पुरंदर"......एक सफ़र"..किल्लेदार-"मुरारबाजी देशपांडे"

"Murarbaji Deshpande" was born into the Deshastha Brahmin family and his native land was the Javali Satara District. Later, in the service of Chandrao More of Javali, he moved to Mahad. He joined the army of Shivaji Maharaj in 1656 after the fall of More Kingdom to Bhosales. He soon became known as the Loyal Sardar of Maharaj and was awarded the title of Killedari of Puranadar.

The battle for Purandhar fort was a landmark battle of symbolic importance for both the Marathas and Mughals. It was essential for the Marathas to hold off the Mughals for as long as possible, thus demonstrating the difficulty of conquering the mountainous Deccan kingdom. It was equally imperative for the Mughals to conquer Purandhar as swiftly as possible to demonstrate the futility of resistance before the mighty Mughal empire.


In the end, superior European cannons fielded by the Mughals, under the leadership of the European mercenary Mannucci, blasted away the walls of Purandhar. In spite of crumbling defenses, Murarbaji and his troops sustained a dogged defense. When the Mughals breached the outer walls, Murarbaji and his soldiers, though overwhelmingly outnumbered, mounted a fierce counterattack. Maratha folk history has it that Murarbaji showed incredible skills as a swordsman and was an aggressive and inspiring leader who pushed back and caused a retreat of a larger Mughal force.


Dilyer Khan, impressed with the bravery of Murarbaji, offered him a truce and employment in the Mughal forces with a handsome salary. Murarbaji turned down the offer due to his loyalty to the ideals of Hindavi Swaraj, he paid for this decision with his life. The remaining Marathas retreated inside the inner walls (baalekilla) of the fort, refusing to surrender and willing to fight to the last man.


The battle of Purandhar showed the Marathas the difficulty in facing the overwhelming force led by Mirza Raja, and revealed to the Mughal the indomitable spirit and tenacity of the Marathas. Thereafter Shivaji agreed to surrender to Mirza Raja rather than risk the decimation of his forces and the ruin of his homeland. As a part of the settlement the Mughals opted to leave some of the forts and surrounding lands in the control of Shivaji rather than face a protracted and expensive campaign to conquer Marathas...

"पुरंदर किल्ला"...

Purandar is about 40kms south-east of Pune and some 10kms south-west of Sasawad. Preched on a gigantic mountain mass, its height above sea-level is 1398 metres and about 700 metres above the plain at its foot. It really comprises two fortresses: Purandar, the stronger and more important of the two, and Vajragarh, small sister for t situated on a ridge running out east of it. Purandar has two parts: the upper or Balekilla with precipitous sides all around and the lower part or machi about 300 metres above the plain. On the north side of the lower part there is a broad terrace comprising the cantonment area of the fortifications. There are many monuments, old and new, on the terrace. Towards the east of the terrace, beyond a narrow ridge, lies the fort of Vajragarh, also called Rudramal.

From the cantonment are of the terrace a winding path leads to the upper fort. The approach is commanded by the Dilli Darwaza, the main gate. The most important monuments, on the summit of the hill is the old temple of Kedareshwar.

The history of the Purandar fort goes back to the 13th century. The Bahamani Sultans in the 14th century built here some walls and bastions. From 1484 AD, for about a hundred years, the fort remained in the hands of the Nizamshahi rulers. In 1596 AD, the fort was given as Jagir to Maloji Bhosale, grandfather of Shivajimaharaj. However, Shivaji had to struggle very hard to establish his control over the fort in 1646 AD. In 1665 AD, Purandar was besieged by the mighty Mughal forces under the command of Jai Singh and Dilir Khan. In the ensuing battle Murar Baji Prabhu, the gallant commander of the fort, was killed. Shivajimaharaj, under a treaty, had to surrender to the Mughals his 23 forts, including Purandar and Vajragarh. At the lower fort a statue of Murar Baji Prabhu has been installed in his memory.
Purandar was recaptured by Shivajimaharaj in 1670 AD Later it became a favourite retreat of the Peshwas. Purandar was captured by the British in 1818 AD. During the Second World War, the British kept here the German war prisoners. Dr. H. Goetz, one of the German prisoners, thoroughly studied Purandar and wrote a monograph on it. After Independence there also functioned a National Cadet Crops (N.C.C.) Training unit at the top.

Happy Dashera!!!

Dashera(Vijayadhasmi)..Victory of Good things Over Bad things...wish u all a happy Dasera!!!