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Torana has more significance than any other fort in Maharashtra. Called Torana because it had a big number of Toran trees at a point of time, this fort was also known as ‘Prachandagad’ (Prachanda = huge, gad = fort) because of its massive size. Torana was the first fort to have been captured by Shivaji Maharaj in his conquest of Swaraj and all this at the age of sixteen! Legend has it that when Shivaji Maharaj captured this fort, the workers who were engaged in strengthening the forts upon digging the earth found pots filled with gold coins. They thought it to be a sure sign of success for Shivaji from the Goddess Bhavani and laid the treasure before the Maratha king who used this blessing to build the Rajgad fort on Muramba Devi mountain. Located about 50 kms away from Pune to the right of Sinhgad and measuring approximately 1400 mtrs high, Torana is also a trekkers’ delight with its tough terrain and can turn out to be quite an enjoyable experience for a group of climbers. The view on and around Torana fort is breathtaking. There are two machis on the fort known as Zunjar Machi and Budhala Machi. Hanuman Buruj, Bhel Buruj, Takmak Buruj, Bini Darwaja and Konkan Darwaja also form a part of the landscape of this huge fort. The main temple of Devi Mengai is a very old one and has immense religious importance. Besides this temple, those of Toranaji and Toraneshwar are also located near the ‘Kothi’ door on the fort. The view from Torana fort is wonderful. One can see Rajgad fort from the front of the temple of Devi Mengai. Other prominent forts such as Raigad, Pratapgad, Sinhagad and Lingana are visible from here. The pictures below are for testing the picture gallery and are not related to this section.
Last Updated: Thursday, 05 April 2007
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