01Where Mahadji died
Mahadji Shinde had come back to Pune in 1792 after twelve years in the north, where he had made the Mughal emperor his ward and held Delhi for the Marathas. He camped at Wanawadi, then outside the city, and died there on 12 February 1794. The place of his cremation became his samadhi. Tradition in Pune holds that he had himself built the Shiva temple on the spot as a place of worship, and that the camp was chosen for it.
02The hall of the Scindias
The ornate hall you see, with its carved stone, coloured glass and portraits of the Shinde rulers, was raised much later by Mahadji’s descendants, the Scindias of Gwalior, in a mix of Rajasthani and European styles. A portrait of Mahadji and an image of him stand inside near the samadhi. The temple and hall are still kept by the Scindia family trust, and the place is quiet, a short way from the busy roads of Wanowrie.
The life of this place
- 12 February 1794Mahadji Shinde died at his camp at Wanawadi; his samadhi was made here.
Open daily; it lies in Wanowrie, about 6 km south-east of Pune railway station.
