Torna Fort was another of the many forts conquered by Shivaji. Like most of the forts in the area, the Torna Fort was inadequately garrisoned by the Bijapur forces. One of the reasons for this could be that the Sultan did not even remotely suspect that anyone had designs on this fort. Torna Fort is located at about 100 km from the southwest of Pune in the Western ghat mountain range in India. This fort is the highest fort in Pune district. Now it offers the tourists for trekking.
Torna Fort, which is also known as, Prachandagad fort is a large fort located in Pune district in Maharashtra. It is historically important in the history of Maratha Empire, as it was the first fort captured by Shivaji in 1643. Thus, Torna Fort is helping in the formation of the nucleus of the Maratha Empire. The hill, where the Torn Fort is located has an elevation of 1,403 metres above sea level, making it the highest hill-fort in the district. The name derives from "Prachanda", which means the massive, and "garh" means fort.
Torna fort is believed to have been constructed by the Shaiva (people who follow Shaivism) devotees, followers of the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in the 13th century. In the fort, Menghai Devi temple, also referred to as the Tornaji temple is situated near the entrance of the fort. In 1643, Shivaji captured this fort at the age of sixteen, thus making it one of the first forts in what would become the Maratha Empire. Shivaji renamed the Torna fort, and constructed several monuments and towers within it.
In the 18th century, the Mughal Empire gained control of this fort after assassination of Shivaji`s son Sambhaji. Aurangzeb, then ruler of Mughal dynasty, renamed this fort as Futulgaib in recognition of the difficult defence the Mughals had to overcome to capture this fort. The Treaty of Purandar restored it to the Maratha confederacy.
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