Kolhapur

Kolhapur, in southern Maharashtra on the banks of the Panchganga River, has been a centre of power and pilgrimage for over a millennium. Its identity is anchored in the ancient Mahalakshmi (Ambabai) Temple, counted among important Shakti shrines. References to the goddess and the town appear in early medieval texts, and by the time of the Shilahara and later Yadava of Devagiri dynasties (roughly 10th–13th centuries), Kolhapur had emerged as a regional religious and trading hub linking the Deccan with the Konkan coast.

From the 14th century onward, Kolhapur and its fortifications passed under the Bahmani and then Bijapur sultanates, while the temple town continued to attract pilgrims and merchants. In the 17th century, with the rise of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Maratha power, the region became strategically important. After complex succession disputes, a separate Kolhapur branch of the Bhonsale family, descended from Shivaji’s son Rajaram, established an independent princely state of Kolhapur.

Under this line of Maratha rulers, Kolhapur developed palaces, courts, schools and modern infrastructure; rulers like Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur also became known for social reform. During British times it remained a princely state under indirect rule. After 1947, Kolhapur acceded to the Indian Union, joined Bombay State and later Maharashtra, today standing out for its temple tradition, wrestling akharas, jaggery, leather crafts and strong regional culture.