Pauni and Nagardhan Fort And Mahur Fort

Pauni and Nagardhan Fort

Pauni, in Bhandara district, is 82kms south-east of Nagpur. The present town, about three kms south-west of the Wainganga River, is engirdled by medieval fortifications embellished by imposing gateways, of which those situate to the west are almost intact. The majestic fortifications, which at some places are extant to a height of about 20 metres, were encircled by a moat of about 20 metres in width. The ancient moat has now turned into a small seasonal lake and is called Balasamudra. The fort was constructed by the Gond ruler Bakht Buland in the early 18th century and was taken over by Raghuji Bhosale I around 1710 AD.

Pauni, an ancient place, has yielded the relics of one of the greatest Stupas of India and definite evidence of a flourishing Buddhist establishment. The Pauni rampart has yielded the copper plate grant of Pravarasena II of the Vakatakas who ruled over this region. So it is possible that the clay of the rampart goes back to a period much earlier than the medieval.

Nagardhan, ancient Nandivardhan, the first capital of the Vakatakas, is 34 kms northeast of Nagpur and about 5kms south of Ramtek, famous for its fortified hill temple.

The present land for at Nagardhan, probably built by Raghuji Bhosale I around 1740 AD, must have served the purpose of guarding the eastern approaches to Napur. Square in shape, it has an outer rampart with bastions and had an inner wall surrounding the buildings. The main gate, still in good condition, is on the north-west side. In the fort there is a temple below the ground level and the idol is placed on a ledge of a well like structure.

Not far away from the present for there is a place where big sized bricks of ancient periods are often discovered. This is said to be a site of the capital-cum fort of the Vakatakas.

Pictures: A distant view of the Pauni fort with the ancient moat, now turned into a seasonal lake (above). Wide rampart and high parapet of the fort (inset). Front wall with a bastion and the main gate of the Nagardhan fort (below). The main gate (inset).

Mahur Fort Mahur village, also called Mahor, is 40 kms north-west of Kinwat town in Handed district in the Marathawada division of Maharashtra. Earlier Mahur was a big city and a Suba of southern Berar. Situated on an eastern branch of Sahyadri Mountains, the hill fort here is very old and exists at least from the time of the Yadavas. It was subsequently occupied by many powers - the Gonds, the Bahamanis, the Adilshani and the Nizamshahi rulers and finally the Mughals and their vassals. The fort on its three sides is girded by the Painganga River. The fort built on top of two adjoining hills, was protected by walls, ramparts and bastions. It had two main gateways - one on the southern side and the other on the northern side. The northern gate is still in a reasonably good condition, and so is its southern rampart nearly five metres wide. The fort had a palace, a mosque, a granary, an armoury, etc., now all in ruins. At the centre of the fort, there is a big tank call Ijalatalav. Being situated on the main route from the north to the Deccan, Mahur has a long history. There is evidence to show that Mahur, ancient Matapur, was an important place at the time of the Satavahanas and the Rashtrakutas. The Renuka temple on an adjoining hill was built by the Yadavas. After remaining with the Gond rulers for sometime, Mahur passed on to the Bahamanis in the 15th century and was made a Suba. In the 16th century, Mahur, being strategically placed at their centre, faced a lot of fire from the infighting between the Nizamshahi, Adilshahi and Imadshahi rulers. Then in the early 17th century, Mahur became a part of the Mughal Empire and came to be ruled by their Subedars. When Shahjahan rebelled against his father Jahangir, he took refuge in the Mahur fort along with his wife and children, including 6 years old Aurangzeb. About 2kms from Mahur bus-stand, there are two Elephant type (situated on an island near Mumbai) rock-cut caves of the Rashtrakuta period. Pictures: Remains of rampart and a bastion on the South-Western side of the Mahur fort, and its northern gate ‘Hathi Darwaja’ (inset). Behind the bastion, on another hill, is the Renuka temple.