Salher Range
Grade : Moderate
Region : Satana
Base village : Mulher Village for Hargad-Mulher-Mora, Salherwadi and Waghamba for Salher-Salota
Landmark : Satana
Number of Routes : 1 for Hargad-Mulher-Mora, 3 for Salher-Salota
Highest Altitude : 5141 Feet (1567m)
Trek Duration : 10-11 for Hargad-Mulher-Mora, 8-9 hours for Salher-Salota
Surrounding Peaks : Mangi Tungi, Nhavigad
Ideal Season : November to February
Major Attarction :
Rock Cut Stairs at all forts, View of Mangi Tungi and Paanch Pandav, Parshuram Temple at Top of Highest Fort in Maharashtra, Gangasagar Lake at Salher, Ancient Canon at Hargad.
Ganesh Mandir : The fort is mainly divided in two parts, the Mulher Machi (flat plateau) and the Bale-Killa (Citadel). The temple of Lord Ganesha is situated on the Mulher Machi.
Someshwar Mandir and Chandan Bav : From Ganesh Mandir, two ways emerge out. The one towards left leads to Someshwar Mandir, a temple of Lord Shiva. On the way to Someshwar temple lies a three-storey Well, known as Chandan Bav.
Moti Tank : Trailing back from Someshwar temple, we come across a bifurcation. We follow the straight route and reach the plateau from where we can reach Moti Tank, a cool drinking-water cistern.
Rajwada and Ram-Laxman Mandir : Following the straight path from the plateau, we reach at Rajwada, a Palace, of which only remnants could be seen. Near the Palace, through the thick undergrowth we reach the famous Ram-Laxman temple.
Bale-Killa : Through the right-way from Moti tank, we reach at the Maha-Darwaja of Citadel. Stepping in we can see a cistern to the right, while a cave to the left of it. On the plateau of Citadel, we can see temple of Lord Bhadangnath, 9 -10 cisterns, palatial remnants, etc. On climbing the small hill above the Bhadangnath temple and trailing down the other side, the forts like Mora, Nhavigad, Tambolya, Hanumangad, as also the pinnacles of Mangi-Tungi are worth seeing.
Peaks within the Mountain :
Salher 5140 Feet
Salota 4750 Feet
Mulher 4450 Feet
Mora 4250 Feet
Hargad 4450 Feet
Water Sources :
The water from the Gangasagar Lake at Salher and the two tanks near it is potable.
Other Special thing :
The Salher fort is famous and known as the main place where Parashuram did his penance. It is said that, after winning the earth and giving it as donation, he made land for himself to live in, by pushing the sea back with his arrows, right from this place.
History Info :
Ancient Name & Meaning (if any) :
When Aurangazeb conquered Mulher Fort, the fort came into existence with the name as 'Aurangagad'. It was also known as 'Mayurgad'. (The base village belongs to the period of Mahabharata, when it was known as Ratnapur. The King, Mayurdhwaj ruled this region, and the village was then named as Mayurpur.)
Era :
Salher : 1671 onwards built by Shivaji Maharaj
Mulher : The fort was built by Bagul dynasty, who ruled the region from 1308 A.D. to 1619 A.D.
Brief War History :
Battle of Salher :
Salher Fort was under Shivaji maharaj in 1671. The Mughals attacked the fort in 1672. Almost one lakh soldiers fought in this war. Writings of Sabhasad Bakhar describes Salher War as follows: There was a fierce battle throughout the day and night, Mughals, Pathans, and Rajput, Cannons, Elephants, Horses and Camel troops fought alongside each other.
The battle was so fierce that the dust which was raised by the troops rose up in an area of 3 km and the troops could not recognize who was fighting on which side.
The Elephant troops arrived and both sides saw 10,000 troops perish and blood flow like rivers. The Marathas defeated Ikhlaas Khan and Bahlol Khan in this bloody battle, which saw tremendous destruction all over. There were 1,20,000 troops of Raja Shivaji.
Shivaji's troops captured 6,000 horses, 6,000 camels, 150 elephants, heavy gold ornaments, gold coins and expensive cloth from the enemy troops. The maratha soldiers showed extreme courage during this battle. Moropant Peshwa and Prataprao Sarnaubat exchanged pleasantries.
Suryarao Kakde became a martyr during this battle. He fell after being hit by a cannonball. He was no mere soldier. A soldier who was as brave as "Karna of the Mahabharata" lay dead on the battlefield. Many soldiers died in this battle but finally Shivaji Maharaj won the battle of Salher. Of all the face to face battles between the Mughals and Shivaji Maharaj's troops, the battle of Salher takes first place. Such a big battle was not won before.
The bravery and strategy used by the Maratha troops in the battle spread far and wide and increased Shivaji Maharaj's fame further
After winning Salher, the Marathas also captured Mulher and established their reign over the Baglan region. In the 18th century the Peshwas occupied this fort and later by the British.
Consequences of 'Battle of Salher :
Most of Shivaji's victories until this battle had been through means of guerilla warfare, but the Maratha's use of light cavalry on the Salher battlefield against the apparently superior Mughal forces proved effective. This grand victory resulted in the saint Ramdas to write his famous letter to Shivaji in which he addresses him as Gajpati (Lord of Elephants), Haypati (Lord of Cavalry), Gadpati (Lord of Fords), and Jalpati (Master of the High Seas). Although not as a direct outcome of this battle, a couple of years later in 1674 Shivaji was crowned as an Emperor (or Chhatrapati) of his realm.
Salher was one of the celebrated forts of the Maratha Empire. The money acquired after raiding Surat was brought to this fort first on its way to the Maratha capital forts.This fort gains importance as it is on the trade route joining the Dang, Baglan and Gujarat regions.
Mulher History :
The Rathore dynasty of Bagul ancestry reigned Baglan between 1310 and 1638. Mulher fort was their capital. The Mughals then gained control of Baglan. When Akbar conquered Khandesh, Pratapshaha Bahirji, the then King of Baglan, surrendered to Mughals. He established friendly relations with Shahajahan. In 1636, Aurangazeb was appointed as the Governor of Western region. In 1638 Mughals invaded Baglan and conquered it, after which the fort was named as Aurangagad. This attack ended the prosperous Hindu rule in Baglan.
For the Surat ransack of January 1664 & October 1670, Shivaji Maharaj had followed the route passing through Baglan to reach Surat. On the first occasion, the entire region from Pune to Surat was under the command of the Mughals while on the second occasion, Baglan was mainly under their control. The Mughals chased Shivaji Raje on his return journey but they were defeated in the Kanchana Pass. Soon after this, Shivaji Maharaj began a campaign in this region. In January 1671 the first assault brought the Salher fort under the Maratha rule. They then attacked Mulher fort but the Mughal Killedar repulsed the attack. However, the Marathas captured the Chaulher fort. In October 1671, the Mughals laid siege to Salher fort. But Shivaji despatched Moropant and Prataprao to break down the siege. They not only lifted the siege of Salher, but also attacked Mulher and captured it in February 1672. This feat resulted in the assimilation of the entire Baglan region into Swarajya.
According to the treaty of Bhalki in 1752, the whole region of Khandesh, alongwith Mulher, was handed over to Marathas. Some hidden treasure is supposedly found in 1765, according to the citations in the accounts-books of Peshwe. In 1818, the fort was brought under the rule of British.
