, Morarji Patharwat Bhojraja (an inlay-work expert from Jaipur) and Ragho (a painter). It is said that the Shaniwarwada complex was seven storeys high. On the top floor was the residence of the Peshwa which was called Meghadambari. It is said that the spire of Jñāneśvar temple at Alandi, 17 km away, could be seen from there.


The Fountain

The complex had an impressive
lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
-shaped fountain: the ''Hazari Karanje'' (Fountain of a thousand jets). It was constructed for the pleasure of the infant
Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao Madhav Rao Bhat II (18 April 1774 – 27 October 1795) was the 12th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire in India, from his infancy. He was known as Sawai Madhav Rao or Madhav Rao Narayan. He was the posthumous son of Narayanrao Peshwa, murdered in 1773 ...
. It was designed as a sixteen petal lotus; each petal had sixteen jets with an eighty-foot arch. It was the most complicated and intricate fountain of its time. Shrimant Anandrao Rudrajirao Dhulap-More (an admiral of Maratha navy in 18th century) who visited the Shaniwarwada in 1791 described it as "very magnificent. A hundred dancers can dance here at a time. In one corner is a marble
Ganapati Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu de ...
statue and the palace is flanked by a fountain and a flower garden.".


Popular culture

*In 2008, Shaniwar Wada was featured on ''
The Amazing Race Asia 3 ''The Amazing Race Asia 3'' is the third season of ''The Amazing Race Asia'', a reality television game show based on the American series ''The Amazing Race''. The third installment of the show features ten teams of two with a pre-existing relat ...
''. In the game show, one participant from each team of two had to find the correct
pheta Pheta ( mr, फेटा) is the Marathi language, Marathi name for the distinctive traditional turban worn in Maharashtra, India. In ceremonies such as Indian wedding, weddings, as well as festive, cultural, and religious celebration, it is co ...
(turban) from among those worn by 50 men within the Wada. *It was featured in 2014 Marathi historical drama '' Rama Madhav''. *Shaniwar Wada featured in the 2015 Hindi historical film '' Bajirao Mastani''. *Shaniwar Wada featured in the 2019 Hindi historical film ''
Panipat Panipat () is a historic city in Haryana, India. It is 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on List of National Highways in India, NH-1. The three major battles fought in First Battle of Panipat, 1526, Second Battle of ...
''. *Shaniwar Wada featured in 2019 Marathi TV Series Swamini on Colors Marathi where grand set of Shaniwar wada was constructed in Mumbai Film City.


See also

* New Palace, Kolhapur of the
Bhonsle The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest a ...
Chhatrapati 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 ...
s * Laxmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara of the Gaekwads * Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior of the
Scindias The Scindia dynasty (anglicized from Shinde) is a Hindu Maratha dynasty of maratha origin that ruled the erstwhile State of Gwalior. It had the Patil-ship of Kumberkerrab in Wai. It was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who started as a personal servan ...
*
Bhor Rajwada Bhor Rajwada () (also known as Bhor Palace) is a historical palace and a royal residence at Bhor in the Maharashtra state of India. It was the official residence and the seat of the Rajas of the Princely State of Bhor. The Bhor Rajwada palace is ...
of
Pant Sachiv The Gandekars (prominently known as The Pant Sachiv family) are the royal family of erstwhile Bhor State, who were rulers of the Bhor State from 1699 to 1948 Previously they served as Sachivs to Chhatrapatis of Maratha Empire and later becam ...
s * Rajwada, Indore of Holkars * Thanjavur Maratha palace of the
Bhonsle The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest a ...
s * List of forts in Maharashtra


References


External links

*https://www.greatravellers.com/2019/08/top-5-places-to-visit-in-mumbai.html Top 5 Places to visit in Mumbai *https://lifeonweekends.com/2017/02/08/the-burnt-broken-shaniwarwada-pune/ The burnt & broken: Shaniwarwada, Pune {{Coord, 18, 31, 8.67, N, 73, 51, 19.62, E, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1732 Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire Royal residences in India Palaces in Maharashtra Forts in Pune district Tourist attractions in Pune History of Pune Buildings and structures in Pune Reportedly haunted locations in India