Shivaji Maharaja's bravery against the Mughals

Conflicts against the Mughals

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja

Aurangzeb

Until 1657, Shivaji maintained peaceful relations with the Mughal Empire. Shivaji offered his assistance to Aurangzeb, the Mughal viceroy of the Deccan and son of the Mughal emperor, in conquering Bijapur in return for formal recognition of his right to the Bijapuri forts and villages under his possession. Dissatisfied with the Mughal response, and receiving a better offer from Bijapur, he launched a raid into the Mughal Deccan. Shivaji's confrontations with the Mughals began in March 1657, when two of Shivaji's officers raided the Mughal territory near Ahmednagar. This was followed by raids in Junnar, with Shivaji carrying off 300,000 hun in cash and 200 horses. Aurangzeb responded to the raids by sending Nasiri Khan, who defeated the forces of Shivaji at Ahmednagar. However, Aurangzeb's countermeasures against Shivaji were interrupted by the rainy season and his battle of succession with his brothers for the Mughal throne following the illness of the emperor Shah Jahan.

Attacks on Shaista Khan (Battle of Chakan)

Shaista Khan

Upon the request of Badi Begum of Bijapur, Aurangzeb, now the Mughal emperor, sent his maternal uncle Shaista Khan, with an army numbering over 150,000 along with a powerful artillery division in January 1660 to attack Shivaji in conjunction with Bijapur's army led by Siddi Jauhar. Shaista Khan, with his better–equipped and –provisioned army of 80,000 seized Pune. He also took the nearby fort of Chakan, besieging it for a month and a half before breaching the walls. Shaista Khan pressed his advantage of having a larger, better provisioned and heavily armed Mughal army and made inroads into some of the Maratha territory, seizing the city of Pune and establishing his residence at Shivaji's palace of Lal Mahal.

In April 1663, Shivaji launched a surprise attack on Shaista Khan in Pune, along with a small group of men by entering as the wedding guests in a barat. After gaining access to Khan's compound, the raiders were able to kill some of his wives; Shaista Khan escaped, losing his three fingers in a melee with Shivaji. The Khan took refuge with the Mughal forces outside of Pune, and Aurangzeb punished him for this embarrassment with a transfer to Bengal.

Battle of Surat

Battle of Surat, also known as the Sack of Surat, was a land battle that took place on January 5, 1664, near the city of Surat, Gujarat, India between Maratha ruler Shivaji and Inayat Khan, a Mughal captain. The Marathas defeated Mughal force, and engaged in sacking Surat.

As Shaista Khan, the Mughal governor, was in Deccan for more than three years fighting the Marathas, the financial condition of the Maratha state was dire. So to improve his finances, Shivaji planned to attack Surat, a key Mughal power centre, and a wealthy port town which generated a million rupees in taxes.

The main battle

Shivaji attacked Surat after a demand for tribute was rejected. The Mughal Sardar, was very surprised by the suddenness of the attack, unwilling to face the Maratha forces, he hid himself in the fort of Surat. However, there was an attempt of life on Shivaji by the emissary sent by the Mughal sardar.

Surat was under attack for nearly three days, in which the Maratha army looted all possible wealth from Mughal and Portuguese trading centers. The Maratha soldiers took away cash, gold, silver, pearls, rubies, diamonds and emeralds from the houses of rich merchants such as Virji Vora, Haji Zahid Beg, Haji Kasim and others. The business of Mohandas Parekh, the deceased broker of the Dutch East India Company, was spared as he was reputed as a charitable man. 

Shivaji had to complete the sacking of Surat before the Mughal Empire at Delhi was alerted and could not afford to spend much time attacking the British. Thus, Sir George Oxendenwas able to successfully defend the British factory, a fortified warehouse-counting house-hostel.

Treaty of Purandar

Treaty of Purandar

The attacks on Shaista Khan and Surat enraged Aurangzeb. In response he sent the Rajput Mirza Raja Jai Singh I with an army numbering around 150,000 to defeat Shivaji. Throughout 1665, Jai Singh's forces pressed Shivaji, with their cavalry razing the countryside, and their siege forces investing Shivaji's forts. The Mughal commander succeeded in luring away several of Shivaji's key commanders, and many of his cavalrymen, into Mughal service. By mid-1665, with the fortress at Purandar besieged and near capture, Shivaji was forced to come to terms with Jai Singh.

In the Treaty of Purandar, signed between Shivaji and Jai Singh on 11 June 1665, Shivaji agreed to give up 23 of his forts, keeping 12 for himself, and pay compensation of 400,000 gold hun to the Mughals.

Arrest in Agra and escape

Arrest in Agra

In 1666, Aurangzeb summoned Shivaji to Agra (though some sources instead state Delhi), along with his nine-year-old son Sambhaji. Aurangzeb's plan was to send Shivaji to Kandahar, now in Afghanistan, to consolidate the Mughal empire's northwestern frontier. However, in the court, on 12 May 1666, Aurangzeb made Shivaji stand behind mansabdārs (military commanders) of his court. Shivaji took offence and stormed out of court, and was promptly placed under house arrest under the watch of Faulad Khan, Kotwal of Agra.

Shivaji's position under house arrest was perilous, as Aurangzeb's court debated whether to kill him or continue to employ him, and Shivaji used his dwindling funds to bribe courtiers to support his case. Orders came from the emperor to station Shivaji in Kabul, which Shivaji refused.  Aurangzeb rebutted that he must surrender his remaining forts before returning to Mughal service. Once there, Shivaji feigned severe illness and requested to send daily shipment in large baskets of sweets and gifts to Saints and Fakirs in Agra for the prayer for his good health. One day, Shivaji smuggled himself and his son in those large baskets to Raigad.

Battle of Sinhagad

Tanaji Malusare

The battle was fought between Tanaji Malusare, a Koli commander of Maratha ruler Shivaji Maharaj and Udaybhan Rathod, fortkeeper under Jai Singh I who was a Mughal Army Chief.

A steep cliff leading to the fort was scaled at night with the help of a tamed Indian monitor lizard named "Yashwanti", to whom the Marathas attached a rope and sent to scale the wall with its claws. Thereafter, a battle ensued between Tanaji and his men versus the Mughal army headed by Udaybhan Singh Rathod, a Rajput sardar who had control of the fort. Tanaji Malusare lost his life, but his brother Suryaji took over and captured the Kondana fort, now known as Sinhagad.

A bust of Tanaji Malusare was established on the fort in the memory of his contribution to the battle.

when Tanaji Malusare was found dead Shivaji Maharaj famously said "gad alaa pan sinha gelaa" which means Shivaji captured the fort but lost his friend who fought like lion. Shivaji renamed the fort from Kondhana fort to Sinhagad.

Indian Monitor Lizard

Battle of Salher

Salher Fort

This battle is considered particularly significant as it is the first battle in which the Mughal Empire lost on an open field. The Treaty of Purandar (1665) required Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to cede 23 forts to the Mughals. Strategically important forts, which were fortified with garrisons, such as Sinhagad, Purandar, Lohagad, Karnala, and Mahuli were turned over to the Mughal empire. At the time of this treaty, the Nashik region, that contained the forts Salher and Mulher, was firmly in the Mughal Empire's hands since 1636. The signing of this treaty resulted in Shivaji's visit to Agra and after his famous escape from the same in September 1666, 2 years of ‘uneasy truce’ followed. However, the destruction of the temples of Viswanath and Benares along with Aurangzeb’s rejuvenated anti-hindu policies resulted in Shivaji declaring war against the Mughals once again.

The inner part of Salher Fort

The period between 1670-1672 saw a dramatic rise in Shivaji’s power and territory. Shivaji’s armies successfully conducted raids at Baglan, Khandesh, and Surat and retook more than a dozen forts. This culminated with a decisive victory against a Mughal army of more than 50,000 on an open field near Salher.

The main Battle

Sardar Moropant Pingle and along with his army of 15,000 captured the Mughal forts Aundha, Patta, Trimbak and attacked Salher and Mulher in January 1671. This led Aurangzeb to send two of his generals Ikhlas Khan and Bahlol Khan along with 12,000 horsemen to reclaim Salher. In October 1671, the Mughals laid siege on Salher. In return Shivaji commanded his two commanders Sardar Moropant Pingle and Sardar Prataprao Gujar reclaim the fort.

Sardar Prataprao Gujar (Senapati)

The battle lasted for an entire day and it is estimated that around 10,000 men were killed on the Mughal side. The Mughal military machines (consisting of cavalry, infantry, and artillery) were outmatched by the light cavalry of the Marathas. The imperial Mughal armies were completely routed and the Marathas gave them a crushing defeat. 6,000 horses, an equal number of camels, 125 elephants, and an entire Mughal train were captured by the victorious Maratha Army. Other than this, a large amount of goods, treasures, gold, jewels, clothes, and carpets were seized by the Marathas.

The Sabhasad Bakhar describes the battle as follows "As the fighting began, such a (cloud of) dust arose that for a space of a three-kilometer square, friend and foe could not be distinguished. Elephants were killed. Ten thousand men on the Mughal side became corpses. The horses, camels, elephants (killed) were beyond counting. A flood of blood streamed (in the battlefield). The blood formed a muddy pool and in it (people) began to sink, so (deep) was the mud."

Battle of Salher
Maratha Victory
Date February 1672 Location Salher, Maharashtra, India Result Decisive Maratha victory
Belligerents
Maratha Empire	Mughal Empire (supported by Rajputs, Rohillas, and Pathans)
Commanders and leaders
Sardar Prataprao Gujar (Senapati)  Sardar Moropant Pingle (Peshwa)	Diler Khan (Mughal Viceroy of Deccan) Bahadur Khan (Governor of Gujarat) Ikhas Khan Bahlol Khan
Strength
20,000	50,000
Casualties and losses
3,000	10,000

The bad thing is that India is forgetting these heroes and these real life heroes are not given in any of the Indian History text books . Share this blog to everyone so that everyone should know about these heroes .

                                                                 

Shivaji Maharaja - Our forgotten Hero

Maratha Empire under Shivaji Maharaja

Maratha Empire under Peshwa Bajirao I