Panhala is the lesser-known sister of the three hill stations of Maharashtra. Smaller than Mahabaleshwar but bigger than Matheran, it is the only hill station in the state to be situated bang inside a fort. Nestling in the verdant Sahyadris at a commanding height of 3200 feet, the fort here is spread over all of 8 square kilometres.
Right from the time it was built in the 12th century, it has changed hands as many times as a Bollywood heroine changes costumes in a single song. Built by Raja Bhoj, it was conquered and ruled by the kings of various dynasties: Nagas, Rashtrakoots, Chalukyas, Shilaharas, Yadavas, Palegars, Bahmanis, Adilshahis and Marathas.
You could come to Panhala to see the green glory of the hills and vales that surround this fort, or to hear the stories of valour and sacrifice spoken by the stones and interpreted by a guide.
The list of sacrifices starts from the time of its construction. When the foundation stone of the fort kept caving in, it was suggested that a human sacrifice be made. As this was to be made willingly (it apparently doesn’t work if someone is forced), the king went around scouting for volunteers. And a lowly woman called Gangu Taili offered to sacrifice her life. After she agreed, to her horror, she discovered she was pregnant. She asked for time till she delivered her baby, laying down a condition that a part of the fort be named after her baby. It turned out that she delivered triplets, and the three granaries in the Ambarkhana were named after her three daughters: Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.
The peak of Panhala’s glory was achieved in Shivaji’s time. But it also saw the enactment of three of the greatest tragedies witnessed by a fort. It was in the grand Sajja Kothi that Shivaji imprisoned his own son Sambhaji, suspecting him of siding with the enemy. And it was in this fort that one of the most valorous acts of sacrifice ever was lived out. Much before Saddam Hussain could think of creating his look-alikes, Shivaji the master of guerilla warfare had already created one. When the fierce warrior Siddi Johar laid a siege to Panhala with over 1,33,000 soldiers, Shivaji barely had 4,000 soldiers in the fort. He held out for 4 months; but when the granaries became empty, he decided it was time to retreat. He sent out the message of surrender, and as the enemy soldiers waited eagerly he got his dummy Shiva Kashid to travel in the royal palanquin. It was only after they caught the duplicate and executed him brutally that they realised the original had escaped to the nearby Vishalgad.
Another protagonist of this great escape was a valiant soldier, Baji Prabhu Deshpande. When Siddi Johar realized that he had been fooled, he trained his cannons on the original Shivaji. But he ran into the blind courage of a loyal warrior called Baji Prabhu and his equally loyal troop of thirty. On a difficult pass near Pavangad they held fort for an hour laying down their lives one after the other while their beloved original made the great escape.
