Shivneri Fort (''known as Killa'') (Marathi pronunciation:
">�iÊ‹neɾiË is an ancient military
fortification
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
located near
Junnar in
Pune district in
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. It is the birthplace of
Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of
Maratha Kingdom.
History
Shivneri got its name as it was under the possession of the
Yadavas of Devagiri. This fort was mainly used to guard the old trading route from
Desh to the port city of
Kalyan. The place passed on to the
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...
after the weakening of
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries. during the 15th century and it then passed on to the
Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the 16th century. In 1595, a Maratha chief named
Maloji Bhosale
Maloji Bhonsale ( 1552 – 1605) was a Maratha chief (''Sardar'') who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. He was the father of Shahaji and the grandfather of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha kingdom.
Early life
Maloji was born in 1552 to ...
, the grandfather of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was ennobled by the Ahmadnagar Sultan,
Bahadur Nizam Shah and he gave him Shivneri and
Chakan. Shivaji maharaj was born at the fort on 19 February 1630, and spent his childhood there. Inside the fort is a small temple dedicated to goddess Shivai Devi (some accounts gives us information that name shivaji came from the name of the fort i.e. Shivneri), after whom
Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
was named. The English traveller Fraze visited the fort in 1673 and found it invincible. According to his accounts, the fort was well-stocked to feed thousand families for seven years. The fort came under the control of the
British rule in 1819 after the
Third Anglo-Maratha War.
In 2021, it was added to the
tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee as part of "Serial Nomination of Maratha Military Architecture in Maharashtra".
Architecture
Shivneri Fort is a hill fort having a triangular shape and has its entrance from the South-west side of the hill. Apart from the main gate there is an entrance to the fort from side called locally as ''the chain gate'', where in one has to hold chains to climb up to the fort gate. The fort extends up to with seven spiral well-defended gates. There are mud walls all around the fort. Inside the fort, the major buildings are the prayer hall, a tomb and a mosque.
There is an overhanging where executions took place.
There are many gates structures protecting this fort. Maha Darvaja is one of the many gates of the fort. Its also called the origin of Tune.
At the centre of the fort is a water pond which is called 'Badami Talav', and to the south of this pond are statues of
Rajmata Jijabai and a young Shivaji raje. In the fort there are two water springs, called
Ganga and
Yamuna
The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...
, which have water throughout the year. Two kilometers away from this fort there are the Buddhist rock-cut caves, called
Lenyadri caves, which is also one of
Ashtavinayak temple in Maharashtra. It has been declared as a protected monument.
Access
The nearest town
Junnar is a taluka place and is well connected by road. Junnar is about 90 km from
Pune
Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
. The fort is at about 2–3 km from the junnar town. It is easy to reach the fort top via main entrance; however, the trekkers with proper climbing equipment can try the chain route which is located on the western scarp of the fort. From the top of the fort,
Narayangad,
Hadsar,
Chavand and Nimgiri forts can easily be seen.
Image:MainEntranceGate.jpg, Entrance Gate
File:Shivneri pic2.jpg, Stairs Leading to Shivneri Fort
File:Shivneri.pic.jpg, Mandir at Shivneri Fort
File:Shivneripic5.jpg, Sideview of Shivneri Fort
See also
*
List of forts in Maharashtra
References
Further reading
* Dr. Lahu Kacharu Shivnerichi Jeevangatha, The life-story of fort shivneri, Sanay prakashan, Narayngaon, January 2015. p. 225.
Shivneri Fort - Birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajfor detailed information
Junnar Tourism's official websiteParashar Agritourism website
{{Forts in India
Buildings and structures of the Maratha Empire
Forts in Pune district
Monuments of National Importance in Maharashtra