Story of the Most Powerful & Unconquered Fort Of India.. Unfolds!!

Home to the Indus Valley civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, our Indian history is identified with its commercial and cultural wealth over the past thousands of years.  On this note I will start with saying, Daulatabad is absolutely a no-no place for a history hater. In order to get the most out of the ‘sightseeing’ here, you need to have great admiration for our Indian history.

This Maginificient Daulatabad Fort is the “Unconquered fort of India”

If to be given a genuine definition to Maharashtra Maza is “The Great Nation”, which is the territory of our beloved Raje, Shivaji Maharaj. The land where you can still hear the echoes of the wars fought & where you can witness the glorious past & rich culture of the Marathas & the Mughals. Both empires created many headstones & monuments, consolidated with amazing architecture which are strongly rooted here to tell the stories of the bygone times.

One of such wonders is the Gigantic Daulatabad Fort. No trip to Aurangabad is complete without a pit stop at the ruined but truly magnificent hilltop fortress of Daulatabad . Located 15 kms away from the main city of Aurangabad, Daulatabad Fort is an ancient fortification that rises formidably from the midst of verdant greenery. Often hailed as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Maharashtra’, this architectural marvel is believed to have been built in the 12th century.

Lord Shiva is believed to have been stayed on the hills surrounding this region. Hence the fort was originally known as Devagiri.

What begins as a normal fort ends up as a hill fort. Daulatabad Fort is built on top of a Pyramid shaped hill dominating the landscape. You need to hike some 750 odd steps up to the top, but the view down below is a wonderful thing to behold.

History of Daulatabad Fort: Yes!! Its ownership did became a matter of pride, prestige & egotistical arrogance.

It is not just another fort in ruins. This fort was the centre of power in medieval times and no ordinary one. Some ruins themselves are so magnificent today that one can’t help wondering what the fort was like in its glorious days. The story of this fort is long one riddled with treachery, greed, religious prejudice and plunder. Among the most gorgeous forts in Maharashtra, Daulatabad was captured by various rulers, including the Mughals, the Marathas & the Peshwas. In 1724 AD, it came under the Nizams of Hyderabad.

The history of Daultabad goes back to the twelveth century, when it was the capital of the Hindu Kingdoms in the Deccan and was called Deogiri, the hill of the gods. The fortress of Deogiri was constructed by Raja Bhillamraj, of Yadav Dynasty, who was a great general of his time.

The “Hill” was the site of a rock-sliced citadel which was considered to be indestructible. However, Deogiri yielded to enemy assault and passed into the possession of the Sultans of Delhi in 1308 A.D.

Thirty years later, Deogiri was to attain a brief period of glory as India’s capital. Muhamad Tughlak, ascending the Delhi throne, ordered his capital to be moved to the southern city which he renamed Daultabad, the City of Fortune. It was a transplantation rather than a transfer, for Delhi’s entire population-men, women and children-rich and poor alike, were to move out in a mass to the new capital. Even the sick and the dying were not exempted from the arduous journey,  that involved a terrible toll in human misery and thousands of Delhi citizens perished on the way. And it was all in vain. The Sultan regretted his decision and repeating his act of madness, ordered the whole mass of migrants to move back to the abandoned capital.

Construction of Daulatabad Fort: A Solid Foundation of Superb Defense Strategies!!

One of the most inspiring aspects of the Daulatabad Fort is its design which makes it one of the most powerful fortresses of the medieval period. It is built on a 200 metres high conical hill, which provides this grand fortress with a strategic position, architectural beauty and protection from the enemies. Another unique aspect of this destination is its engineering genius, which not only provided an impregnable defence against enemy forces but also managed irreplaceable resources of water quite well. The contrast of the ancient edifice against the lush green fields of Aurangabad paints a wonderful picture that takes you back through the pages of the days bygone.

The construction of the Daulatabad Fort was peculiar in its own right, and it was meant to be such so that any enemy marching towards it is thrown off track. The fort had a single doorway which served as both the entrance and the exit. This was done so that any enemy troops who try to penetrate through the fort looking for an exit get trapped in the premises. In the olden days, intoxicated elephants were used to break open the gates of the forts. To avoid such a situation, the Daulatabad Fort has a special provision of spikes on the gates which gave an instant death to the giant beast.

Dauatabad had no parallel gates  which was meant to confuse the enemy and the flag mast of the fort was situated on the left-hand side. When the enemy tried to attack the same, they turned left, but the exit gates were on the right, which further trapped them in the labyrinth of the fort.

Serpentine arrangements of entryways, false doorways, peculiarly curved walls and many such ruses were used in the wall to confuse the enemy and eventually condemn them to defeat. Even the smooth and curved shape of the hill was used to protect the Daulatabad Fort against mountain lizard climbers, who would miserably fail if they tried to climb up the mountain. These and many other intelligent placements of resources tricked the enemies of Daulatabad Fort and kept the rulers protected against any danger. The fort saw much turbulence, wars, battles and change of royalty, but the citadel stands strong & tall.

Jeopardous Daulatabad Monumented

As i got to the fort, it was easy to understand why the fort seemed to be unconquerable. I was astonished to pass through this amazing architectural splendor. The massive fortifications were still in effect. The large construction can be viewed from distant.

In addition to the moats and fortifications, the Fort encloses a step well, a kacheri or a court building, the Bharat Mata Temple, Hathi haud or elephant tank, the Chand Minar, Aam Khaas or the hall of public audience, the Royal Hammam, Chini Mahal, Andheri (a dark passage used to lure enemies to certain death), Rang Mahal, and 10 unfinished rock-cut caves, Mendha Tope among others.

The Daulatabad Fort is surrounded by three kots or fortifications. The first one is the Amberkot which was intended for the use of common people. The next one is the Mahakot. The kots or fortifications have many gates and bastions. It has a huge courtyard surrounded by guardrooms. The guardrooms flaunt cannons.

The cobblestoned yard surrounded by stone walls reminded me of scenes from Game of Thrones. It was not hard for me to imagine the ‘lifestyle’ that people must have had there.

The Mahakot has eight gates. As I walked from gate to gate, I noticed, sometimes ordinary sometimes extraordinary cells built along the walls. The purposes of those are not known. We assume the ordinary ones were built for storage and the extraordinary ones probably served as meeting halls or shrines.

The gates are massive and have spikes on them. The spikes were installed to nullify the use of elephants for breaking doors.

There are many bifurcations on the way from Mahakot to Kalakot. I avoided taking those routes as the fort is popular for having false routes. Not that I was scared but I did not have enough time to deal with being led astray.

The Chand Minar, the iconic tower in the Daulatabad Fort which draws the maximum attention. The minar is the second tallest after Qutab Minar in Delhi, and Charminar in Hyderabad is the third largest minar in the country.

It is no wonder the minar gets the maximum importance. The structure is easily identifiable from afar.

It lies on a bifurcation to the right on the path to Kalakot from Mahakot.

The Chand Minar has four storeys and the exterior is adorned with Persian blue tiles. Visitors are not allowed inside the minar.

Now that I was done with the Chand Minar, I started hunting for the Bharat Mata Temple.

This is first temple of Mother India in India. The temple is one of the oldest and important structures.

This was probably a temple that was converted into a mosque for praying and now is converted back into a “Bharat Mata” mandir.

The place is very photogenic with the Chand Minar by its side.

And soon we found a temple of sorts with many pillars and no two pillars were similar.

The Bharat Mata Temple has a history of its own. It was built by the Hindus as a temple and later on converted into a mosque when the Muslims captured the fort. To avoid controversies, the authorities, in a master stroke, it was again re-converted back into its original form and the idol of Bharat Mata was installed after the formation of independent India.

I now finally reached the gates of the innermost fortification- Kalakot. The inside of kalakot is extremely intriguing and every corner of this part roars of mystery and history. I couldn’t stop my minds from meandering hither and thither.

“Mendha” Tope is the most popular cannon of the Daulatabad & Biggest Cannon on the Fort with capacity to hit surrounding hills.

Now plucked off her pivot,  this cannon was mounted in such a way, that it could be rotated only through a semi-circle… and NOT point at the mother fortress in case the enemy reaches the cannon and use it this way. Intelligents!!

This cannon kept over a bastion located in front of moat. It is skillfully mounted on a base so it can be rotated. On this cannon name of emperor Aurangzeb & name of its artisan Md. Arab are engraved. There is an inscription from Holy Quran toward the mouth of this cannon. In addition to this there are two more cannons Kala Pahad Cannon and Durga Cannon.The butt of the cannon has a carved ram’s head. The mouth of the cannon has inscription from the holy Quran. No matter how much we would have loved to see this ancient weapon of destruction, our wish was not fulfilled. A huge crowd of visitors already fought with each other at the cannon spot for a precious selfie opportunity. Me too grabbed the opportunity to smile with the canon.

I had seen moats in movies, I had read about moats in both historic and fiction books but saw moats for the first time in my life at Daulatabad Fort. The deep rock cut moat encircles the citadel. The colour of the water in the moat is green and by the look of it we inferred it wasn’t very clean.

I was expecting a drawbridge; but the connecting bridge was just another wooden bridge which had been constructed for the convenience of tourists & history lovers like me. In the erstwhile era, there was indeed a drawbridge. In the late 19th century the drawbridge was replaced by a permanent footbridge. I think the moat was also home to crocodiles during the more glorious days of Daulatabad Fort.

I passed the narrow paths around the walls of the citadel and reached the entry point to the most interesting part of the – the “Andheri”. Andheri is the hindi word for darkness. So we could very well guess what to expect in Andheri.

Guards posted outside the entry point will let visitors enter only if they have a proper flash or torch for light. Andheri is yet another example of the fort’s immaculate defence system. It’s a trap to deceive people.

The tunnel was pitch dark indeed, bats screeched from all directions. The torchlight revealed flying bats. Just don’t know if the bats were more afraid of me or me of them. Ha!Ha!

The staircases inside these great dark labyrinths are tyrannically steep. I stopped my breath & concentrated on being alive and taking photos was the last the thing on my mind but could somehow anticipated to capture the feel of it.

Halfway through a tiring climb, lord Ganesh beckons you to rest at his feet for a while. This appears to be a 19th century structure.

The view of the valley after emerging out of the tunnel was worth every bit of the effort. I felt relaxed that the toughest part was done and I was  just a few steps away from reaching the summit. Kept on walking with a heart full of pride; after all I was so close to mounting the crowning point!

And every single time I thought “Ghoshh”…. This should be the last staircase” and everytime it proved wrong. The fort’s architecture is a fiery example of treachery.

Finally I came face to face with the Baradari. In front of me was an octagonal double storeyed building having an impressive veranda with twelve arches. As I went inside the building, felt relaxed as no more staircases were visible, so this must be the top.

The building has a central square courtyard which is surrounded on all four sides by chambers with arched veranda.

OMG!!  It send a chill down my spine, and I literally frozed midway. I had to climb down a staircase without handrail carrying my heavy full loaded photography bag with camera on my neck. Also climbing down made it all the more tougher with legs shivering. Was drained to hell with just no enthusiasm left.

Daulatabad Fort quenched me in fully!! Photographing the architecture, design & construction of this Fort is very tricky & challenging. Felt really proud clicking this fabulously creeky unconquered fort through my view finder… My Eyes!!

Trekking to the top of Daulatabad Fort

The most challenging part of exploring the fort is reaching the top of this mighty skyscraper. Your legs are the only access to reach. You will have to walk up 750 stairs which can take anywhere between 1-3 hours depending on your speed. The difficulty level is easy to medium and there are a few dark areas along the way for which you need to carry a torch. You will get to experience the peculiarities of Daulatabad Fort as well, such as the fact that no two entrances are in front of each other, which are quite interesting to note and observe as you go. All the effort and time is made worth by the view from the summit, which is a fascinating testimony of the architectural brilliance of the medieval times.

Tips For Visiting Daulatabad Fort

Devagiri is in the outskirts of Aurangabad, and is on the Aurangabad – Ellora road (National Highway 2003). Aurangabad is well connected by road and 20 km away from Devagiri.

Daulatabad railway station is located on the Manmad-Purna section of South Central Railways and also on the Mudkhed-Manmad section of the Nanded Division of South Central Railway.

Hire a local guide to know the history of the place.

Carry your water bottle and eatables with you, as it is difficult to find food stalls near the fort.

Wear proper footwear and comfortable clothes if you plan to trek to the top of Daulatabad Fort.

Taking breaks between your journey is a must too.

With its hot climatic conditions, sweating, tourists held each others’ wet hands and going ahead, seniror citizens breatheless…