Raigad fort’s line of defense includes other forts like Talgad, Mangad, Kurdugad, Birwadi. One of these forts is the Birwadi fort located in Birwadi village near Chanera village in Roha taluka. The name Birwadi may have been derived from the village. This fort, which is not mentioned anywhere in history, is at a distance of 18 km from Roha taluka and 2 km from Chanera village. To reach the fort from the village, first, you have to reach the Bhavani Mata temple at the foot of the fort. There is an unpaved road to reach this temple outside the village and 50-60 steps have been constructed in the last phase. Small cannon is placed in the temple premises. If you want to stay at the fort, you can stay in this temple. There is a statue of Shivaji Maharaj on a quadrangle structure at the back of the temple and the path leading to the fort starts from this statue. ... After climbing this path for about 10 minutes, we reach a bastion. This is a separate bastion, i.e. it's not connected with any ramparts. The path to the left under this bastion takes you to the gate of the fort in 10 minutes. Due to the forest on this road, this road is covered with mulch, so follow the road and proceed carefully. At one point along the way, there is a water cistern carved in the rock on the left. This tank is called “Ghodyache take” by the villagers. The main gate of the fort, built on the sides of two bastions, faces east and is still in good condition. Upon entering through the door, on the left side, there are three tanks of water carved in the rock at some distance, and a stone basin for storing water at a few distances ahead. There is another tank in the front part of this stone basin. There are two bastions built without walls a bit further. After you see the bastion, turn around and come back to the door, the path that goes straight up takes you to the citadel. At this place, you can see a small door buried in the ramparts. The citadel has a very less flat surface and no remains can be seen except the quadrangle of a large structure. Situated at an altitude of 580 feet above sea level, the fort covers an area of less than half an acre. As the fort is very small, half an hour is enough to walk around. While wandering around the entire fort, two bastions near the gate and five bastions without walls can be seen. The documents mention that Shivaji Raje built the fort of Birwadi around 1658 after conquering Dandarajapuri from Siddi in 1661.
© Suresh Nimbalkar