Purandar Fort is known as the birthplace of Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The fort is repeatedly mentioned in the rising of Shivaji against the Adil Shahi Bijapur Sultanate and the Mughals. The fort of Purandhar stands at 4,472 ft (1,387 m) above the sea level in the Western Ghats, 50 km to the southeast of Pune.
The twin forts of Purandar and Vajragad (or Rudramal) of which the latter is the smaller of the two, is located on the eastern side of the main fort. The village of Purandar takes its name from this fort.
The oldest known reference to the Purandar dates back to the Yadava Dynasty in the 11th century.
After the defeat of the Yadavas by the Persian invaders, the territory surrounding the fort fell into the hands of the Persians who further fortified the Purandar Fort in 1350 A.D. During the early rule of the Bijapur and Ahmednagar kings, The Purandar Fort was among the forts directly under the Government rule and was never entrusted to Jagirdars (estate holders).
Under the rule of the Berar Sultanate, The fort was besieged several times. To prevent the Purandar Fort from ever falling again, A sacrificial ritual was performed where a man and a woman were buried alive under one of the fort bastions to appease its patron deity.[4] Another ritual was soon performed where the king ordered a minister to bury a first born son and his mother into the foundation of the bastion which was promptly done with a further offering of gold and bricks. When the bastion was finished, The minister, Yesaji Naik, was given possession of the Purandar Fort and the father of the sacrificed boy was rewarded with two villages.
