The founder of Hindavi Swarajya, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, laid emphasis on the importance of using sea as a geographical entity. Among the native rulers in the vicinity of Konkan, the Siddis put a larger focus on their maritime perspective and seaward approach.

   Padmadurg was built on the low-lying Kamsa rock jutting out from the sea which is situated only 10 kilometers from Janjira. But the fort couldn't serve the purpose for which it was built. The Deccan was a hotbed of renewed politics after the death of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Maratha administration dwindled. Eventually, Padmadurg's fate was sealed when it fell into the hands of the Siddis.

   The shape of the fort resembles an open lotus, also known as Padma, substantiating its etymological significance. Numerous sculptures and motifs of the lotuses can be seen inside the fortress too. The engineering and technical skills of the Marathas is marvelled with regards to the transportation of materials across the sea to build this fort. The fort contained 70 to 80 cannons in the past and now only 42 remain some of which have rusted due to the humid climate conditions.

  This article is brought to you as a part of Indian Navy and Times Group initiative. Contributed by Janhavi Lokegaonkar & Priyanka Choudhury on behalf of the Maritime History Society.

Murud-Janjira is the local name for a fort situated on an island just off the coastal village of Murud, in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India.It was occupied by the Siddis and is famous for being the only fort along India’s Western coast that remained undefeated despite Dutch, Maratha and English East India Company attacks.

The word Janjira is not native to India, and may have originated after the Arabic word Jazeera, which means an island. Murud was once known in Marathi as Habsan (“of Habshi” or Abyssinian). The name of the fort is a concatenation of the Konkani and Arabic words for Island, “morod” and “jazeera”. The word “morod” is peculiar to Konkani and is absent in Marathi........ More Information