Raigarh
Raigarh was Shivaji’s
capital, the hill fort where he was crowned (1674 AD) and where he died
(1680 AD). Strategically situated on an irregular wedge-shaped mass of
rock, detached from the main body of Sahyadri Mountains by a deep
valley and inaccessible from three sides, Raigarh is 210kms south of
Mumbai and 27kms north of Mahad.
The fort’s 5.12sq.kms hill-top plateau has three main points Hirakani
in the west, Takamak in the north and Bhavani in the east. There is
only one pathway to Raigarh, probably in keeping with Shiviaji’s
strategy “the fort’s approach should be easy for friends and impossible
for foes”. A motorable road leads to Chit Darwaja, about 2kms from Pachad, the village at the base, where lies the Samadhi of Jijabai, Shivaji’s mother. A long climb from Pachad takes one to the Mahadarwaza, flanked by two massive bastions and a high curtain wall.
The top plateau is covered
with a large number of remains of buildings and reservoirs. Behind the
Ganga Sagar reservoir are two high towers, in Muslim style. Behind the
towers is the Balekilla or citadel, entered by the Palakhi-darwaza. On
way to the right are remains of chambers of women of Royal families and
on the left those of the Darbar of Shivaji. On a low mound in the centre is the site of Shivaji’s throne. Further north is the two-row market place, the Jagadishwar temple in an enclosure and the Samadhi of shivaji, and also that of his favourite dog, Waghya.
The history
of Raigarh, earlier known as Rairi, is obscure. In the 12th century
Rairi was a seat of the Shirke-Palegar family. After changing several
hands, it was captured by Shivaji from Chandrarao More in 1656 AD. Shivaji chose Rairi for his capital
and renamed it as Raigarh. The gigantic construction work was
entrusted to Abaji Sondeve and Hiroji Indulkar. In its heyday Raigarh had more than 300 houses, and structures. After Shivaji,
the fort remained in the hands of Sambhaji till 1689 AD, when it was
captured by the Mughals. Reverted to the Marathas in 1735 AD, Raigarh
was surrendered to the British in 1818 AD.
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