Raigad is a district in the state of Maharashtra, India, located in the Konkan region. Raigad, the fort that was the former capital of the Maratha leader Shivaji Maharaj, and is located in the interior regions of the district, in dense forests on a west-facing spur of the Western Ghats of Sahyadri range. The district is bounded by Mumbai Harbour to the northwest, Thane District to the north, Pune District to the east, Ratnagiri district to the south, and the Arabian Sea to the west. The district includes towns/cities of Panvel, Alibag, Mangaon, Roha, Pen, Khopoli, Kharghar, Taloja, Khalapur, Uran, Patalganga, Rasayani, Nagothana, Poladpur, Alibag, Karjat and Mahad. The largest city both in area and population is Panvel. The district also includes the island of Gharapuri or Elephanta, located in Uran which has ancient Hindu and Buddhist caves. Raigad is a hill fort situated in the Mahad, Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. The Maratha king Shivaji made the fort his capital in 1674 when he was crowned King of a Maratha Kingdom which later developed into the Maratha Empire eventually covering majority of modern day India. The fort, which rises 820 metres (2,700 ft) above sea level, is located in the Sahyadri mountain range. There are approximately 1737 steps leading to the fort, though today an areal tram exists to reach the top of the fort. The fort was looted and destroyed by the British upon. The fort was built by Chandrarao Mores in 1030. Ruins of three watch towers can be seen directly in front of the palace grounds overlooking an artificial lake called Ganga Sagar Lake created next to the fort. It also has a view of the execution point called Takmak Tok, a cliff from which the sentenced prisoners were thrown to their death. The area is now fenced off. The fort also has ruins of the market, and it has such structure that one can shop even while riding on a horse. The fort has a famous wall called "Hirakani Buruj" constructed over a huge cliff. Its story is that a woman by the name of Hirakani from a nearby village at the foothills of Raigad had come to sell milk to the people living in the fort. She was inside the fort when the gates were locked by sunset. The love for her infant son back at her village gave her the courage to climb down the cliff in the dark. She repeated the feat in front of King Shivaji, and was rewarded for it. In appreciation of her courage, Shivaji arranged for a wall built at this location. The king's public Durbar has a replica of the original throne that faces the main doorway called the Nagarkhana Darwaja. This enclosure had been acoustically designed to aid hearing from the doorway to the throne. A secondary entrance, called the Mena Darwaja, was supposedly the private entrance of the royal ladies of the fort; it leads to the queen's quarters. The erstwhile main entrance to the fort is the imposing Maha Darwaja. The convoy of the king and the king himself used the Palkhi Darwaja. To the right of Palkhi Darwaja, is a row of three dark and deep chambers. Historians believe that these were the granaries for the fort. A statue of Shivaji is erected in front of the ruins of the main market avenue that eventually leads to the Jagdishwar Mandir and his own Samadhi (tomb) and that of his dog Waghya.
Ballaleshwar Temple is one of the eight temples of Lord Ganesha. Among Ganesha temples, Ballaleshwar is the only incarnation of Ganesha that is known by his devotee's name. It is located in the village of Pali which is at a distance of 30 km from Karjat in the Raigad district. It is situated between fort Sarasgad and river Amba. Moreshvar Vitthal Sindkar (Dighe) constructed the Temple in 1640. He has been one of the major contributor of the work of Shivaji:The great on "SWARAJYA". The original wooden temple was renovated in 1760 to make way for a new stone temple designed by Shri Fadnis. Built in the shape of the letter Shri, it was made by mixing lead with the cement during construction. The east-facing temple was carefully positioned so that, as the sun rises, sun rays fall directly on the murti during worship. The temple contains a bell that was brought back by Chimaji Appa after his defeat of the Portuguese in Vasai and Sasti. The prasad offered to this Ganesha is Besan Ladu instead of Modak, a sweet normally offered to Ganapati. Kalyansheth was a merchant in Pallipur and was married to Indumati. The couple was childless for quite some time but later was blessed with a son known as Ballal. He was devotee of Lord Ganesha and used to worship stone idol of Shri Ganesha in the forest along with his friends and companions. As it used to take time, the friends would reach home late. Regular delay in returning house used to irritate the parents of the friends of Ballal who complained to his father saying that Ballal was responsible for spoiling the kids. Already unhappy with Ballal for not concentrating on his studies, Kalyansheth was boiling with anger when he heard the complaint. Immediately he reached the place of worship in the forest and devastated Pooja arrangements organized by Ballal and his friends. He threw away the Stone Idol of Shri Ganesh and broke the pandal. Kalayan beat Ballal mercilessly and tied him to the tree saying to get fed and freed by Shri Ganesha. He left for home thereafter. Ballal semiconscious and tied to the tree in the forest was lying as that with severe pain all over, started calling his beloved God, Shri Ganesha. Shri Ganesha was pleased and responded quickly. Ballal was freed. He blessed Ballal to be superior devotee with larger lifespan. Shri Ganesha hugged Ballal and said that his father would suffer for his wrong doings. Ballal insisted that Lord Ganesha should continue to stay there at Pali. Nodding His head Shri Ganesha made his permanent stay at Pali as Ballal Vinayak and disappeared in a large stone. This is famous as Shri Ballaleshwar. In the above mentioned story the stone idol which Ballal used to worship and which was thrown away by Kalyan Sheth is known as Dhundi Vinayak. The idol is facing west. The birth celebration of Dhundi Vinayak takes place from Jeshtha Pratipada to Panchami. From ancient time, it is a practice to take darshan of Dhundi Vinayak before proceeding to main idol Shree Ballaleshwar.
Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife refuge in the Murud and Roha talukas of Raigad district, Maharashtra state, India. It was created in 1986 to preserve some of the coastal woodland ecosystem of the Western Ghats and consists of 6979 hectares of forest, grasslands and wetlands. The area was once part of the hunting reserves of the princely state of Murud-Janjira. The Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary is located some 140 km from Mumbai. There are four main trails through the sanctuary that take in the main waterholes, Gunyacha Maal, Chikhalgaan and Phansadgaan, that are some of the best places to see wildlife. The sanctuary is best approachable by road from Murud-Janjira and Roha. The nearest rail head is Roha. In the Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary , wild boars can be seen digging up roots. Limbless amphibians called caecelians can be seen easily and white-bellied Sea Eagles are seen soaring above high. The Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary is the coastal woodland ecosystem a varied species of insects are also found in this sanctuary in Maharashtra. The main attraction of the Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary is the beautiful Giant Indian Squirrel, but this animal is very shy and cautious and hence makes it very difficult for the tourists to catch a glimpse of the popular squirrel. With over 720 species of flora and 279 species of fauna that include mammals, birds and butterflies a trek in Phansad wild life sanctuary is an interesting digression during a beach holiday to Kashid. The name of Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary is taken from the large number of Garcinia Talbotii trees. Garcinia Talbotti is also known as ‘monkey fruit’ tree. It provides fruits which are useful for monkeys. This is a fully ever green tree. Local name of this tree is ‘Phansada’.Phansad wildlife sanctuary has a large no. of these trees. Due to this large number of trees, sanctuary is named as ‘Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary’. This tree have a ht. of 15-20mtr tall. Branchlet angular, ribbed, leaves, opposite, elliptic-oblong. Flowers are unisexual, crimy, yellowish green in axillary clusters.
The Elephanta Caves (natively known as Gharapurichi Leni) are a network of sculpted caves located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves") in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres to the east of the city of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The island, located on an arm of the Arabian Sea, consists of two groups of caves—the first is a large group of five Hindu caves, the second, a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The Hindu caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the Lord Shiva. The rock cut architecture of the caves has been dated to between the 5th and 8th centuries, although the identity of the original builders is still a subject of debate. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. All the caves were also originally painted in the past, but now only traces remain. The main cave (Cave 1, or the Great Cave) was a Hindu place of worship until Portuguese rule began in 1534, after which the caves suffered severe damage. This cave was renovated in the 1970s after years of neglect, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 to preserve the artwork. It is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Gharapuri is small village on the south side of the island.[3] The Elephanta Caves can be reached by a ferry from the Gateway of India, Mumbai, which has the nearest airport and train station.[4] The cave is closed on Monday. Since no inscriptions on any of the island have been discovered, the ancient history of the island is conjectural, at best. Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and Banasura, the demon devotee of Shiva, are both credited with building temples or cut caves to live. Local tradition holds that the caves are not man-made. The Elephanta caves are "of unknown date and attribution". Art historians have dated the caves in the range of late 5th to late 8th century AD.[7] Archaeological excavations have unearthed a few Kshatrapa coins dated to 4th century AD. The known history is traced only to the defeat of Mauryan rulers of Konkan by the Badami Chalukyas emperor Pulakesi II (609–642) in a naval battle, in 635 AD. Elephanta was then called Puri or Purika, and served as the capital of the Konkan Mauryas. The Trimurti of Elephanta showing the three faces of Shiva is akin to the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva), which was the royal insignia of the Rashtrakutas. Later, Elephanta was ruled by another Chalukyan dynasty, and then by Gujarat Sultanate, who surrendered it to the Portuguese in 1534. By then, Elephanta was called Gharapuri, which denotes a hill settlement. The name is still used in the local Marathi language. The Portuguese named the island "Elephanta Island" in honour of a huge rock-cut black stone statue of an elephant that was then installed on a mound, a short distance east of Gharapuri village. The elephant now sits in the Jijamata Udyaan zoo in Mumbai.
