01The meeting below the walls
After taking Javli in 1656 Shivaji had Moropant Pingle build Pratapgad on a spur above the Koyna and Javli forests. In 1659 the Bijapur general Afzal Khan came with a large army to crush him. Shivaji would not fight in the open. He drew Afzal Khan into the forest and agreed to meet him, each with a few men, in a tent below the fort. Sabhasad’s chronicle records that Afzal Khan seized Shivaji in an embrace and struck with a dagger; Shivaji, armoured beneath his clothes, killed him with the wagh-nakh and a bichwa. Maratha troops hidden in the forest then routed the Bijapur army.
02Bhavani on the fort
In 1661 Shivaji built a temple of Bhavani on the lower fort, since he could not easily reach Tuljapur, and its murti is still worshipped. On the upper fort is the Kedareshwar temple. In 1957 an equestrian statue of Shivaji was unveiled on the summit. From the ramparts on a clear day you can see the ridges of Mahabaleshwar and the deep green valley where the tent once stood.
The life of this place
- 1656–1658Moropant Pingle builds the fort on Shivaji’s order.
- 10 November 1659Shivaji kills Afzal Khan below the fort and routs the Bijapur army.
- 1661Shivaji consecrates the Bhavani temple on the fort.
- 1957An equestrian statue of Shivaji is unveiled on the summit.
About 24 km from Mahabaleshwar. The climb from the car park is short; Shiv Pratap Din is marked here every November.
