॥सर्वांगा दिधले डंख, वज्रासम मारित पंख, खेळलो द्वन्द्व
निःशंक, अडविता खलासी पडलो, पळविली रावणे सीता ॥
(This is the description of how Jatayu, a mythical noble vulture fought against Ravana to save Sita from him and ended up loosing his life in the fight)
These are precisely the words that I am reminded of, every time I hear the story of Purandar, and of Murarbaji Deshpande. It is said that in the battle of Purandar, even when he was decapitated, the rest of his body kept fighting with the energy it still possessed. That is valour. That is the history of India that we all should be proud of.
So what made Purandar and the Battle of Purandar so important in the history of Swarajya? This one of the many questions that were unanswered and bugged me for years, until last weekend. My friend from the JSS trekkers' group told me about this trek to Purandar; A chance of tryst with history that I had been long waiting for. I immediately cancelled all other plans and informed her that I was in. But apparently, I was not the only one inquisitive about the fort, for the buses were already full. But luckily enough, a last minute back out got me a seat.
All pumped up to finally be able to visit the place I always wanted to, I started packing my sack with all the essentials. And without fail, a personal identity proof, since the fort is controlled by the Indian Army. Packed-up, ready and excited, we started out as a group of 45 people.
The journey from Mumbai to the Purandar base of Narayanpur (Meaning, the abode of Lord Narayan at the base of Purandar), which is near Pune, was much fun with a lot of friends reconnecting after quite a while. We chatted away half the overnight journey and sang away the other half, much to the annoyance of a few who wanted a good sleep before the trek. (We're unapologetically glad we did that. I mean the singing part. :P) So, we reached the base town around 4 am, took a power nap and got ready for our expedition.
The first place we visited was Datta Mandir, a relatively recently constructed temple of the powerful manifestation of the Holy Trinity among Hindu Gods, viz., Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Also, This was the first Ek-mukhi (single-headed) Datta I had come across. It was pleasant start to the day. But it was the hidden treasure situated behind this temple that had all our attention drawn. It was a thousand year old temple of Lord Shiva. With a magnificent facade welcoming us through an archway, the Narayaneshwar temple looked like a gigantic piece of art. A precious antiquity of Indian heritage. Here, we found three ancient scriptures that dated back to 1100-1200 AD, attributed to St Changdev. After admiring the magnanimous structure and carvings in the temple and paying tribute to Lord Narayaneshwar, we set out on the journey to the army check-post at Purandar.
Once allowed passage to the fort, we made a pit stop for breakfast, enjoyed the view of now tiny looking green plots of paddy, tiny figures walking across the farms and distant parts of the village still lost in the fog of winter. On the other hand, sun was rising, creating a golden silhouette of Vajragad. After refueling our tummies, we started exploring the fort.
We first came across the Murarbaji statue (shown above) built as a tribute to him. The history goes that in the battle that ensued after Mirza Raja Jaisingh and Dilerkhan invaded Deccan, Murarbaji, who was in charge of the twin fort, offered a strong defense till his last breath. Every move by the Mughals was retaliated even more strongly by the defending marathas under his leadership. As we explored different parts of the fort listening to his stories, we understood how geography has all along influenced history. The fort is situated in the doab of two rivers, Neera and Karha. It controlled the deccan as well as western parts of swarajya and connected the northern and southern parts as well. The strategic importance of Purandar did not end with the maratha kingdom, but continued to play a pivotal role in the region even during the British era. Indeed, even today as it serves as the Indian army base.
Speaking of the architecture and interesting architectures of the fort, we need to first see the walls of the fort. While one side of hill is a straight-cut cliff, the other side is a vulnerable, low incline hilly terrain. The wall structure on both these sides of the fort shows clear difference. While there is a nominal wall along the cliff-side, the other side has heavily built walls with multilayered gates, viz., Bini Darwaza, Ganesh Darwaza and Mukhya Darwaza. The same side is also guarded by the shendri or seven-layered burj. One can also see the remains of the historic Safed (white) and Kala (black) burj, which once guarded the safety of Purandar in case Vajragad was compromised. In the battle of Purandar, the Mughals brought down these two colossal structures in order to gain entry to Purandar. Although, the Marathas gave a tough fight till the last breath and drop of blood, creating a valorous history here.
Apart from the protective structures, there are other structures that still remain somewhat intact. The fort has around 4 man-made fresh water ponds. There are several temples on the fort, including the Purandareshwara temple, which is the fort deity and the Kedareshwara temple. A narrow ridge flanked on both sides by steep valley connects the twin forts of Purandar and Vajragad. It is called the Khandakada.
Strategic location map of Purandar
Purandar & Vajragad fort map
All this while, we were accompanied by families of monkeys, that are spread all over the fort and indulge in their own geopolitics :P
As we toured the fort, coming face to face with many stories of valour, strategic thinking and incidents of political check-mate related to the fort, the sun traveled west and it was time to march homewards! Purandar had indeed been a wonderful host, a great trek, and a hard adieu.
Truly, a tryst with history!
