Ajinkyatara

Ajinkyatara ( 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.

Ajinkyatara Fort
Part of former Maratha Empire, now Maharashtra
Satara District, Maharashtra (near Satara)
Entrance to Ajinkyatara fort
Ajinkyatara Fort
Coordinates	17°24′N 73°35′E
Type	Hill fort
Height	1,356 metres (4,400 ft) ASL
Site information
Owner	Maratha Empire (1706-1818) British East India Company (1818-1858)  British Empire (1858-1947) Central Government of  India (1947-present)
Open to the public	Yes
Site history
Materials	Stone, lead
Garrison information
Past commanders	Chattrapati Shivaji maharaj
Occupants	Chattrapati Shahu

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

After the death of Shivaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb conquered Satara fort, which was later won by Parshuram Pratinidhi in 1706. In 1708, Shahu Maharaj was crowned at this fort.[2]

This was the place where Tarabai was imprisoned by Shahu.[3]

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