Panhala Fort

Panhala fort (also known as Panhalgad, Pahalla and Panalla ), is located in Panhala, 20 kilometres northwest of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India. It is strategically located looking over a pass in the Sahyadri mountain range which was a major trade route from Bijapur in the interior of Maharashtra to the coastal areas.^[1] Due to its strategic location, it was the centre of several skirmishes in the Deccan involving the Marathas, the Mughals and the British East India Company, the most notable being the Battle of Pavan Khind. Here, the queen regent of Kolhapur State, Tarabai, spent her formative years. Several parts of the fort and the structures within are still intact.

                                         Lotus motif on Panhala of Raja Bhoj, who built the fort 

Under Shivaji Maharaj

                                                                                   Inner gate of Teen darwaza c. 1894, Panhala fort

In 1659, after the death of the Bijapur general Afzal Khan, in the ensuing confusion Shivaji Maharaj took Panhala from Bijapur.In May 1660, to win back the fort from Shivaji, Adil Shah II (1656–1672) of Bijapur sent his army under the command of Siddi Jauhar to lay siege to Panhala. Shivaji Maharaj fought back and they could not take the fort. The siege continued for 5 months, at the end of which all provisions in the fort were exhausted and Shivaji Maharaj was on the verge of being captured.

 Under these circumstances, Shivaji Maharaj decided that escape was the only option. He gathered a small number of soldiers along with his trusted commander Baji Prabhu Deshpande and, on 13 July 1660,they escaped in the dead of night to flee to Vishalgad. Baji Prabhu and a barber, Shiva Kashid,who looked like Shivaji Maharaj, kept the enemy engaged, giving them an impression that Shiva Kashid was actually Shivaji Maharaj. In the ensuing battle (see Battle of Pavan Khind), almost three quarters of the one thousand strong force died, including Baji Prabhu himself.The fort went to Adil Shah. It was not until 1673 that Shivaji Maharaj could occupy it permanently.

Ambarkhana

The Amberkhana, situated in the center of the fort, were three granaries built in the Bijapuri style of

architecture. They enabled Shivaji to withstand a 5-month siege by Siddhi Johar.It consists of three buildings called the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati Kothis. The Ganga kothi, which was the largest, had a capacity of 25,000 khandis (with one khandi being 650 lbs). It covers an area of 950 sq m and is 10.5 m high.Rice, nachni and warai were the major provisions stored. Stairs on both sides lead the top of the buildings. It has sixteen bays each with its own flat vault with a hole on top through which grain used to be passed. The eastern entrance has a domed chamber with a balconey and plasterwork of the Bijapuri style.

Wagh Darwaza

This was another entrance to the fort. It was designed to elude invaders such that they would get trapped into a small courtyard and could then be easily neutralized. It has an elaborate Ganesh motif at the entrance.

Teen Darwaza

The Teen Darwaza was one of the three double gateways of the fort - the others being the Char Darwaja and Wagh Darwaja. The Char Darwaza was destroyed when during the British siege. The Teen Darwaja gate which is the main entrance to the fort is located north of the Andhar Bavaion the West side of the fort. It is a double gate with a court in between that has arcades. The outer gate has an ornate chamber on top with decorated eaves. The inner gate from the court is highly decorated with the lintel having finely carved motifs, including one of Ganesh. The latter has been placed by the Marathas during their occupation of the fort.There are three Persian inscriptions—one on top and one each on either side. All three declare that the gate "was built in the reign of Ibrahim Adil Shah I by Malik Daud Aki son of Minister Ahmed" in 954 AH (1534 CE).



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