Parola Fort

Parola Fort is an 18th-century ground fort located in Parola town, Jalgaon district, Maharashtra. Built in 1727 by Jagirdar Hari Sadashiv Damodar, it is historically significant as the ancestral home of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi's family. The square-shaped stone fortress features a monumental five-storeyed Delhi Darwaza gateway, corner bastions, and a protective moat. It served as a key Maratha stronghold and played a role in the 1857 uprising before being confiscated by British forces.

Visitors can explore the ruins of an 18th-century ground fort featuring a massive five-storeyed stone gateway known as Delhi Darwaza with carved balconies and sentry rooms. The square fortification includes eleven bastions, remnants of a deep moat, and internal structures like the citadel with circular bastions, wells, and ruined palace foundations. Visitors can walk along accessible sections of the ramparts to view the fort layout and surrounding Bori River valley. The site contains archaeological remains including stepwells, ammunition depots, and temple ruins within the fortified enclosure.

Built in 1727 CE by Jagirdar Hari Sadashiv Damodar, a Maratha nobleman and ancestor of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. The fort served as the sovereign seat of the Damodar principality under the Peshwas. During the 1857 Indian Rebellion, the Parola garrison supported Rani Lakshmibai's uprising against British rule. In 1859, British troops under Captain Birch besieged the fort, dismantled its upper bastions, and confiscated the family estate. The fortress stands as a monument to Khandesh's contribution to India's first war of independence.

Parola Fort represents the ancestral heritage of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, making it culturally significant as the cradle of her family lineage. The Tambe-Damodar clan's martial traditions and statecraft were nurtured here. Descendants of the Tambes still reside in Parola village. The fort exemplifies 18th-century Maratha military architecture and civic engineering in the Khandesh region.