Vishalgad

‘Khelna’ or ‘Khilna’, more popularly known as ‘Vishalgad’, was one of the important forts of Shivaji and Maratha Empire.

The name ‘Vishalgad’ which represents grandeur and magnificence, was given by Shivaji himself after attaching it to the Maratha Empire in 1659.

Location

The fort is located at 76 kilometers away North-West of Kolhapur, 60 kilometers north-west from Fort Panhala and 18 kilometers south of Kolhapur Ratnagiri road. It is situated on the hills that divide the region into two parts viz "Amba" ghat and "Anaskura" ghat. Since it is placed on the border of the hilly portion of Sahyadri ranges and the konkan region, it got great political significance in the historical times. It was regarded as a 'Watch tower' for both the regions.

Height

The fort is about 1130 meters (i.e. 3630 feet) high from the sea level.

ite Seeing

The fort has following sites nearly in ruins today except the "Dargah".
*Amruteshwar Temple
*Shri Nrusinha Temple
*Takmak Tok
*Sati’s Vrindavan
*The "Dargah" or tomb of Hazrat Malik Raihan. Thousands of Devotees visit the "Dargah" every year.

History

*The fort was constructed by the Shilahara king ‘Marsinh’ in 1058 A.C. Initially, he named it as 'Khilgil'
*In 1209, the then king of Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri defeated Shilaharas and captured the fort
*In 1309, Allauddin Khilji defeated King Ramchandra of the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri and soon the fort was attached to the Khilji Dynasty
*In August 1347, the Mughal chief of the western India Hasan Gangu Bahamani became independent as a result of which the fort became a part of Bahamani Sultanat
*During 1354 to 1433, the fort was under the rule of Vijayanagar Empire
*After the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire, it was captured by a local Maratha king Shankarrao More. Therefore, the Bahamani Sultan sent troops from Bidar under the Generalship of Mahmood Gawan, his then prime Minister, to re-capture it. Gawan's officers Karnasinh Bhonsale and his son Bhimsinha captured the fort with the help of "Ghorpad" i.e. Giant monitor lizard. Thenceforth, Bhimsinha was conferred with the title "Ghorpade".
*In 1489, Yusuf Adil Shah separated himself from the Bahamani kngdom along with the area under his command and founded his independent sultanat at Bijapur. Hence, the fort was attached to Adil Shahi sultanat
*In 1659, Shivaji captured the fort with the help of the officers on the fort
*In July 1660, the fort witnessed Shivaji's escape from the Adilshahi blockade around fort Panhala and the Battle of Pavan Khind. Baji Prabhu Deshpande, Shivaji's experienced General and Rango Narayan Orpe, Shivaji's young officer on the fort, defeated Adilshahi troops respectively at Pavan Khind and Gonimooth
*After Shivaji's death, Chhatrapati Sambhaji would spend most of his times on the fort. He took initiative in renovation and reconstruction of some parts of the fortresses and gates of the fort
*In 1689, Rajaram Chhatrapati fled to Fort Gingee in Karnataka (now Tamilnadu) from fort Panhala and thus ‘Vishalgad’ became an un-official capital of the Maratha empire. Ramchandra Pant Amatya from Vishalgad and Rajaram Chhatrapati from Gingee made several moves and defeated Aurangzeb with the help of Santaji, Dhanaji, Parshurampant Pratinidhi and Shankaraji Narayan Sacheev.
*During the times of Maratha Empire, Vishalgad was made Capital of a large region consisting of ninety towns & villages in Kolhapur and Ratnagiri districts. Sardesai and Sarpotdar were officers on the fort since Adilshahi times. Some of the Havaldars (Military In Charge) on the fort during Rajaram Chhatrapati to Chhatrapati Shahu's times were : 1.Trimbakji Ingawale - 3 years 2.Santaji Kathe - 9 years 3.Khandoji Karanjkar - 3 months 4.Umaji Gaikwad - 6 months 5.Shamji Rangnath Orpe Sarpotdar - 6 years 6.Vithoji Nimbalkar - 6 months 7.Malji Dalvi - 2 months

*In 1844, as a result of mutiny by the "Killedars", British army demolished the entire fort and dismissed the officers there

References

*‘Kille Vishalgad’ (Marathi) by P.B.Shirwalkar
*'Pant Pratinidhi Bakhar'(Marathi)
*'Mudhol Sansthancha Itihas' (Marathi) by Dattopant Apte
*‘Maharashtrateel Kille’ (Marathi) by S.R.Devale
*'Mantarlela Itihas' (Marathi) by [http://hsarpotdar1.wetpaint.com Harshad Sarpotdar]

ee Also

*Firishta
* [http://uqconnect.net/~zzhsoszy/ips/m/mudhol.html History of Ghorpades]