Ajinkyatara

Ajinkyatara Fort
अजिंक्यतारा किल्ला
Part of former Maratha Empire, now Maharashtra
Satara District, Maharashtra
(near Satara)
Entrance to Ajinkyatara fort
Ajinkyatara Fort
अजिंक्यतारा किल्ला
Coordinates 17°24′N 73°35′E / 17.40°N 73.59°E / 17.40; 73.59
Type Hill fort
Height 1,356 metres (4,400 ft) ASL
Site information
Owner Government of India
Open to
the public		 Yes
Site history
Materials Stone, lead
Garrison information
Past
commanders		 Shivaji
Occupants Chattrapati Shahu

Ajinkyatara (मराठी:अजिंक्यतारा) ( meaning "The Impregnable Star") is a fort on one of the seven mountains surrounding the city of Satara in the Sahayadri Mountains of Maharashtra, India. It is a 16th-century fort that was called "Ajimtara" during Aurangzeb regime and was based on Aurangzeb son's name, Ajim. Marathi novelist Narayan Hari Apte named the fort "Ajinkyatara", when he wrote his first novel on the same name, first published in 1909.[1] Now it also holds the television tower for the city of Satara. This fort has been the place where several pivotal moments in Maratha history took place.

The fort is located at Ajinkyatara Mountain, which is 3,300 feet high.

In 1708, Shahu Maharaj won Ajinkyatara, which remained with the Marathas till 1818. The Ajinkyatara fort is a major historic place of Maharashtra, and was vital as one could keep watch over the entire south Maharashtra.

This was the place where Tarabai was imprisoned by Shahu.[2]

The fortress is also mentioned in Nathmadhav's novel Veer Dhaval, in which the eponymous protagonist, a vassal of the Chalukyas, is the rightful master of the fort (and takes final possession of it at the novel's end) which has been under the misrule of his uncle Chanda Varma, who usurped the fort after murdering the protagonist's father Keerti Varma.

Access to Ajinkyatara is possible by road (2 hours from Pune, 4 hours from Mumbai), train (the nearest station is Satara Road) or plane (nearest airport is Pune).

One of the most prominent forts in the history of Marathas, situated in Satara

See also

Ajinkyatara Fort Satara

References

  1. ↑ Interview published in Marathi Pratishthan Monthly, December 1970 issue
  2. ↑ Gunaji, Milind (2005). Offbeat Tracks in Maharashtra. Popular Prakashan. pp. 66–68. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
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