Here is a beautiful description of Raigad Fort by English ambassador Thomas Nicholas who had visited the place in 1673. Also, why the Marathas gave tremendous importance to forts and how they were their strongest defence against marauding invaders.
This book is originally published in Marathi and is named as शिवछत्रपतींचा वारसा स्वराज्य ते साम्राज्य १६००- १८१८.
The printed price of this book is Rs. 800/- but at the time of recording this podcast, it is available at a discount for just Rs. 650/- at the official store of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
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Coming up: Beautiful Description of Raigad Fort by English Ambassador Thomas Nicholas
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
I came across this interesting piece of history on page 39 of the book 'The Legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji – From Kingdom to Empire 1600 - 1818' written by Dr. Kedar Phalke which I had reviewed on 13th February, 2023.
In 1670, Shivaji shifted his capital from Rajgad to Raigad. Accomplished architect Hiroji Indulkar built Raigad. From 15th March to 8th May, 1672, Lieutenant Ustic stayed at Raigad. He writes, ‘Shivaji has risen to the greatest height in the world in view of his recent grand success.’ The following year, Thomas Nicholas, an English ambassador, had come to Raigad in the month of May. He has written a beautiful description of Raigad.
“In the morning we went up that steep hill, where in many places there are stairs made, and going into the gate the stairs are cut out of the firm rock. Where the hill is not naturally strong, there they build walls of about 24-foot-high, and within 40 foot of the first wall there is another such a wall, that if the enemy should gain one, they have another to beat him out, so that if the hill be furnished with provision, a few men may keep it from the world, and as for water, there are many large tanks cut in the rock, which every rains fill with water sufficient and to spare for the whole year. On the top of the hill is a large town. On the highest peak is Shivaji’s lodging, built (in a) quadrangle, with a large house in the middle where he hears (the) business of import.”
As we all know, the Marathas gave tremendous importance to forts as they were their strongest defence against marauding invaders. Due to the inherent hilly terrain of the Sahyadri range, most of their forts belonged to the 'hill' category. These forts protected the army and the wealth of the kings and housed virtually an entire village inside the fort.
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