01The siege of 1660
Panhala was the seat of the Shilahara king Bhoja II in the late 12th century and later a strong fort of the Bijapur sultans, who added its great gates and granaries. Shivaji took it in 1659, soon after killing Afzal Khan. In March 1660 Siddi Jauhar of Bijapur closed round it with a large army and held it through the spring. On the night of 12–13 July, in heavy rain, Shivaji slipped out with a small band towards Vishalgad. Baji Prabhu Deshpande held the narrow pass at Ghod Khind with a few hundred men until the guns from Vishalgad told him his king was safe, and died there. The pass has since been called Pavan Khind.
02Tarabai’s capital
The Marathas lost and regained Panhala more than once; Kondaji Farzand retook it for Shivaji in 1673 with a small party. Shivaji kept Sambhaji here in 1678–79. In the early 18th century Maharani Tarabai made Panhala the seat of the Kolhapur branch of the Bhonsles, and it remained their capital until the court moved down to Kolhapur later in that century. The Andhar Bavdi, a hidden three-storey well, and the Sajja Kothi pavilion still stand.
The life of this place
- c. 1178–1209The Shilahara king Bhoja II holds court at Panhala.
- 1659Shivaji takes the fort after the defeat of Afzal Khan.
- 12–13 July 1660Shivaji escapes Siddi Jauhar’s siege; Baji Prabhu falls at Pavan Khind.
- 1673Kondaji Farzand retakes Panhala for Shivaji.
About 20 km north-west of Kolhapur, reachable by road. The Panhala–Pavan Khind trek of about 50 km is walked every July in memory of the escape.
