Sajjangad : The fort of good people

  

            Saints have contrbuted a lot in creation of Swaraj, and Sajjangad is the witness of one of the devotions. Sajjangad is the holy place where Samarth Ramdas used to live. The tomb of Samarth Ramdas increases the importance of the place.

The fort was formly known as Parali. ‘Ashwalayangad’, ‘Navarasatara’ was another name of the fort in ancient time.  In Marathi ‘Sajjan’  means good people and ‘gad’  means fort, so in Marathi Sajjangad means ‘Fort of good people’. It was under Aurngzeib's rule for some time. Chhatrapati Sambhaji (son of King Shivaji) had spent some time here.

        Sajjangad  is situated in Satara district of Maharashtra. It is about 10-12 km from Satara, and one day trip to this fort from Satara can be arranged. You can reach very close to the fort through a vehicle, public transport is also available. There are two entrances (Mahadarwaja). There are two water 

reservoirs near temple of godess Aanglai.  It is said that, the idol of godessa Aanglai was found in the river Krishna near Angapur, a nearby village. There is a temple of god Ram on the fort.

These are the gates (Mahadarwajas) to the fort. Upper one if Shree Samarth Gate, named in the memory of Samarth Ramdas. Lower one is Chhatrapati Shivaji Gate, named in memory of King Shivaji.

This is drinking water reservoir. This is in use since ancient time. Today also people on the fort use this water for drinking.

The residence of Samarth Ramdas contains some artifacts that were dedicated to Samarth Ramdas by King Shivaji. These include the bed, some vessles etc.

The above picture shows the temple of god Ram. There is tomb of Saint Samarth Ramdas. Special thing about this temple is that, there is an idol of god Ganesh behind the Hanuman idol. The Hanuman idol is before the idol of god Ram. This arrangement is never seen anywhere.

This is the western side of the fort. The temple in above view is Dhabyacha Maruti temple. It is temple of  god Hanuman.. The road visible in above picture heads to Thosegar which is famous for waterfalls.

      Other interesting places on the fort are 'Dhabyacha Maruti', 'Brahmapisa temple', 'Ghodale lake', a mosque, 'Sonale lake' and 'Ramghal  buruj (a bastion).