Bhupalgad is a historical fort from Shivaji Maharaj’s period located in Khanapur taluka of Sangli district. The fort is also known as Banurgad due to the village of Banur in the fort. The fort is huge in size although, due to large scale farming on the fort, only a few remains like a lake, Mahadev temple, Samadhi and few ramparts exist. Khanapur taluka on Sangola-Vita road across Bhivghat is Palshi village at a distance of 12 km. Banurgad or Bhupalgad is at a distance of about 7 km from Palshi village. As Banur village is on the south side of the fort, the ramparts for the village have been breached and the road has been taken inside. This road leads to the Mahadev Temple on the hill at Banurgada. As soon as you enter the fort by car, you can see the ramparts and its bastions. Since the height of the fort is not very high in this region, this area has a double fortification pattern. ... After passing some distance from the ramparts on the right side of the Maruti temple, you can see the gate of the fort built with the support of two bastions. Currently, the door is heavily buried and you have to crawl your way in and out. A stone arch can also be seen on this door. After seeing this door, return to the temple and go straight out of the village by road. From here, the next dirt road takes you to the fort on the hill behind the village. On the right hand side of this road you can see a large lake carved in the rock. There are steps from the lake to the citadel. A cement arch is currently erected on this road. The area of the citadel is about 12 acres and the temple of Lord Mahadev in it is known as Banling Temple. Once upon a time this temple used to have a compound wall but today this wall is left on only one side and in this wall you can see some porches. Outside this door is a Tulsi Vrindavan on a quadrangle structure. This Vrindavan is believed to be a Samadhi of Bahirji Naik, the head of Shivaji Maharaj's intelligence department, but there is no official record of this in history. Located at 2820 feet above sea level, the fort is spread over an area of more than 400 acres and is surrounded by a stone wall and a citadel on a hill in the middle. After descending the hill by the footpath in front of the Samadhi, one can see the ruined stone ramparts and bastions of the fort on the bank of the valley. There are hidden doors in 2-3 places and toilets in one place. There are deep valleys on all sides except the south side of the fort. The remnants of the fort have been completely destroyed due to large scale farming in the fort. Considering the size of the fort, the only lake on the fort and a well on the fort do not seem to be enough. To avoid the hassle of walking around the fort, you should take local experts with you so that you can see the entire fort and all the ruins on it in a short time. According to Busatin-us-Salatin, after the Afzal Khan massacre, Shivaray built a strong fort near Manjarya hill on the border of Adilshahi and named it Bhupalgad. It is mentioned that Firangoji Narsala appointed as a fortkeeper on this fort which is on the border of Swarajya. When prince Sambhaji Raje got Mughals in December 1678, using them as a shield, Dilerkhan attacked Marathi region. On his way to Bijapur, Dilerkhan attacked Bhupalgad on 2 April 1679. Seeing Sambhaji Raje walking on the fort, fort keeper Firangoji did not resist. The bastion of the fort was demolished by the artillery fired by Diller Khan on a nearby hill and the fort fell to the Mughals. As soon as the Maharaj got the news, he sent 16,000 troops to help but the fort was captured by the Mughals. Dilerkhan captured the fort and after possessions of ammunition and grain, Diller Khan broke the right arm of 700 Marathi soldiers and released them, who were sent by the Maharaja laid siege to the fort and attacked Irajkhan and Bajajirao (Nimbalkar), who were supplying supplies to the forces of Dilerkhan from the fort Paranda. Dillerkhan sent 1500 cavalry to Ikhlarskhan to help Irajkhan. At a distance of about 25 km a battle took place between Ikhlaraskhan and the Marathas but the Maratha army was defeated. Dilerkhan destroyed the fort by burning the structures in the fort and he came to Dhulkhed with Sambhaji Raje. Later, the Marathas defeated Irajkhan near Karkamb and avenged the defeat of Bhupalgad. Meanwhile, Shivaji Maharaj persuaded Sambhaji Raje & he returned to Panhala.
© Suresh Nimbalkar