Mahabaleshwar
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ASIA CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ARTHUR PROBSTHAIN Oriental Bookseller 41 at. Russejl Street LONDON, W.C.I Cornell University Library DS 486.M21P22 Mahabaleshwar / 3 1924 024 120 861 The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024120861 Mahabaleshwar. z o Q O z Q K O uj i Mahabaleshwar. " Over the wild mountains and luxuriant plains Nature in all the pomp of beauty reigns." —James Montgomery. BY Rao Bahadur D. B.JARASNIS, HAPPY VALE, SATARA. BOMBAY: Lakshmi Art Printing Works, Sankli .Street, Byculla. I916. f\T(>0>I^X. (^n Rights Reserved). To THEIR EXCELLENCIES The Right Hon'blc LORD WILLINGDON, G.C.I.E., GOVERNOR OF BOMBAY, AND LADY WILLINGDON, THIS BOOK IS WITH THEIR GRACIOUS PERMISSION DEDICATED. PREFACE. At the desire of many interested friends, I have endeavoured to put together in this book all available information about the charming hills of Mahabaleshwar, and it is hoped that it will be found equally interesting and useful by all those who visit this place and wish to know something of its history and climate. I beg to offer my respectful thanks to the Govern- ment of Bombay for their kind permission to me to see the old Residency Records of Satara, from which I obt ained much valuable information on the subject. I have also to acknowledge my indebtedness to several eminent authorities on Mahabaleshwar, such as Dr. James Murray, Sir George Birdwood and others, from whose rare and valuable works I derived considerable help ; and to many of my personal friends from whom I received advice and assistance m various ways. D. B. P. 1 CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE; I. EARLY HISTORY I II. THE SANITARIUM: Nahar or Malcolm Peith —Its inception . •• 31 III. THE NEW SANITARIUM—Its establish- ment ....... 63 IV. THE NEW SANITARIUM—Its growth . 86 V. PLACES OF INTEREST . .113 VI. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS ON MAHABA- -LESHWAR 155 APPENDICES. APPENDIX PAGE,; I. OBSERVATIONS ON THE CLIMATE OF THE MAHABALESHWAR HILLS—(By Dr. James Murray) .... I II. SHORT NOTES ON THE PRESENT ALTERED CLIMATE OF MAHABA- LESHWAR AND ITS CAUSES— ( By . Mr. J. C. Lisboa) 26 III. HEREDITARY MANAGERS OF PRATAP- GAD AND MAHABALESHWAR—The Pingles 41 IV. IRON SMELTING 49 V. CHINESE CONVICTS 5 VI. LIST OF EARLY EUROPEAN VISITORS TO MAHABALESHWAR . .53- VII. RAINFALL AT MAHABALESHWAR1(i829- 1915) 55- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PASK H. E. LORD WILLINGDON . Frontispiece. H. E. LADY WILLINGDON ... RAJASHIVAJI . 13 AFZULKHAN 23 WAGHNAKHS OR TIGER-CLAWS .... 26 AFZULBURUJ 28 GODDESS BHAVANI OF PRATAPGAD , . 30 RAJA PRATAP SING 37 GENERAL BRIGGS 43 SIR JOHN MALCOLM 65 MAHABALESHWAR LAKE ..... IO5 VIEW OF ARTHUR'S SEAT I08 FRERE HALL 1 10 GOVERNMENT HOUSE 112 KATE'S POINT I27 KRISHNA TEMPLE 132 VILLAGE TEMPLES . 1 34 THE MANIKBAI AND GANGABAI HINDU SANA- TORIUM 140 PRATAPGAD FORT WITH AFZUL KHAN'S TOMB . 1 43 AFZUL KHAN'S TOMB 144 LODWICK MONUMENT 1 49 MAP OF MAHABALESHWAR . .113 SKETCH OF THE KRISHNA TEMPLE . .129 MAHABALESHWAR. CHAPTER I. EARLY HISTORY. THE most delightful and picturesque hills of Mahabaleshwar are situated in 17° 51' N. L. and 73° 30' E. L. in the Jaoli Taluka of the Satara District, and are about thirty miles north-west of Satara and twenty miles west of Wai. They form one of the spurs of the great Sahya- dri range, which is well-known as the Western Ghauts. These rolling spurs, crowned by fiat-topped summits, command magnificent views of deep valleys, and possess natural advantages surpassed by few. The principal Sanatorium of the Bombay Presidency is established on the summits of these hills, with a general elevation of 4,500 feet above sea-level, rising at its highest point, the Sindola Hill, to 4,700 feet. It is reached from Bombay by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway to Poona, and thence by the Madras and S. M. Railway to Wathar Station, from which it is 40 miles distant. Formerly^ the traveller from Bombay used to go by sea to Dasgaon and Mahad, near the mouth of the river Savitri, and proceed to Mahabaleshwar by a fine road, leading across the hilly country, interspersed with woody dales and level planes of luxuriant cultivation. These hills, aptly termed as 'Mild Paradise of Beauty,' with their fine climate and sublime features, enjoy the highest popularity, and have become the favourite summer retreat of the Govern- ment of Bombay. The name Mahabaleshwar, given to^ these hills, is full of meaning, which indi- cates the greatness of this place. The word ' Maha-bala-Ishwar ' is made up of three Sanskrit words, namely, jt^i, ^55 and im which put together mean ' the God of Great Power.' Thus the name of the powerful God Mahadev, given to these hills, suggests the idea of sanctity and holiness, which is generally attributed to lofty mountains and high places. It is remarkable that such a belief is prevalent not only in India, but in almost all the countries of the world from ancient times. The reason is ap- parent. The elevated position, the silence, and the tranquility of hills and moun- tains naturally aid contemplation, awaken spiritual thought and inspire devotion to God. The term 'High Places,' frequently mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, has its origin in the most ancient practice of performing religious worship on the tops of mountains. In Eastern countries high mountains have been held in great reverence. The Chinese entertain a belief that Heaven made the lofty hills for the abode of gods and spirits. In India, the Hindus regard with great veneration all the important mountains and hills; and the sources of rivers, which flow from them, are held in great sanctity. They are dedicated to some god who is worshipped with great religious devotion. The snow-clad pinnacles of the great Himalayas possess the sacred Gan- gotri— the source of the great river Ganges. At the eastern apex of the Satpura range, from the holy summit of Amarkantak issues forth the river Narmada, the banks of which are adorned with many temples and ghats. From another plateau of Satpura rises the river Tapti from the sacred tank of Multapi, which is supposed to possess purifying virtues. The Godavari, which is only surpassed by the Ganges in sanctity and picturesque scenery, rises from the high and precipitous mountain of Trimbakeshwar (the three-eyed God Mahadev), which is ^ sacred spot in the Nasik District; and the river Bhima rises from the well-known shrine of Bhima-Shankar (another name of Mahadev) on the crest of the Western Ghauts, which possesses one of the twelve Lingams of Shiva, known as Jotirlingams. From these instances it will appear that the most remarkable hills in the country are rendered more or less sacred by the estab- lishment of shrines or places of worship, dedicated to some god at the source of a river. The river Krishna being one of the famous rivers of the Deccan, great sanctity is attached to its source at Mahabaleshwar; and in a legendary account, called the Krishna Mdhdtmya, the importance of the river is fully described. There is also another work, called the Mahabaleshwar Puran, which contains only a short descrip- tion of the village and the sacred pools and temples, as now shown by the priests. Both the tracts are, however, modern compositions and possess little value from an historical point of view.* The early history of Mahabaleshwar is shrouded in obscurity. The first mention, that is found in old papers, is of the ^ These tracts were brought to the notice of the public by the lace Kao S.iheb V. N". Mandlik in the two interesting papers, read hf him before the Bombay Bfiinch of the Royal Asiatic Society, in 1870-71. 5 visit to Mahabaleshwar of the famous Yadav king, Singhan ( A.D. 1210-1247), in the early part of the thirteenth century. It is well-known that the Yadav kings of Devgiri were very powerful rulers and their rule extended all over Maharashtra. Singhan was well-known for his bravery and led his conquests upto ,Gujarath and Malwa. He subdued Bhoj II, the king of Panhala, and annexed the Kolhapur king- dom of the Shilahar dynasty to his domi- nions about A.D. 121 1. On account of his glorious victories, honourific titles signifying paramount sovereignty, such as Akhil-jaga- dadhar (the support of the whole world) Prithvi-wallahha (the lover of the earth) Rajadhiraj (king of kings) were given to him in old inscriptions, from which it appears that the empire of the Yadav kings, of Devgiri was at its zenith during his reign, and a large portion of the Deccan was included in it. This king was a great patron of learning and arts; and the famous treatise on music, Sangit-Ratnakar , by Sharangadhar, was composed in his time. It is this illustrious prince, who first paid a visit to Mahabaleshwar and built a small tank at the source of the Krishna, as well as. a temple of the God Mahabaleshwar about the year A.D. 1215. He presented dresses,. — ornaments and several other articles to the God, and appointed one Babaji Koli as manager of the temple. The name of Singhan is still cherished at Mahabaleshwar, and the place where he bathed in the holy waters of the Krishna is known as Singhan Doha, near Nandagane, a village in the Krishna valley, close to Mahabaleshwar. There is another place, called Singnapur in the Man Taluka of the Satara District, which is also named after this great king.