ABSTRACT
Ramtek Hill (ancient Ramagiri) in eastern Maharashtra served successive dynasties as an important state sanctuary and regional pilgrimage centre from the 4th century. The Vakataka queen Prabhavati first developed the site along the model of Udayagiri. Post-Vakataka building at the site continued under the Yadavas, who erected the three large temples that crown the hill, dedicated to Rama, Laksmana, and Hanuman. As it exists today, however, Ramtek Hill reflects the patronage of Raghuji Bhonsale I, ruler of Nagpur branch of the Maratha polity. Raghuji fortified the hill top and renovated the temples of Rama and Lakshmana; he reinstalled the idols and revived religious devotion there. This chapter considers the reuse of Ramtek Hill under the Yadavas, and under Raghuji I and the Nagpur Bhonsles. I argue that Raghuji’s interest in reviving religious activity was borne both out of his devotion to Rama and his appreciation of the strategic location of Ramtek Hill, which falls along the route connecting the northern Deccan with the central and eastern part of the Gangetic plain. By reviving devotion at Ramtek, and making that visible through extensive building activity and pilgrimage performance, Raghuji identified himself as the latest in a series of important political powers in the region.
