A Treasure trove of Amazing Sculptures
Lakshmi Narayan Temple Bahadurgarh.
This place is near Siddhatek Sriashtavinayaka. This place is
also known as Pedgaon. Look at the photos from the blog of Kevin Standage, a
British writer. This temple, which is decorated with beautiful sculptures, is
neglected. Shivaji Maharaj attacked this fort with guerrillas and captured the
treasure of the Mongols.
Aurangzeb tortured Ch. Sambhaji Maharaj here.
A similar temple of the Yadav era is famous as Bhuleshwar near Yawat near Pune.
Similarly, at Ambejogai there is a temple with beautiful
sculptures in ruins.
Following information about Bahadur Fort from Trek Sahyadri
Blog
Here you will find information about many forts
Type of Fort: Ground Forts Hill Range: No hill range
District: City Category: Simple
Bahadurgad alias Pedgaon Fort alias Dharamvir Gad is Bhuikot
Fort in Daund Taluka of Ahmadnagar District. Among the Ashtavinayakas, this
beautiful fort, which is only 9 km from Siddhatek, has been neglected due to
its mere presence. The fort has many monuments and temples to see. The water
supply scheme at the fort is also worth seeing.
Shivdurg organization and Pedgaon villagers have maintained
the fort well. Two Gadpals are appointed at the fort, they do the work of
cleaning the fort, taking care of trees planted for beautification, preventing
damage to the fort from destructive tourists, etc. The roads and paths in the
fort are paved with stones.
37 Photos available for this fort
Bahadurgad (Pedgaon Fort)
History:
History :- Bhuikot fort of Pedgaon existed during the
Yadavas of Devagiri. The Shiva temple in the fort is still standing as a
testimony to it. The fort was taken over by the Nizamshah from the Yadavas.
After the overthrow of the Nizamshahi, this fort was under the possession of
the Mughals. Bahadur Shah Kokaltash, the Mughal chieftain, was Aurangzeb's
foster brother. When he was Subhedar of Dakshina, his base was at Pedgaon. He
repaired the fort of Pedgaon and named this fort as Bahadurgarh.
In 1674 AD, 200 genuine Arabian horses were reported to have
arrived at Bahadurgarh. Shivaji Maharaj got it. He planned to attack the fort
by making proper use of Gamini Kava. The leader of this campaign divided the
army into two parts. A detachment of the army marched on Bahadurgarh early in
the morning. Bahadur Khan gathered the Mughal army from Pedgaon and marched on
the Marathas. After a brief hand-to-hand battle, the Marathas suddenly
retreated and the Maratha army began to flee. Seeing the Marathas running away,
the Mughal army got excited and started chasing them. The Marathas drove the
Mughal army almost 25 kos from Pedgaon. Thus the Mughal army in the fort was
divided into two by the Marathas. After making sure that the Mughal army was
far away, another large contingent of Marathas attacked the fort and the horses
in the fort,. He looted the treasure and belongings. The tents in the fort were
burnt.
Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Kavi Kalash were captured
by the Mughal army near Sangamesh. On 15 February 1689, both of them were
brought to Bahadurgarh. There he was stripped from the camel.
In AD 1751 Sadashivrao Bhau Peshwa conquered this fort. Then
the British conquered it from the Marathas.
Places to visit:
A private vehicle can be reached directly from the
settlement of Pedgaon to the entrance of the fort. A 4-foot idol of Hanuman is
placed in a temple on the left side before the entrance. Under the feet of the
idol is Panvati. There is a small Ganesha idol here. Steps and small stones
carved on a stone found in a village or fort are kept here. The village
entrance of the fort is facing north. The grand entrance arch is intact. But
the bastions on the entrance side are dilapidated. After entering the fort,
there is a temple of Bhairavanatha on the right side. As this temple is in the
possession of the villagers, a new cement concrete roof has been placed on the
old temple. The temple and the kalasa have been painted with oil paint and
their original decoration has been lost. The original temple belongs to the
Yadava period and is built in stone. The structure of the temple is a sari,
hall, hall, and sanctum sanctorum. Osari is weighted on 2 pillars and 2 half
pillars. There is a 3 feet idol of Hanuman and a 2 feet idol of Ganapati
leaning against the left side wall in Osari. The auditorium is supported by 4
full pillars and 4 half pillars. There is a body in the sanctum sanctorum.
There are many old idols placed under the lamp in front of the temple. In it, Uma
Maheshwar, Vishnu, serpent Sati's hand, tombstones, carved stones, a stone
carved with the faces of two women, etc. can be seen. After going down the
steps in front of Dipmala, there is a 3 feet idol of Gajalakshmi.
A little further down the trail and turn right is the
Mallikarjuna Temple. The top of the temple has collapsed. How is the roof
standing? The auditorium of the temple is supported by 2 pillars. There is a
Veergal in front of the temple. Next to the temple is a dilapidated liquor
storehouse.
After seeing the liquor warehouse and coming back to the
main trail, there is the Rameshwar temple. The temple is tripartite and has a
main sanctum sanctorum and two smaller sanctum sanctorums on the right and left
sides. The auditorium is supported by four main pillars and four semi-pillars.
There is a body in the sanctum sanctorum. A 3-foot idol of Ganesha is placed
against the wall on the left side of the sanctum sanctorum door, while on the
right side, a C is an idol of 3 Jain Tirthankaras. A 25-foot idol of Ganesha is
placed against the wall of the space. The remaining two sanctum sanctorums are
empty. The paintwork in the hall has been broken. Outside the main door of the
temple, there are idols on two sides at the top, but they are not recognizable
as they are worn out. The idol on the right side of it should be Narasimha.
Flowers are planted in front of the temple. The top of the temple has
collapsed.
Near the Rameshwar temple is a 6 feet hollow minora made of
bricks. Water from the Bhima River adjacent to the fort is pumped through the
Thapar pipes on the fort. Towers (Air release valves) have been built to let
the air out of the water passing through this pipe. There are two such towers
in the fort. They are called Uchhvas. After crossing the second minaret, a 30-foot-high tower-like structure is visible in the middle of the fort. An earthen
slope is made to reach it. This is not a tower but an elephant. Below this
motte is a cistern. At the upper end, there are two large holes in the wall. The
water was drawn up with the help of elephants/horses/bullocks by placing a
pulley on this hole with a strong smell of wood. Another 50-foot-high moat is
seen near the river to bring water to this tank.
After seeing both these statues, go to the Lakshmi Narayan
Temple on the right side. It is an amazing temple on the fort. The main
entrance of the temple is on the west side and there are also entrances on the
north and south side. There are beautiful carvings on the entrance porches and
on the patti. The side walls of all three entrances have beautiful
yakshas carved on them. There are beautiful carvings on the outer walls of
the temple. In the deva koshtaka, there is an idol of Varaha on the south side
and Vishnu on the east side. The idol in the northern devakostha is worn beyond
recognition. The auditorium of the temple is supported by 12 pillars. The
culmination of the auditorium is supported by 4 pillars. A lotus is engraved on
the inside of the crown. It has Vyalmukhs in all its four corners. The ceiling
of the space also has similar carvings. The pillars of the auditorium have
idols and other carvings. The gabharya door of the temple has beautiful
carvings of Vyala, Gandharva, and Velbutti. In the gabhar, there is not an idol of
Lakshmi Narayana, but a hero. Opposite Lakshmi Narayan Temple is Baleshwar
Temple. The auditorium of the temple has collapsed. But the pillars are
standing. The pillars have idols and other carvings. The gate of Gabharya has
beautiful carvings of Vyala, Gandharva, and Velbutti. There is a lump in the
uterus.
Further from Baleshwar temple is Pataleshwar temple. All the
remains of this temple have been destroyed. The sanctum sanctorum with pinda is
below the ground level while Nandi is on the ground.
A 6 feet square entrance is seen after going ahead of
Pataleshwar temple known as Pan Darwaza. There are two towers on the side of
this door. There are two forts at this place. One near the river and the other
built to protect the gate. One could go to the river through this door.
But after seeing the door and returning the way you came,
crossing the Lakshmi Narayan temple and the Hatti Moat, you see a big hill on
the side of the river. Some remains of construction can also be seen at this
place. After taking a detour to Tekada, there is a south-facing entrance. There
is a mosque next to the entrance. Upon entering through the entrance, one can
see the beautiful garden that has just been created. This part is called Sadar
or Diwane Aam. There is a carved pillar at this place called Shaurya Stambha.
Ch. Sambhaji Maharaj and Kavi Kalash were imprisoned and brought to this fort
on 15 February 1689. The carved pillar that is now there is worshiped as
Shaurya Stambha. There is a building in front of the entrance. This is a
Hamamkhana building. The building has wells of different sizes carved with
handicrafts. Windows are placed in the dome of the roof to bring light into the
building. There is a staircase leading to the roof and a cistern on the roof.
An elephant-like tower can be seen in the river bed from the roof. Water should
be brought to Hamamkhana from it
.There is a ruined building next to the Hamam Khanya. From
its remains, it must have been a palace. That palace is now known as Rani Mahal.
There is a fountain on the way down from the palace. After seeing it, come to
the entrance and climb the stairs to the side hill. The fort, the river, and the
surrounding area can be seen from this hill. Descend the hill and walk towards
the entrance in the eastern ramparts of the fort. Outside this entrance is the
Bhavani temple. This temple is surrounded by four towers and fortifications.
After seeing this Bhavani temple, coming back to the fort, and walking forward,
there is another entrance. After seeing both the eastern entrances and
approaching the main entrance, our gaffer is complete.
Share of reach:
The nearest big village to see Bahadurgarh aka Pedgaon Fort is Daund. Many railway trains and ST buses from Mumbai - Pune proceed via Daund. Buses to Pedgaon are available from ST station. But the best option is to visit both Siddhtek (distance 26 km) and Bahadurgarh (distance 9 km) from Siddhtek which is one of the Ashtavinayakas in one day by private vehicle from Daund.
From Daund, one can go directly to Bahadurgad aka Pedgaon
via Ajanuj. This distance is 20 km.
Accommodation:
There is no accommodation in the fort
Dining Facilities:
There is no food facility in Pedgaon.
Water facility:
There is no drinking water in the fort.
Best time to go:
Sept
November to March
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