Thalner Thalner ( ) , the first capital of the Faruqi kings , stands on the Tapi river , in Shirpur tehsil about 46 . 67 km . ( 28 miles ) north - east of Dhule in the Maharashtra state of India . It was fortified by a strong fort which played a very significant role in the history of Khandesh . Situated on the banks of the Tapi and the foot of the fort is an old stone built temple dedicated to Thaleshwar . The name " Thalner " probably derived from this old temple of " Thaleshwar " . In the heyday of the Gavali or Ahir kings , Thalner was at the height of its prosperity and was an important commercial centre on the Surat - Burhanpur road . Today it is just a small village which lost its glory to history . Thalner fort . The fort is described as with one side rising out of the Tapi and the three other sides surrounded by a hollow way , varying in width from 91 . 44 to 137 . 16 metres ( 100 to 150 yards ) . The walls rise to the height of about 18 . 28 metres ( 60 ft . ) above this hollow and the interior had the same elevation . The only entrance was on the eastern side and secured by five successive gates communicating by intricate traverses , whose enclosure gradually rose to the height of the main wall . A winding ramp interspersed in some places with steps , ascending through the gate in to the terreplein of the rampart . Great ingenuity had been exercised to make this part as strong as possible apparently under the idea that the profile of the rest rendered it secure , notwithstanding the absence of a ditch . Today only a small portion of the walls that were on the river side is standing , the others having collapsed for the most part . Even of this wall one of the bastions was ruined by the great floods of the Tapi which took place in 1876 , and a tunnel opened in which a small , well executed idol of Vishnu was found . Situated on the banks of the Tapi and the foot of the fort is an old stone built temple dedicated to Thaleshwar . Its 1 . 828 X 1 . 828 metre vestibule contains a small " ling " symbol . It is crowned by a 7 . 62 metre ( 25 ft . ) high " shikhar " History . According to a local grant , in the beginning of the twelfth century ( 1128 ) , while the country for 32 . 18 km . ( 20 miles ) round was ' without a light ' , and twenty - seven of its forts were deserted , Thalner prospered under Javaji and Govaji of the Tale sub - division of Gavalis or Ahirs . At that time , Daulatrao , son of Bajirao of Daulatabad came to the people of Khandesh , and finding Thalner flourishing established Javaji ' s family as headmen of the town . Late in the fourteenth century ( 1370 ) when Firozshah Tughluq ( 1351 – 1388 ) granted Malik Raja Faruqi an estate on the south border of Gujarat , Malik chose Thalner as his headquarters . In the following year ( 1371 ) , defeated by the Gujarat king , Malik was forced to take refuge in Thalner fort . On his death in 1399 Malik left Thalner to his second son Iftikar Khan . But in 1417 with the aid of the Sultan of Malwa , Nasir Khan , the elder son , wrested it from his brother . In 1498 Thalner was invaded by Mahmud Begada , king of Gujarat , whose army laid waste the district and would not retire till arrears of tribute were paid . In 1511 Mahmud Begada granted Thalner with about one - half of Khandesh to Malik Hissamuddin a noble of his court . But in the next year , Hissamuddin was murdered and Thalner restored to Khandesh . In 1566 it was the scene of the - defeat of the Khandesh king Miran Muhammad Shah II by Changiz Khan of Gujarat . In 1600 , when it passed to the Emperor Akbar , Thalner is noticed as being of great strength though in a plain . In 1660 Tavernier mentions it as one of the places of trade on the Surat and Burhanpur line . In 1750 it was a strong fort , the centre of thirty - two little governments . Shortly after it passed to the Peshwa , and was by him made over to Holkar , who about 1800 , pledged it to the Nimbalkar s . It was recovered in the following year and kept by the Holkar family till in 1818 under the terms of the Mandesar treaty , it was handed over to the British . Battle of Thalner ( 1818 ) . Sindva , was a place with much greater name for strength in Khandesh region , but it surrendered to the British at once , hence no resistance was expected at Thalner . But its capture proved one of the bloodiest incidents in the conquest of Khandesh . Blacker gave the following detailed account of the conquest . " When in 1818 Sir Thomas Hislop , the British general , came to take possession , the garrison began hostilities by firing matchlock s at the palanquin of a sick officer , and at the same time opened fire with a gun on the head of the baggage , then entering the plain . A summons was sent to the commandant , and a close reconnaissance of the place was made . The party descended into the ravines surrounding the fort , and from there ascended into the town driving out a small party of the enemy . As it was ascertained that the enemy had no guns on the western face , where there was water and comparatively clear ground on the river bank , General Hislop resolved to encamp there , and attack the place from the north - east angle . With this object two five and a half inch howitzer s with ten six pounder s , the only guns in the camp , were moved down the beds of the ravines . They were then carried to positions in the town , where the houses gave tolerable cover to batteries which opened within 273 . 403 and 328 . 083 metres ( 250 and 300 yards ) of the north - east angle of the fort . In a few hours , during which , by the well aimed fire of matchlocks from the walls , several casualties had occurred , the enemy guns were nearly silenced , but no progress had been made in reducing the garrison , who it was thought , would surrender as soon as any serious demonstration was made against them . " " Further examination showed that the outer gate was in a ruinous state , and promised cover in traverses , while a commanding position immediately opposite to it overlooked the nearest defences . For these reasons it was determined to attack the gates . Two guns were opened on the traverses , with considerable effect , while two others were , by a detour , brought to a position whence , with the view of blowing it open , they might easily be run up to the gate . At the same time a storming party , was brought down to the same place . Indifferent as the enemy had hitherto been , the preparations against the gate did not fail to alarm them and they sent out to demand terms of capitulation . In reply they were told that unconditional surrender would alone be accepted ; and they were invited to avail themselves of this offer before the assault on the gates should begin . " " The evening was now advanced and the enemy probably trusted to the approaching darkness for an opportunity of abandoning the place . To prevent this the guns and storming party were ordered to advance to the gate . This was done without loss . It was found that in consequence of its ruinous state there was a passage for single files between the wall and the gate frame ; and no opposition being offered from within , the storming party , followed by the pioneers , entered , though tediously , without difficulty . After the passage of the storming party endeavours were used to blow open the outer gate that the guns might be advanced to the remainder . But before that was effected the storming party had passed through the second gate without opposition . At the third it was met by the commandant , with a number of artificers whom he had on the previous evening forced in . " " Lieut . Colonels Conway and Murray , with several others , had entered with the storming party , and it was still doubtful whether resistance would ultimately be made , for at this time there was none . They accordingly passed through the fourth gate , which , as well as the second , appeared so much out of repair as to be incapable of being shut ; but at the fifth or last gate they were stopped though the wicket was opened . A hurried conversation about the terms of surrender now took place . It was probably little intelligible under the circumstances of noise and apprehension which attended it . Colonel Murray , in this state of uncertainty , concluding that there was an urgent necessity for establishing a footing such as would secure eventual success of the attack , should the enemy hold out , entered by the wicket with Major Gordon and their grenadier s ; but refrained from drawing his sword , to show that he had no intention of breaking the parley . " " He expected to be followed by as many men as should be able to maintain themselves in a confined situation ; but four or five persons only had got in , when the enemy , apprehending the consequences , attacked most furiously , and in a moment laid them all dead , except Colonel Murrav , who , covered with wounds , fell towards the wicket . They then attempted to close the wicket , but their efforts were rendered ineffectual by a grenadier who thrust his musket into the aperture , While Lieut . Colonel Mackintosh and Captain Mac Craith forced it open . In this state it was held while , the Captain with one hand was dragging Colonel Murray through it , and warding off blows with his sword in the other . A fire was now poured in through the wicket , which cleared the gateway sufficiently for the head of the storming party , under Major MacGregor of the Royals , to enter ; and the place was carried without further difficulty , but at the expense of that officer ' s life . [ Two tombs , erected to the memory of the officers killed , bear the following inscriptions ; No . I " Here lie entombed the remains of Major R . Mac Gregor . of H . M ' s Royal Scots , who fell in the assault and storming of this fort on the 27th Feby . 1818 . " No . II " Here lie entombed the remains of Major . 1 . Gordon , of H . M . ' s Royal Scots , who fell in the assault and storming of this fort on the 27th February 1818 " . . ] " " As soon as the supporting detachment could open the gate , many troops poured in , the garrison was shortly put to the sword , and the commandant was hanged on the same evening to a tree on the flagstaff tower . The enemy lost about 250 men killed , the British loss was twenty - five . According to a local story some of the garrison escaped by leaping into the river from the battlements , with bundles of ivari stalks in their arms . A somewhat different account , severely blaming Sir T . Hislop for hanging the commandant , is given in the summary of " The Maratha and Pendhari Campaign ( 1820 ) " Present Condition . The fort of Thalner is in a dilapidated condition . Besides the tombs of Major MacGregor and Captain Gordon , the chief objects of interest are ten Muhammedan domed tombs of common country black stone and two of burnt brick . Of the whole number , one is eight cornered and the rest are square . They vary in size from eleven feet by eleven to three and a half feet square . Though more or less damaged outwardly and with the inside part of their domes partly destroyed , they are in good order . The eight - cornered tomb has some Arabic writing , but so worn as to be unreadable . According to the local story they were built by a saint . But there seems little reason to doubt that they are the tombs of the Faruqi kings , of whom four ; Malik Raja ( 1396 ) , Malik Nasir ( 1437 ) , Miran Adil Khan ( 1441 ) and Miran Mubarak Khan ( 1457 ) , were buried in Thalner . Inside there are also a few wells which once supplied water to the garrison , but now they are dry . Much of the earth from inside the fort has been utilised by the villagers in building houses . Tourist attractions . In Thalner there are two temples , one is Lord Mahadeva ' s and Second one is Lord Khandoba ' s Temple . Lord Mahadeva ' s temple is located at tapi riverside , and Khandoba temple is located near to Thalner Bus Stand . Khandoba , ( Marathi : खंडोबा , Khaṇḍobā ) also known as Khanderao , Khanderaya , Malhari Martand and Mallu Khan is a regional Hindu deity , worshipped as Mārtanda Bhairava , a form of Shiva , mainly in the Deccan plateau of India . He is the most popular family deity in Maharashtra . [ 1 ] He is also the patron deity of warrior , farming , herding as well as some Brahmin ( priest ) castes , the hunters and gatherers of the hills and forests . The cult of Khandoba has linkages with Vaishnava and Jain traditions , and also assimilates all communities irrespective of caste , including Muslims . Khandoba is sometimes identified with Mallanna of Andhra Pradesh and Mailara of Karnataka . The worship of Khandoba developed during the 9th and 10th centuries from a folk deity into a composite god possessing the attributes of Shiva , Bhairava , Surya and Karttikeya ( Skanda ) . He is depicted either in the form of a Lingam , or as an image riding on a bull or a horse . The foremost centre of Khandoba worship is Jejuri in Maharashtra . The legends of Khandoba , found in the text Malhari Mahatmya and also narrated in folk songs , revolve around his victory over demons Mani - malla and his marriages There is one festival in Hinduism call Champa Shashti which comes exactly after one month of Diwali Festival . Deshasth Brahmans and Marathas observe the Champasashthi festival every year in honour of Khandoba . The festival begins on the bright half of the Hindu month of Margshirsha . The images of Khandoba and Malla are cleaned and worshipped . For six days a fast is observed . On the seventh day the worshippers break their fast by a feast known as the Champasashtliiche parne . An invitation to this feast is regarded as an invitation from the god Khandoba himself and is harder to refuse . An important part of the Khandoba - cult is navas , a vow to perform service to the god in return for a boon of good harvest , male child , financial success etc . On fulfilment of the navas , Khandoba was offered children or some devotees would afflict pain by hook - swinging or fire - walking . This type of worship using navas is called Sakama Bhakti - worship done with an expectation of return and is considered " to be of a lower esteem " . But the most faithful bhaktas ( devotees ) are considered to be greedy only for the company of their Lord , Khandoba is also called bhukela - hungry for such true bhaktas in Martanda Vijaya . Boys called Vāghyā ( or Waghya , literally " tigers " ) and girls called Muraḹi were formerly dedicated to Khandoba , but now the practice of marrying girls to Khandoba is illegal . The Vaghyas act as the bards of Khandoba and identify themselves with the dogs of Khandoba , while Muralis act as his courtesans ( devanganas - nymphs or devadasis ) . The Vaghyas and their female counterparts Muralis sing and dance in honour of Khandoba and narrate his stories on jagarans - all night song - festivals , which are sometimes held after navas fulfilment . Another custom was ritual - suicide by Viras ( heroes ) in the cult . According to legend , an " untouchable " Mang ( Matanga ) sacrificed himself for the foundation of the temple at Jejuri to persuade Khandoba to stay at Jejuri forever . [ 47 ] Other practices in the cult include the belief that Khandoba possesses the body of a Vaghya or devrsi ( shaman ) . Another ritual in the cult is an act of chain - breaking in fulfilment of a vow or an annual family rite ; the chain is identified with the snake around Shiva ' s neck , which was cut by the demons in the fight . Another rite associated with the family duties to please Khandoba is the tali bharne , which is to be performed every full moon day . A tali ( dish ) is filled with coconuts , fruits , betel nuts , saffron , turmeric ( Bhandar ) and Bel leaves . Then , a coconut is placed on a pot filled with water and the pot is worshipped as an embodiment of Khandoba . Then , five persons lift the tali , place it repeatedly on the pot thrice , saying " Elkot " or " Khande rayacha Elkot " . Then the coconut in the tali is broken and mixed with sugar or jaggery and given to friends and relatives . A gondhal is performed along with the tali bharne . A gondhal is a ritualistic folk art in which the performer Gondhalis invoke the deities . Friends you will get the Khandoba festival images soon in same link Notable personalities . Lata Mangeshkar ' s mother affectionately called ' Mai ' was from Thalner . She was the daughter of Seth Haridas Ramdas Lad - a prosperous businessman of the town of Thalner .