Riding their small pack-ponies, thundering down from the mountain -tops

Maratha Forts
Riding their small pack-ponies, thundering down from the mountain -tops, routing the mighty Mughal army with its elephants and Arab steed, the Marathas under the great Shivaji were one of the earliest  people to make a fine art of what is today called guerrilla warfare. This they  did by building forts on hilltops, almost inaccessible, surrounded by rocky terrain and being strategically impregnable. Such forts are themselves worth visiting and give an insight into the history of the Marathas.

Among the most accessible is Shivneri, birthplace of Chatrapati Shivaji. on the mammoth rocky hill are Buddhist caves of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the temple of Shivabai, Shivneri Fort and the Flying Arch Mosque. I was at Shivneri that Shivaji (named after the temple deity) grew under the loving care and guidance of his mother, Jijabai, to whom he was devoted all through his life.