The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency from the Earliest Historical Times to the Musalman Conquest c7.s8.205

c7.s8.205

The only entrance to the bay at Málvan is by a narrow channel through the rocks, and the passage from the land to the island is equally intricate. From the landing place the approach to the fort is even narrower than usual, and altogether the choice of this place in preference to the many good bays and harbours all about seems to prove that a convenient naval station was not the chief object. But it would seem that Shiváji's idea of a good harbour was a place that could not easily be got into, for Kolába, which Grant Duff says was his naval head-quarters previous to his fixing on Málvan, is nearly as much hemmed in by rocks and reefs as the latter, and much more so than any other port south of Bombay. And when it is considered that he might have chosen Vijaydurg with its noble river, easy entrance and safe anchorage, or Jaygad being similar in position and but little inferior in advantages, or Devgad with a narrow but safe channel opening into a large and perfectly land-locked harbour with deeper water than any of Shiváji's ships could ever have required, the preference shown to Málvan and Kolába seems only to be explained as above.