Place · Maratha hill fort · India
Vishalgad, Kolhapur
Also known as Baji Prabhu Deshpande at Pavan Khind, Kolhapur, Vishalgad
The hilltop fort at Vishalgad in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, 76 kilometres from Kolhapur — site of the 13 July 1660 rearguard action by Baji Prabhu Deshpande that saved Shivaji's retreat from Panhala. Shivaji had been besieged in Panhala Fort by the Bijapur commander Siddi Masud for four months; he escaped on the night of 12-13 July 1660 with 600 soldiers to flee to Vishalgad. Baji Prabhu Deshpande and 300 Mavala soldiers held the Pavan Khind pass against Siddi Masud's 10,000 Bijapur troops for seven hours — buying time for Shivaji to reach Vishalgad. Baji Prabhu died at Pavan Khind. The Maratha retreat succeeded, and the Pavan Khind episode became one of the central narratives of Maratha heroism. The adjoining shrine of Hazrat Pir Malik Rehan Shah (Sufi saint who allied with Shivaji) is still visited by both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims. ASI partial protection.
- Function
- Religious institution & practice
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 16.783, 73.800
Connections (1)
- Shivaji campaignPanhala Fort
Shivaji was besieged in Panhala by the Bijapuri general Siddi Johar in 1660 and broke out at night in the monsoon with a few hundred men. Baji Prabhu Deshpande held the pass at Pavan Khind with half of them until the guns at Vishalgad signalled that Shivaji was inside, and died there. The two forts are sixty kilometres apart over a ridge, and the escape between them is the founding story of Maratha guerrilla warfare.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Vishalgad”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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