Just a little away from the coastal village of Rajapuri amidst the high tides of Arabian sea is the invincible fort of Murud Janjira. The fort is constructed ona small hill protruding out of the Arabian sea. There are 19 loud bastions on the outer high walls of the fort. The bastions were guarded by 527 very powerful cannons. The magnaminity of the fort power made Murud Janjira invincible. Inside the high walls are two fresh lakes though much of the structure inside is now in dilapidated condition. The palaces of the erstwhile siddi rulers still in comparison are in good shape. There are two gates leading out of the fort these gates are not visible from a distance and you get to see them only when you come in proximity. Some of the cannons are still stationed on the high walls one of them is the “Kalaal Baangadi” a 22 ton heavy arsenal known as the third biggest cannon of India. This fort power was a major reason for the invincible powers of the Murud janjira.
Location of Murud Janjira : - This fort is situated around 165 kms from the Mumbai city, if you are traveling from Mumbai to Goa just around 60 kms from the Kolad city is the invincible fort Murund Janjira. The fort is around 100 kms from the famous beach of Alibagh.
The invincible fort : - The high basalt rock walls of the Murund Janjira have been a bane for so many opponents, This amphibions fort was never won in history. The English,the Portuguese, the Marathas all desperately wanted to win over this giant fort in the Arabian sea. But no one ever came near to the victory. The siddis which are an African tribe to India the africanoid siddis are also called habshi which has been derived from the “Abyssiman” The term janjira is not native Indian this word probably was derived from the Arabic term “jazeera”.
History & Architecture of Murud Janjira : - The high walls of the Murud Janjira have been constructed from tough basalt rock, the walls rise around 40 feet straight surrounded by the waters of the Arabian sea. The Marathas veluding the great shivaji maharaj tried to win over the fort many plans were conceived these included making a bridge to making an underground tunnel but nothing worked to subdue the invincible murud janjira. Chatrapati shivaji his sonchatrapati sambhaji maharaj, peshwa baji Rao, nanaji surve, Chimaji appa, the Portuguese, the English all failed to win over the siddi nawab rulers of the Murud Janjira. The fort inspires the tranculers who travel to the island using boots.
