One of the many prominent families in present day and historical politics is the Parmar alias Pawar family of Malwa. Parmar alias Pawar, a Rajput family from the Malwa province of northern India, came to the south before Shivaji Maharaja’s era. Many forts and palaces of this family can be seen in Maharashtra and outside Maharashtra as well. One such stronghold of Pawar can be found in Kavathe village in Shirur taluka of Pune district. Pawar's fortress at Kavathe is a strong ground fort. Kavathe village is 63 km from Pune city and 26 km from Shikrapur on Pune-Nagar highway via Malthan. This fort is at a distance of 25 km from Shirur taluka. As the fort is outside the village, we reach the fort from the village panchayat office by crossing the village lanes. The entire ramparts of the fort and its bastions are still in good condition. ... This square-shaped fortress is spread over about an acre and the fortress has four bastions at its four ends. When you look at the embrasure for cannons on the bastion, you can tell that there was a cannon on this bastion. The entrance to the fortress is built in the central part of the ramparts facing north. The wooden doors of the main door are still there and the upper part is nailed with pointed nails. This door has a sub-door to enter the fort. Inside the door, there are guard houses on both sides. The lower part of the ramparts is made of stone and the upper part is made of bricks. The entire ramparts have gun emplacements and above them there are bastions. After entering the fortress, one can see the demolished wada (huge mansion) in front. At the south-west end of the fortress is a monument structure and adjacent to it is a warehouse or hall. Except for one well in the fort, the other remains are completely extinct. As the owner of the fortress, Pawar, is a Pune resident and no one lives in the fortress, it is closed. Since the inner area of the fortress is completely visible from the door, you have to take your view of the fortress from the door itself. There is a medieval Shiv temple in the back of the fortress and a well can be seen in the premises of this temple. The kingdom of Parmar located in the Malwa province of Central India, after the invasion of Aladdin Khilji in 1305 AD, the descendants of the Parmar family of Dhar went and settled in different provinces. One branch of the hierarchy came to Maharashtra and emerged as Pawar. Coming from the ancient capital Dhar, this family came to be known in history as Dhar Pawar. Shambhu Singh Parmar alias Sabu Singh Pawar is believed to be the progenitor of this family. When Shivaji Maharaj invaded Kalyan in 1658 AD, Sabusingh Pawar was with him. Sabusingh had a son named Krishnaji. Krishnaji Pawar was involved in Maharaja's raid on the land of Bijapurkars. After the killing of Afzal Khan, Krishnaji Pawar's name comes up in the scuffle with his son Fazal Khan. After the death of Krishnaji Pawar, his three sons Buvaji, Rayaji and Keroji joined Shivaji Maharaja’s army. Buvaji Pawar during the settlement of Mulukha during the period of Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj defeated many rebellions by fighting. Due to the faith given by Rajaram Maharaj, the forces of Buvaji and Keroji rushed through the Mughals' Vharhad and Gangathadi area and recovered their cash, surprising the Mughal forces and increasing the anger of the Marathas. Because of this performance, Rajaram Maharaja gave Buvaji Vishwasrao the title and “saranjam” and Keroji army “Senabarasahastri” with the title when he returned to Maharashtra from Jinji. The villages of Malthan, Supe, Kavathe Yamai, Ahmedabad, Hingani, Ganegaon, Chitegaon, and Nagardevale were their feudal homelands. Yashwantrao Pawar Malthankar is mentioned in the distribution list of Vishwarai's dominions given by Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj. After that, Anandrao Pawar, the grandson of Yashwantrao and the second son of Sambhaji, had the reign of Kavathe. It was he who built the fortress at Kavathe. Anandrao Pawar Yashwantrao Pawar Malathankar's grandson and Sambhaji's son Udaji, second son Anandrao and third son Jagdevrao laid the foundation of Dhar Sansthan (organization).
© Suresh Nimbalkar