Purandhar

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Purandhar (or Purandar) is a taluka of the Pune district of Maharashtra, India. It is situated about 38 km south of Pune. It is famous for the Purandhar Fort, a historic Maratha fort.

Purandhar has a National Cadet Corps Academy. It is a favorite destination for paragliders and trekkers. Apart from the fort and NCC Academy, other places of interest are the memorial of Sopan Deva and the temple of Jejuri. There are many temples like Purandeshwar mandir, Kedareshwar mandir, Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa mandir etc.

The crops in Purandhar taluka are jowar, bajra, rice, wheat, sugarcane, and vegetables (mainly onion). Some part of Purandhar is covered with forest, which is composed mostly of sag, teak, oak, and mango trees. Wild animals (rabbits, deer, wolves, foxes, tigers, and leopards) and birds (such as peacocks, bulbuls,parrots,Fantailed flycatchers,Paradise flycatcher,Hornbels,ETC.),Snakes (such as common criets,kobras,rat snakes,bombay shildtailed,grass snakes etc)are found in the forest.

The surnames "Purandhare" and "Purandare" are common to many Maharashtrians whose families are native to Purandhar.

1 Purandhar fort
2 References
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Purandhar fort

Purandhar also houses a hill fort, 4,472 ft. above the sea (1,387 m) in the Western Ghats. 20 m. S.E. of Pune. It figures repeatedly in the rising of Shivaji against the Mughals, and was the favourite stronghold of the Peshwas whenever the unwalled city of Poona was threatened. It was the capital of the Maratha kingdom in its early days and the Purandhar Fort, was an important fort of Shivaji. It gave its name to a treaty with the Marathtas, signed in 1776 but never carried into effect. It was utilized as a sanatorium for British soldiers.

The fort has a statue of Murarbaji Deshpande, the fort-keeper (killedar) who was killed while protecting the fort from attackers. A temple to Shiva is located at the heart of the fort.