Raigad The Old capital of Maharashtra...

Reinstated Throne of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj 

I barely remember the 4th Standard lesson we had on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, but that didn't let the 'Shiv Bhakt' in me die, it instead deepened my curiosity about Maharaj ( I will mention Maharaj instead of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, this isn't the lazy in me typing but out of respect for one of the greatest Emperor India ever had).

I remember asking my Father & Mother about Maharaj but wasn't satisfied with their answers, tried with few friends and all they had were a few famous stories ( which I already knew) that's when I decided to read it myself from various sources ( yes, yes including Quora also). Reading only wasn't satisfying to me because of all the forts captured & built by Maharaj were more or less near to Pune ( yes, I'm a Punekar and pretty proud about it). One such fort I'm talking about is none other than the Capital itself ( No, I'm not talking about Mumbai)

Let me not bore you with details about my fascination and respect towards Maharaj in this post ( of course will do that in my next post) and jump towards the very interesting and the most beautiful forts of that time ( yes, I mentioned that time because now all that is left is ruins and some renovated buildings. Obviously for me and thousands of people like me find it beautiful now also.)

 

Entrance of the Garden

Before you enter the fort (or begin to climb) you will see this garden made near Samadhi ( Tomb) of Maa Saheb Jija Mata (Mother of Shivaji Maharaj) It's a peaceful place and a must visit to pay your respect to the Tigress who gave birth to our Emperor. You can click a picture of the Samadhi, but clicking a selfie with it is idiotic and unnecessary ( Yes, before you ask, there was/were one such or maybe few such idiots who tried to click a selfie with the samadhi, plain stupidity, don't you think so?)

Maa Saheb Jija Mata Samadhi

Once you start driving or riding towards the fort you can see the fort covered in greenery

(goosebumps!!). Attaching a few photographs.

A view of the fort 

Then you are greeted by one of those boards you will find near every historical places in Maharashtra put by the government of course. I will attach a picture of one such board.

Sign Boards

The board says the name of the entrance is Chitt Darwaza ( Like every other palaces, forts also had many entrances and were named for references) Raigad Development Authority have started making stairs as per the old and traditional construction with Chuna ( Lime), Reti ( Sand) and water and other old materials because the old construction was very strenuous to climb. They are even arranging for street lamps for visitor and tourists so that they can climb the fort even after sunset (Although during that times it wasn't allowed to leave or enter the fort after sunset).

The structure of the fort was such that they had some villages at the bottom of the fort ( Today's parking spot and small or medium restaurants) and the main fort on the very top with Maharaj's mansion and a market place called the bazarpeth ( It's a huge fort so naming each and every spot here is not possible). So to reach at the top of the fort you need to go around 7-8 kms walking or trekking with some stairs in middle (You can always opt for the ropeway, but trekking has it's own fun) . Here are the photographs.

Maha Darwaza

Fort's Map

As you can see the fort is extraordinarily huge and has a lot of points or places, each having it's own story.

Have I told you about the famous Hirkani Buruj, It's named after a woman who used to provide milk inside the fort and lived in a village at the bottom of the fort. The story behind this buruj (Bastion) will sure give you goosebumps. Hirakani Ji who used to live at a village near the fort used to provide milk inside the fort, and one day she got late and got stuck inside the fort as no one was allowed to leave or enter the fort post sunset. Hirakani ji had left her infant with her neighbor and was worried who will feed her if she can't leave the fort. So, this brave mother climbed a part of the fort and went straight down to her infant. When Maharaj came to know about this incident, he immediately called up Hirakani ji and gave her a reward for her bravery and asked his engineers to build a bastion (Buruj) on that point. ( For those of you thinking whats so great about the incident, she didn't take the normal route towards her way down but the harder alternative which was next to impossible and hence no guards were present. hence a buruj was built so that no enemy can breach the fort from there )

Here's some more pictures of the fort.

Elephant's Bathing Tank

Those who are curious that how they had elephants climb this fort, they were brought to the top when they were babies .

Tak Mak Tok

Enterance to Jagdishwar Temple & Samadhi

Backside of Jagdishwar Temple

Shiv Linga

Samadhi

We entered the Samadhi Smarak and left with teary eyes remembering the legend, the greatest emperor, our God.

Ruins of the mansion

One amazing fact of the this fort is that it was very difficult to transport building materials up the fort so, the chief Architect Hiroji Indulkar decided to first dwell a big lake and the remains after digging the lake was used to construct this amazing fort.

Vijay Stambh

The Vijay Sthamb as it was called that time was not like it is shown in the picture, it was 7 storeyed and was used to be lightened after a victory.

Maharashtra is truly blessed with such forts which are architectural and engineering marvels built that time, still standing tall and making each and every one proud.

Hope you liked this blog, make sure to share if you liked this. Don't forget to spread love and awareness about our history, that's what keeps them alive. Do let me know if I have left something.

P.S: This is my first attempt at writing a blog, so I chose the one topic that holds a special and biggest place in my heart, Swarajya and Maharaj. So, please forgive for any mistakes and typos.