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Narnala Fort, orNarnala Qila Sarkar, is a hill fortress in theSatpura Range ofVidarbh, Maharashtra, India, named after theRajputSolankiChaulukya Ruler, Raja Narnal Singh, also known as Narnal Singh Swami. It was renamed as "Shahnoor" by Islamic rulers but again acquired, rebuilt with Hindu Cultural Elements and got its name "Narnala" from ruler Rao Rana Narnal Singh Solanki.[clarification needed][1]
The fort of Narnala was originally established around the 10th century CE by theYadava kings. Major fortifications were constructed by Raja Narnal Singh Swami, and additional works, including the Mahakali Gate, Rani Mahal, and Elephant Stable, were attributed to Rao Rana Narnal Singh Solanki. The fort later came under the control of various Islamic rulers. In the mid-15th century, it was occupied and rebuilt by theMughals, becoming one of the thirteensarkars ofBerar Subah. During the 16th century, it was captured and further fortified by theGond kings. In the late 17th century, the fort was captured by theMaratha Empire, administered by theBhonsles of theNagpur Kingdom. The fort was entrusted toSardar, formerly the ruler of Narnala—theSolanki Rajput RanaQiledar family of Rao Rana Narnal Singh, who also held jagir and deshmukhi rights in theMalkapur pargana.[2]
Raja Narnal Singh, also known as Narnal Singh Swami, was a scion of aChalukya ruler, after whom Narnala Fort is named. The fort was subsequently ruled by several rulers andkilledars, who made significant changes to the originalRajput style.
After him, his descendant from the northern branch of the family which were also descended from the ruling family of theRao Raja ofRajasthan—came to this fort. Kunwar Rao Raja Narnal Singh earned the titles ofRao andRana, becoming Rana of Mahurgad and receiving special rights to Narnala Fort, also some rights form a ruler of the Imad Shahi Dynasty, the son ofFathullah Imad-ul-Mulk, ruler of theBerar Sultanate—aKannada Kanarese Hindu converted to Islam. Along with Mahurgarh, he was granted Bhawargarh by the Maharana of Bijagad (Badwani). His younger brother received special rights to Narnala Fort from theRajgond ruler ofDeogarh, later continued by the son of Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk, of which headquarters were located at Malakpur, Buldhana District.
After the fall of the Imad Shahi Dynasty, the Rana left Mahurgarh following disagreements with the later rulers, theMughals. Declining Mughal sovereignty, he lost the land and fort rights in a small battle toMughal subhedars. After this, the Rana joined the Gonds of Deogarh, and his descendants fought against the Mughals alongsideRani Durgavati. They were granted the titleThakur of Narnala Sarkar by the Gond ruler of Deogarh. They held nine forts and Saranjami Sardeshmukh rights over 23 villages in Malkapur, where they appointed, twelve administrators, later seven, who served under the dominance of Rana Sarkar as the Malguzar Patils, Deshpande, Deshkulkarni, Purohits and other Vetandars, for which the Rana built seven Garhis around Malkapur for protection. Malkapur was largely dominated by Rajputs under the leadership of Rana Sarkar.
They also built fortress in Malkapur, named KAALIGADH, which was later demolished by Nizam around 1840.
Following the fall of the Gonds, the family was invited to join theMaratha Empire by Raja Bahadur of theBhonsle ofNagpur, who recognized their valour and experience of the Rana Sardars in the defense of Narnala and surrounding forts. The Bhonsle ruler granted him the title Thakurrao. Later, Thakurrao Harisingh Rana joined the Bhonsles, learning that they were descendants of the Maharanas ofMewar.
Raghoji I Bhonsle granted him the title ofQiladar of Narnala,Gawilgad, and nine other forts inMelghat, along with theZamindar SarPatilki rights over 13 villages, and SarDeshmukhSaranjamdar rights over 9 villages inMalkapurpargana in thesarkar of Narnala. As devotee ofMahakaali, after the severe loss of Second Anglo-Maratha war of 1803, they built a fortress around Malkapur as their capital for all nine forts, named Kaaligarh, which was later demolished by theNizam in 1830.
A younger brother of the thenQiladar Thakurrao Rana (Sarpatil-Deshmukh) shifted his capital from Malkapur toNadgaon, dividing the family into two main branches. There are four houses of the family to this day. The titularZamindar holders of these are as follows:
1. The elder branch of the family is the Kaaligarh–Malkapur branch of theSaranjamdar, carrying the titular rights of Deshmukh Vatandar Thakur Rao Rana, and historically holding the office of Pargana officer of MalkapurTaluk. Following thekhalsa (confiscation) of thewatan (land) rights and the pargana officer's responsibilities from his grandfather, the elder descendant, Sriman Raosaheb Rana Dr. Onkarsingh ji, with the suggestion of the Rana ofBarwani and assistance from the Rana ofPratapur and Dharampur, permanently shifted toTalode,Khandesh in the late 19th century.
2. The younger branch of the family is theNadgaon branch ofZamindars, descendants of Kuwar Ramsingh Solanki, younger brother of the Ranaji. They carried the titles of Vatandar,Rao, andPatil. Later, the descendants earned various titles in the pre-independence period such asRao Sahib,Diwan Bahadur, andRao Bahadur. The most honoured and notable person of this family is Smt.Pratibha Patil, the formerPresident of India, and the daughter of the Rao Patil of Nadgaon.[3]
Narnala Fort was occupied by several Indian dynasties over the centuries, including theYadava dynasty, theRajgond rulers ofDevgarh–Nagpur (c. 1400 CE), theSomvanshi KshatriyaChaulukya Rajput ruler Narnal Singh Swami, theBahmani Sultanate (1422–1436), theFarooqui dynasty (1437),Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk (1490), Rao Rana Narnal Singh Solanki, Burhan Imad Shah of the Imad Shahi dynasty (1572), theAhmadnagar Sultanate, theMughals (1597–98), and theMaratha Empire (1701–1803) under Raje Parsoji Bhosale's regent and the Rao Rana Qiledar family, until the British takeover in 1803.
The exact date of construction is unknown. According to local legend, the first fortifications were built by Raja Narnal Singh Swami, a descendant of theSomvanshi KshatriyaPandavas and a branch of theChalukya rulers ofAyodhya. His namesake descendant, Rao Rana Narnal Singh, ruled the fort in the early 16th century. The fort likely predates 1400 CE, as the Persian historianFirishta records that Shahab-ud-dinAhmad Shah I Wali (r. 1422–1436) made repairs to Narnala between 1425 and 1428 while camped atAchalpur during the construction ofGawilgarh Fort.[4]
In 1437, during an invasion ofBerar byNasir Khan ofKhandesh, the provincial governor (Khan-i-Jahan) took refuge in Narnala and, with reinforcements from Khalaf Hasan Basri sent by Ala-ud-din Ahmad Shah II, repelled the siege.[5] In 1487, Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk, founder of theImad Shahi dynasty, gained control of Narnala and appointed Rao Rana Narnal Singh Solanki as its governor.[6]
In 1572, Burhan Imad Shah was imprisoned here by his minister, Tufal Khan, prompting Murtaza Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar to capture the fort and execute both men. In 1597–98, Akbar's generals Saiyid Yusuf Khan Mashhadi and Shaikh Abul Fazl seized Narnala, renaming it Shanur, and incorporated it intoBerar Subah.[7]
In 1701, Raje Parsoji Bhosale captured the fort and appointed the descendants of Rao Rana Narnal Singh as hereditary governors with the title "Thakurrao". The Marathas held Narnala until 1803, when it was taken by the British. It was later returned to the Nagpur Bhosales and the Rana family, but eventually abandoned.
The fort covers an area of 362 acres (1.46 km2). The major features and architecture were done by Hindu rulers, mainly theSolanki Rajput Qiledars and the rulers ofGondwana, i.e., theRaj Gond, but modified by Islamic rulers into Islamic style by the time. It has 360 watchtowers, six large and twenty-one small gates. The large gates are called the Delhi Darwaza, the Sirpur Darwaza, the Akot Darwaza, and the Shahnoor Darwaza. The innermost of the three gate-ways is the Mahakali gate named by Rana Killedar family as Goddess Mahakali is their family deity. It is built of white sandstone and is highly ornate. It is decorated with conventional lotus flowers, a rich cornice, and later flourished with Arabic inscriptions, and flanked by projecting balconies with panels of stone lattice-work displaying considerable variety of design. It is considered an example of Sultanate style of architecture.[8] An inscription records the fact that the gate was built in the reign of Shahab-ud-din Mahmud Shah (Bahmani) by Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk in 1486. A short verse from the Quran is also inscribed. The fort still display "Ashtakamal" eight petals Lotus which was the symbol of Narnal Singh'sSolanki dynasty Goddess Khimaj orMahalaxmi. These lotuses are visible on the mosques and many other places. Hence it is evident that Islamic rulers made changes in Narnal Singh's original architectural construction and converted the place inMughal/Islamic form. It was impossible for any ruler to rebuild the entire fort considering the geographical location of the fort.
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The fort is located in theAkot Taluka ofAkola district, Berar at coordinates of 21°14'38"N 77°01'40"E. The closest city isAkot, which is 18 km away. It is at the southernmost tip of theSatpura Hills at an elevation of 932 meters above sea level.[1] Currently the fort falls within theMelghat Tiger Reserve.
The climate of Narnala fort is classified asHumid subtropical as perKöppen-Geiger climate classification with mild to cool winters (November to March), wet Monsoon season (June to October) and hot long summer (March to June). Temperature ranges from 0 °C to 23 °C in winter, 17 °C to 42 °C in summer and 15 °C to 27 °C in Monsoon.
It consists of three small forts: Jafarabad fort on the east, Narnala in the centre and Teliagarh to the west. The lake within the centre of the complex is said to possess healing properties and according to legend contained thephilosopher's stone, though no stone was found when the lake dried up in the drought andIndian famine of 1899-1900.[citation needed]
