Glimpses of Raigad fort

 Raigad is a hill fort situated in Mahad, Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. The Raigad Fort, formerly known as Rairi, was built by Chandraraoji More, the King of Jawali. It was then seized by Shivaji Maharaj who made it his capital in 1674 when he was crowned the King of the Maratha Kingdom which later developed into the Maratha Empire, eventually covering much of western and central India.

In 1765, the fort of Raigad along with Malwan in present Sindhudurg District, the southernmost district of Maharashtra, was the target of an armed expedition by the British East India Company.

In 1818, the fort was bombarded and destroyed by cannons from the hill of Kalkai. And on 9 May 1818, as per the treaty, it was handed over to the British East India Company.

The fort rises 820 metres (2,700 ft) above the sea level and is located in the Sahyadri mountain range. There are approximately 1737 steps leading to the fort. The Raigad Ropeway, an aerial tramway exists and takes only 4 minutes to reach the top.

The Raigad Fort was built by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maharashtra and the chief architect/engineer was Hiroji Indulkar. The main palace was constructed using wood, of which only the base pillars remain. The main fort ruins consist of the queen's quarters, six chambers, with each chamber having its own private restroom. In addition, ruins of three watch towers can be seen directly in front of the palace grounds out of which only two remain as the third one was destroyed during a bombardment. The Raigad Fort also has ruins of a market which was accessible to horseback riders. The fort also overlooks an artificial lake known as the Ganga Sagar Lake.

Info sourced from Wikipedia.

Click on the link below for a short video of photographs I had taken during my visit a decade back.

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Glimpses of Ranakpur temple

Ranakpur Jain temple or Chaturmukha Dharana Vihara is a Jain temple at Ranakpur dedicated to Tirthankara Rishabhanatha. The temple is located in Ranakpur near Sadri town in the Pali district of Rajasthan.

Dharna Shah, a local Jain businessperson, started construction of the temple in the 15th century following a divine vision. Inspired by a dream of a celestial vehicle, Dharna Shah commenced its construction in 1389, under the patronage of Rana Kumbha, the then ruler of Mewar. The architect who oversaw the project was named Dwepa. There is an inscription on a pillar near the main shrine stating that in 1439 Deepaka, an architect, constructed the temple at the direction of Dharanka, a devoted Jain. The construction continued until 1458 CE. However, according to the audio guide provided to visitors to the site, construction lasted fifty years (and involved 2785 workers). Another source reports that construction continued until 1496, fifty years from 1446. The town of Ranakpur and the temple are named after the provincial ruler monarch, Rana Kumbha who supported the construction of the temple.

Click on the link below for glimpses of this marvelous temple I had captured during my visit a decade back.

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