Torna

 Torna Fort

Name : Torna

Elevation : 1403 m / 4604 feet

Type : Giridurg

Mountain climbing range : Medium

Venue: Velhe Taluka, Pune, Maharashtra

Nearest village: Velhe

Dongarrang: Sahyadri

Current status: Well Condition

Hooked up: 1470 to 1486

Torna is a hill fort in Maharashtra. Torna or Prachandagad is a citadel in Pune district that is well-known for being extremely far flung and massive. From the Sahyadri range passing through Velha taluka of Pune district, two padars have unfold to the east, one in all which is Torana and Rajgad. the second one layer is referred to as Bhuleshwar Rang. The castle is positioned at 18.276 North latitude and seventy three. 613 East longitude in the mountain range southwest of Pune. To the south of this citadel is Velvandi river and to the north is Kanad river valley. To the west of this fort are Kanad gorge, to the east are Baman and Khariv gorge. the gap from Pune to Toran with the aid of road is 60 km.

History:

When Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj changed into setting up Swarajya. This  citadel  become first taken in 1647. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took this fortress and constructed the pylon of  Swarajya, therefore the name Torna fort. even as inspecting the castle, the Maharaja changed its name to 'Prachandgad' because of its extensive expanse. The cash found in this citadel changed into used by Shivaji Maharaj for the construction of Rajgad.

Proof of when and by using whom this  fort become constructed isn't to be had today.  From the ruins of caves and temples right here, this need to be the ashram of Shaivism. and many others. C.  The  citadel  become conquered with the aid of Malik Ahmed for the Bahamani rule among 1470 and 1486. Later   this  fortress came underneath Nizam rule.

Later it turned  into taken through Shivaji Maharaj and named Prachandagad  and some homes had been built at  the  fort. whilst Maharaj came from Agra, he restored many forts. He spent 5,000 Hons on it. After the brutal assassination of Sambhaji Maharaj, the citadel exceeded to the Mughals. Secretary Shankaraji Narayan brought it lower back  beneath the manipulate of the Marathas. subsequent and so on. C. In 1704, Aurangzeb besieged it and captured it in a battle, naming it Futulgaib, which means Divine Victory.

However 4 years later, Sarnobat Nagoji  Kokate  added  the fort again under the manipulate of the Marathas and after that the torana remained in the Swarajya forever. many of the forts given to the Mughals below Purandar, Torna remained with Maharaj. what's special is that this is the only castle of the Marathas that become conquered through Aurangzeb. there may be an ancient temple of Goddess Mengai on Torna fort.

The way to attain the fort :

Velhe is a taluka village in Pune district on the foot of Torana. the gap between Pune and Velhe is 60 km. Velhe via Pune-Nasrapur-Velhe, Pune-Panshet-Velhe and Pune-Khanapur-Pabe may be reached at the foot of Torna fort. The Velhe-Vegre alley of the time of Shivaji Maharaj can be reached taking walks in a single and a 1/2 to two hours. This route is less complicated than different routes. The Archaeological department has mounted iron defensive partitions in hardlocations. So it is able to be effortlessly fluctuated.

The second one direction is from Bhatti village, five km from Velha. From the west of the village, one goes immediately to Budhala Machi via the Valanjai gate. apart from these occupational routes, different smuggling routes have become tough and perilous. There is a lot of similarity between the torana seen at the manner up from Velhe village and the Rajgad visible from Gunjavana.

Photographs of Torna Fort :