Tulapur is about 40 Kilometres north-east of Pune, which is associated with the last moments of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. This is historic place of sad and brutal killing of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj by Aurangajeb. It is situated at the confluence of the Bhima, Bhama and Indrayani rivers (called Triveni Sangam due to union of three rivers) and known for a Samadhi of Sambhaji Maharaj. It has a great significance in Maratha history.
We suddenly planned on Saturday morning while having a breakfast that to visit Tulapur and left home @ 10.30
am. There are 2-3 routes to reach Tulapur from Pune, but we followed below route.
From Nagar road highway you need to
take a left turn at Lonikand, then after 4-5 kms you would see a board
pointing in the right direction for Samadhi of Sambhaji Maharaj. You need to be very careful while driving as inner
road leading to Samadhi is little narrow.
Route to Tulapur from Pune: Pune – Wagholi – Lonikand – Phulgaon – Tulapur.
We reached around 12 pm, there
is ample space available for two wheelers and four wheelers. There was hardly
anyone at the place earlier but today a good number of people visit it.
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| Entrance Gate |
The entrance gate is beautifully made. As soon as you reach there, remembering the bravery of Shambhaji Maharaj fills your mind with mixed feelings. Tulapur tells the great story of valor and sacrifice of Sambhaji Maharaj who sacrificed his life and even gone through extreme pain for Hindutwa. There is a bookstall where you can find lot of books about Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj, forts and Maratha history.
Once you entered inside the compound you can see a magnificent statue of Shambhaji Maharaj. That statue on a large square with sword in hand and looking up at the sky had stunned us. Sambhaji Maharaj was brought to Tulapur to be tortured and executed after he was captured by Mughal forces.
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| Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj statue at Tulapur |
There is a beautiful ancient temple of Sangameshwar dedicated to Lord Shiva near the confluence of Bhima, Bhama and Indrayani rivers. Inside the temple there are idols of Vitthal Rukhmini and Ganesh as well. The entrance arch of inner shrine is wonderfully carved with typical garland designs and triangles at the base. The calmness in the temple was very much needed by the mind.
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| Sangameshwar Temple, Tulapur |
This temple was renovated by Shahaji Raje and inaugurated by Jijau. According to the history there, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took oath of Swarajya in front of that Lord Sangameshwar even before at Rayareshwar temple. It is a popular site for tourists and devotees. It has a spacious courtyard, and it is very clean. You can see the scenic surroundings there.
Outside the temple, there is Kavi Kalash's samadhi. Kavi Kalash was friend of Sambhaji Maharaj, he was also brutally tortured and killed at the place along with Sambhaji Maharaj.
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| Samadhi of Kavi Kalash |
On the other side of
temple is the Samadhi of Chhatrapati Shambhaji Maharaj. Inside the room is a
half statue of Sambhaji Maharaj. It is kept clean and worshipped daily. Around
this statue few paintings related to Tulapur history are shown. The
Samadhi area is quite well maintained.
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| Samadhi of Chhatrapati Shambhaji Maharaj |
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| Chhatrapti Shambhaji Maharaj |
You can go downstairs to visit the Triveni Sangam, but we skipped to visit it as it was very bright sunny day.
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| Confluence of the Bhima, Bhama and Indrayani Rivers (Triveni Sangam) at Tulapur |
After spending 2 hours there we headed towards Pune, we stopped at Jogeshwari Misal, Perne Phata. We enjoyed Mataki Bhel, Misal and buttermilk as we were hungry; Mataki Bhel is awesome taste. We traveled back to Pune and reached around 4.30 pm.
