Qualla: Purandar Fort

Purandar Fort: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Abhijeet Safai, CC BY-SA 3.0. Murarbaji Deshpande knew the fort was lost. In 1665, Mughal forces under the command of Jai Singh, assisted by Diler Khan, had besieged Purandar with overwhelming numbers. The killedar - keeper of the fort - refused to surrender. He fought until he was killed, defending walls that had stood on this Western Ghats hilltop since the Yadava dynasty fortified them in the 11th century. His death forced Shivaji's hand. Rather than lose his grandfather's fort entirely, the young Maratha leader signed the Treaty of Purandar with Aurangzeb, surrendering twenty-three forts and a territory worth four lakh hons in revenue. It was one of the bitterest moments in Maratha history. Five years later, the fort was recaptured. Purandar has always been that kind of place: lost, retaken, fought over, never quite abandoned.

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Image: Abhijeet Safai | CC BY-SA 3.0

Purandar Fort: Twin Peaks

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Himanshu Sarpotdar, CC BY 2.0. Purandar is actually two forts. The main fortification, also called Indraneel Parwat, stands at 1,374 meters above sea level, roughly 50 kilometers southeast of Pune. On its eastern flank rises Vajragad, also known as Rudramal, a smaller companion fort reaching 1,347 meters. Toge...

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Image: Himanshu Sarpotdar | CC BY 2.0

Purandar Fort: A Fort that Changed Hands

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Abhijeet Safai, CC BY-SA 3.0. The oldest reference to Purandar dates to the 11th-century Yadava dynasty. After the Yadavas fell, the fort passed to new rulers who reinforced it in 1350. Under the Bahamani Sultanate, it was besieged repeatedly. The methods used to secure it were brutal: according to historical...

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Image: Abhijeet Safai | CC BY-SA 3.0

Purandar Fort: Treaties and Captivity

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Abhijeet Safai, CC BY-SA 3.0. Purandar's name became synonymous with diplomacy under duress. The First Treaty of Purandar in 1665, signed after Murarbaji Deshpande's death and the Mughal siege, forced Shivaji to cede forts and territory. But the Marathas recaptured Purandar in March 1670, and the fort became ...

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Image: Abhijeet Safai | CC BY-SA 3.0

Purandar Fort: The Mountain Today

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit rohit gowaikar, CC BY-SA 2.0. Local legend holds that Purandar is a fragment of Dronagiri Parvat, the mountain Hanuman carried in the Ramayana to retrieve life-saving herbs. Whether or not the myth holds, the fort is the birthplace of Sambhaji Maharaj, Shivaji's son and successor, a fact that deepens its sign...

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Image: rohit gowaikar | CC BY-SA 2.0