Firangoji Narsala

Who is Firangoji Narsala?

Firangoji Narsala was a Maratha warrior and military leader in the army of Shivaji Chhatrapati, a Maharaja of Maharashtra, in 17th century India. He is famous for his defence of Sangram Durg, a fort, against a Mughal army led by Shaista Khan in 1660 .

Firangoji was a 'Killedar' of this fort in Chakan. When Shaista Khan invaded Pune with a lakh of soldiers, he selected Sangram Durga as the first target. He attacked the fort with 10,000 soldiers.

Firangoji Narasala was prepared for this attack, however, even though he had only 200 soldiers. Just before this attack Shivaji had asked his commander to leave the fort. However, Firangoji decided not to abandon the fort and instead started a fierce guerrilla war against the Mughals and defended the fort in this way for almost two months.

The Mughals tried another way of taking the fort. They dug a tunnel up to the fort; which was a challenge because of the water around it. They filled this tunnel with explosives and blew up the wall of the fort. This was a major setback for Firangoji and his soldiers; 75 soldiers died in this attack. The Mughal army rushed into the fort; fierce fighting ensued and many Maratha soldiers were killed.