Vasota Fort
Encyclopedia
Vasota Fort is located in Satara district
Satara district
Satara District is a district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of 10,480 km² and a population of 2,808,994 of which 14.17% were urban . Satara is the capital of the district and other major towns include Wai, Karad, Koregaon, Koyananagar, Rahimatpur, Phaltan, Mahabaleshwar...

 in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

.. It was famously defended by Tai Telin
Tai Telin
Tai Telin was the mistress of Pant Pratinidhi, the Raja of Aundh. In 1806, Pant Pratinidhi was imprisoned by Peshwa Baji Rao II at Masur. During his absence, Tai Telin obtained the possession of Vasota and had the dash and courage to release her paramour. Pratinidhi declared himself the servant of...

 a mistress of Pant Pratinidhi a killedar of the fort when he was captured.
Vasota fort is attributed to the Kolhapur Shilahara Raja Bhoja II (1178-1193) of Panhala. Vasota always remained with Marathas, Shirkes & Mores in 16th century & then incorporated in Swarajya by Shivaji Maharaj in 1655 during the conquest of Javli. Shivaji Maharaj named the fort "Vyaghragad" (Vyaghra - means tiger), owing to its difficult natural defense. After Shivaji Maharaj, the brave Maratha Bajirao Peshwa carried on the Swarajya mission of ousting the Mughal invaders from our country. In 1818 however, British bombarded the fort with heavy artillery thereby destroying many buildings on Vasota (Chandika mandir, Daru-kothar, etc) & looted property worth 5 lakhs. Today the fort stands in a dilapidated condition in a thick jungle with remnants of Shree Mahadev mandir, the plinth of a huge "sadar" (discussion place), the fallen ramparts & spectacular view of Nageshwar peak & Shivsagar lake (Koyna backwaters).
It is located about 350 km from Mumbai, it is a protected natural reserve and a national treasure nest. The blue-green expanse of Koyna backwaters, the evergreen forests of Koyna wildlife sanctuary, hike to Vasota fort hidden in thick jungle, the spectacular view from top of the fort along with the beauty and serenity of the place leaves one spell bound.
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