Harischandragarh
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Harischandragarh
Fort in the Akola tahika of Ahmadnagar District, Bombay, situated in 19*^ 23 N. and 73° 46' E., 19 miles s(juth-west of Akola, and one of the most interesting points on the Western (".hats; 4,691 feet above sea-level. The fort and the tem])les on the summit are annually visited by numerous pilgrims on the occasion of the festival called Maha Sivaratri. The ascent from the Poona side is very arduous. The visitors bathe in a masonry reservoir near the temples, apparently of Hemadpanti origin, and a fair is held in the vicinity. On a peak half a mile east of the summit is the citadel, with decaying walls and ruined cistern. There are five caves below the fort, apparently dating from the tenth or eleventh century. From the level plain on the top of the hill the cliff drops 2,000 feet sheer to the Konkan, to which access was formerly gained by rope and i)ulley. In the last Maratha War Harischandragarh was taken in May, 1818, by Captain Sykes.
