Tracking Shivaji’s hidden forts

‘‘The discovery is unique because though we have references to about 40 other forts, they have not yet been found,’’ says noted historian and expert on Shivaji, Ninad Bedekar. ‘‘Joshi’s find is good news. But what of the remaining forts that need to be located and preserved?’’ echoes Babasaheb Purandare, also an expert on Shivaji.

For instance, there’s Mogiri, a fort in the Pavna river near Temghar that has not been found. Then, there’s Jasolgad and Kavlya among the others that are mentioned in records but apparently missing on ground. And then, there are historical intricacies. ‘‘There are references and cross-references we have studied where one fort has been given different names by various rulers. Each has to be catalogued and verified,’’ says Bedekar. Sinhagadh as we know it, for instance, was originally Kondhana, renamed Sinhagadh by Shivaji; Aurangzeb named the same fort Bakshinda Baksha (god’s gift). Torna was once known as Prachandagadh under Shivaji while Aurangzeb called it Fatah Ul Gaib. ‘‘Shivaji’s empire covered a huge area — from Salher near Nashik to Jinjee in Tamil Nadu, 150 km south of Chennai. There could be more forts in the jungles there that haven’t been found. Details on them are not available in many books,’’ says Bedekar. ‘‘We have about three-and-a-half crore documents in the Peshwe Daftar. Sadly, most have not been studied properly by scholars. Unlike countries such as China, Russia, US and the European countries, we lack sorely in studying and documenting our history,’’ says Purandare. Maybe trekkers, he says, should take up the challenge of locating forts.

Exactly what Joshi and his team comprising Monoj and Kirti Kelkar, Ketaki Godbole, Swarada Datar and Nitin Joshi had on their mind when they headed for Raigadh on May 28. ‘‘I was going through Google images earlier for research when I spotted a topographical detail in Raigadh district that seemed fortlike, yet was not mentioned on the regular trekkers’ map. I thought it unusual because in spite of being in an area known for its forts, there was no information on this small one. I knew I had to find it,’’ says Joshi who has trekked 202 forts in Maharashtra.

Enquiries with villagers at the base revealed that there was indeed a fort so they trekked up to find typically

16-17th century fortified walls with water tanks carved in stone. They had since been filled with sand but the structure was unmistakable.

Perched at 633 feet, the small fort was christened Panhalgadh by Joshi, after the village situated at the base. There is a much bigger Panhalgadh, this is the second. ‘‘Unfortunately, villagers had filled up the water tanks because their cattle that went up to graze would fall into the water. But the structure is intact…The fort is west of Raigadh and over half an acre so I think it suggests the fort was a lookout for Shivaji over the Konkan from where the Murud Janjira’s Siddi rulers could invade,’’ says Joshi.

That’s one lookout down and uncounted others to go.