The Jat taluka of Sangli district has an ancient history and has a glorious history of Satavahana, Vakataka, Rashtrakut, Yadav, Bahamani and Maratha powers. Some ancient inscriptions of 11th and 12th century AD are found in the ancient temple at Umrani. It records that King Bijjaladeva of the Kalchuri dynasty donated to these temples. Later, during the Muslim rule, in 1681 AD, when AdilShah of Bijapur gave responsibility of Jat to Satwaji Dafle, the Jat Sansthan and the Dafle royal family emerged. After the death of Sambhaji Maharaj, Satwaji along with Dhanaji Jadhav and Santaji Ghorpade attacked the Mughal army with his 16000 troops. Jat was an independent entity during the Peshwa period. These institutions were ruled by the Dafle family. There are records of Balaji Peshwa staying at Jat in December 1755 while on his way to settle things with the Nawab of Savanur. There are also records of the elder Madhavrao Peshwa staying at Jat during his Karnataka campaign. ... As Jat, the capital of the Dafle kingdom, was an important city, the entire city was surrounded by a fort, in fact, Jat city was located inside it. Today, the entire Fort has become extinct due to increased settlement and only the entrance of this Fort, its wooden gate, the only bastion in the vicinity and some ramparts remain. This structure has been partially renovated with cement. Today, this is the only structure that tells the mark of this city fort. Once the Jat city was in the interior of this fort but today it is in the center of the city. In front of the door is the temple of Maruti and in this temple one can see the carved pillars of the old temple as well as some other ruins. Some distance inside this door is Sardar Dafale's fortress spread over an area of about one acre. This square shaped fortress has four bastions at the four ends and two gates. There is wooden carvings on one of these doors and there is a temple of Chingi Baba in this area. The rest of the fortress is private property and is on the verge of collapse so entering it is dangerous. In the inner part of the fortress, we can see the Chausopi wada (mansion) built in stone. An hour is enough to see the gate and fortress of this Nagarkot. If you need directions to this place in Jat city, if you ask Chingi Baba Mandir, you can easily reach this place.
© Suresh Nimbalkar