To reach Samrajgad fort, you first have to reach Murud. The village of Murud is connected to various major cities in the country by road. Samrajgad is also known as Dandarajpuri Fort is a small fort that is located on a hill near Ekdara village between Murud and Rajpuri. Once you go near the Shiv temple in the village, you can see the beautiful view of Murud beach. This is where you start to climb the fort. This road can reach Samrajgad within 10 minutes. On the way up to the fort, you can see some broken remains. On the seaside of the fort, there is a lake which is currently dry. The ramparts of the fort of Samrajgad have collapsed. These ramparts were made of stones. The five bastions present in the ramparts are still visible today. After searching a little in the overgrown bushes, you will see two quadrangle structures. ... From Samrajgad, you can see water forts like Janjira and Padmadurg along with the magnificent view of the Murud area. One hour is enough to walk around the entire fort. Although there are not many remains, the history of Samrajgad has been recorded. Janjira fort was in the possession of African siddi. These Africans harassed the people living in the coastal regions. Along with looting, Siddi's business was to abduct women and children from coastal villages, convert them to Islam or sell them as slaves in Arab countries. There is a mention of Janjira's Siddi in the documents from Shivaji Maharaj’s period. Janjira's Siddi was the biggest enemy of the Swarajya. Maharaj tried many times to defeat him and get him out of their way, but his attempt always failed. To curb Siddi's aggressive attitude, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj built Padmadurga in the sea and Samrajgad on the shore. This fort was then known as the fort of Dandarajpuri. The base of the Marathas used to fall on this fort for expeditions on Janjira. Shivaji Maharaj sent Vyankoji Dutto with his soldiers to build Samrajgad. They captured Siddi's area around Dandarajapuri. Siddi sent African cavalry to deal with Marathas. 300 Africans were killed in this war. Siddi tried to negotiate with Shivaji Maharaj, but he did not change his mind. Maharaj built Samrajgad on the conquered hill near Rajapuri. Since Samrajgad was built by Shivaji Maharaj, it was under Siddi's eyes. To conquer it, Siddi put his chosen soldiers in a boat and landed on the shore. They set up cannons around Samrajgad on trees and shot the fort with them, but the cannons fell down from the tree, and Siddi’s plan failed and he incurred losses. February 11, 1671, was the day of Holi. Maharaj had left Raigad for Janjira's expedition. His stay was at a distance of 9 km from Raigad. Prior to this campaign, Siddi planned to conquer Samrajgad. In the dark of night, Siddi Qasim with his army landed at the foot of Samrajgad. They put ladders and ropes on the wall. At the same time, Siddi Khairat attacked from the other side of the fort with his 500 African soldiers. He strongly attacked the Marathas who were unconscious in the colors of Holi. They didn't even have time to prepare themselves. Still, they somehow started to fight with Siddi Khairat. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Siddi Qasim raised his army from the other side of the fort. Due to Siddi's attack from two sides, the Marathi army was divided. The Marathas were fighting fiercely until the ammunition depot caught fire and exploded. Many soldiers from both sides were killed and then Samrajgad went under Siddi’s control. Shivaji Maharaj woke up to the sound of an explosion in the middle of the night. He immediately sent his spy to Samrajgad. On hearing the news of Samrajgad, Shivaji Maharaj canceled Janjira's expedition.
© Suresh Nimbalkar