Shivaji
From Freepedia
Shivaji Bhonsle, also known as Chhatrapati Shri Shivaji Maharaj (February 19, 1630 - April 3, 1680) was the founder of the Maratha empire in western India in 1674.
Using guerrilla tactics superbly suited to the rugged mountains and valleys found in this region, he annexed a portion of the then dominant Mughal empire. He is still considered a hero in the present-day state of Maharashtra, and stories of his exploits have entered into folklore.He is one of the pioneer of commando actions ,though the term is of modern period
Contents |
Early life
Shivaji was born in 1630, in the hill fort of Shivneri, 60 km north of Pune. His father, Shahaji, was a jagirdar of the sultan of Bijapur in present-day Karnataka. His mother was Jijabai, the daughter of Lakhuji Jadhav from Sindkhedraja in present-day Buldhana district of Maharashtra. He was one of the most influential amongst the Yadav (lower-caste Hindu) rulers. Before Bijapur, Shahaji had been a jagirdar of the Nizam of Ahmednagar. Malik Amber, the Vazir, or chief minister, of Ahmednagar did his best to fight out the Mughals. After his death, Shahaji took his place. From 1633 to 1636 he established a regime with a puppet nizamshahi minor as its nominal head. He was defeated by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. With it, the Mughals completed the conquest of the Nizamshahi kingdom of Ahmednagar in 1636. By a treaty ,Shahaji, was forced to leave the region around Poona. He was inducted by Adilshah, and was offered a distant jagir, present-day Banglore. Under these circumstances, Shivaji was sent to Poona alongwith his mother Jijabai, a chosen band of military commanders namely Baji Pasalkar , and also a small ministry including Sonopant, Dadoji Kond dev etc. Additionally, a royal seal was given to Shivaji in 1642. Under these circumstances Shivaji started his career in range of Sahyadri. With the constant mixture of popular lore and genuine history, the understanding of who Shivaji's influences, mentors and friends were is often uncertain. But keeping aside these folklores, if one looks at his forts, his knowledge of Sanskrit, his war tactics , then no name appears genuine than his own father. For the reasons he was the only man around Shivaji who had fought battles of consequences, had a taste for literature and who had measured sword with the mighty Mughals for the making of a state. His mother made him a pious man which is reflected in his policy towards women. Dadoji Kond dev, was a trusted old man who organised Shivaji's training and maintained palace as per order of his father. All of these contributed to the making of his personality and that is precisely why he is a multifarious personality like any world class ruler. In 1646, when Shivaji was 16, he launched his first military attack by capturing Torna fort, a part of Bijapur territory. By 1647, Shivaji had captured Kondana and Rajgad forts and had complete control of the Pune region. 1659, Shivaji had captured some forts in the Western Ghats and along the Konkan coast. Afzal Khan, Bijapur's finest general, was sent to destroy Shivaji.
Military adventures
Afzal Khan's campaign was largely successful as he was a brilliant strategist.He tried to garner support of local landlords of the mountainous region who were militarily never defeated by any invaders .They nominally acknoweldged the suzernity of Adil Shahi or Nizam Shai .Their support was quite crucial to reduce Shivaji.However ,Kanhoji Jedhe, a powerful baron was directed by Shahali to counteract these moves.Through his agency ,Shviaji was able to garner the support of those barons except a few.Shivaji was a brilliant staregist and had always used different tactics on different occassions. He took the position at Pratapgad which was strategically advantageous to suit any mountain infantry action . Shivaji and Afzal Khan both wanted to eliminate each other.A meeting was arranged at the foothills of the above fort. Each had supposedly dispensed with attendants and weapons. Nevertheless, both men came to the meeting armed. Amongst Shivaji's hidden arsenal was a small but effective weapon called 'wagh nakhi'- the claws of the tiger. It consisted of an iron finger-grip with four curving razor claws which could be hidden by closing the palm. As the two men hugged each other, Afzal Khan nearly stuck a dagger at Shivaji’s side, but the Maratha passed his arm around the Khan’s waist and, to quote from the biography by Jadunath Sarkar, "tore his bowels open with a blow of steel claws". Following Shivaji's attack on Khan, Khan's private secretary, Krishnaji Bhaskar Kulkarni attacked Shivaji with his sword. But Shivaji’s bodyguard Jiva Mahal (Mahalya) saved Shivaji. In Marathi the pithy phrase was coined: ‘Hota Jiva Mhanun Wachala Shiva’ (Because of Jiva, Shivaji survived the attack.) Afzal Khan was killed, and Maratha warriors who had been hiding in the surrounding scrub rushed out and attacked the Bijapur army, taking their stores, treasure, horses and elephants, and enrolled many of his men 30th Nov,1659 . Shivaji celebrated his success over Afzal Khan by conquering more of the Konkan coast between Mumbai and Goa. Shivaji buried the head of the vanquished general with honour at the same fort.Even today it stands well decorated over there.
Now Adil Shah sent one Abyssinian general of repute, Siddi Jauhar 1660 .Shivaji took the position at the fort Panhal, near prsent day Kolhapur as it was situated on the borders of his dominion.Meanwhile mughals also sent their continegents under celebrated Shaista Khan who camped at Poona .Shivaji in a brilliant move decided to break the siege of the fort ,so that enemy would scatter.Then war would be fought on a vast territory with a an amzing speed. Accordingly on the dead of the full moon night,he passed through the siege.Meanwhile enemy chased and caught some portion of his troops.The caught king turned out to be an imposter of Shivaji.He was a barber, namely Shiva.Again enemy chased him.By that time Shivaji had reached at a strategic location , Ghod Khind, a gorge.It was very narrow so as to pass only a few soldiers at a time.Baji Prabhu, a gallant general alonwith Bandal mavalees took the position to defend the pass till Shivaji reached another fort Vishal Garh . Shivaji attacked another siege at base of that fort with such a vigour that it was broken.Meanwhile in a heroic manner Baji Prabhu successfuly defended the pass with 300 soldiers.He was badly wounded , but he gave up only when he heard the sound of canons blasted by Shvivaji from the fort that he had reached safely.After crossing the pass ,enemy attacked Shivaji at the fort.But again they were beaten badly and repulsed with heavy losses.They left teh battlefield never to return again.To please Siddi Jauhar,Shivaji vacated the fort ,Panhal garh.That said place is called as 'Pavan khind' and even today youths trek on the same route .Distance is around 50 km,almost a Marathon .This battle is quite akin to Battle of Thermopylae .Both battles were fought at a pass, defended by 300 soldiers and invading army in a large number(minimum 5000).
Conflict with the Mughals
Shivaji frequently raided the Mughal territory to the north of his small kingdom, as it was seized from his father by Mughals. Mughals were expanding southwards and Shivaji wanted to expand his frontier .So clash was envitable. Hence retaliation came quickly in the form of Shahista Khan, Aurangzeb's maternal uncle, who seized Pune and the fort of Chakan after great efforts. The Khan's vast army was more than a match for Shivaji's troops. He was an experienced commander. In this region he had defeated Shahaji in 1636. During his stay ,he could secure only one victory over above fort. Almost for a year his troops were looting poor peasants and villages as a kind of frustration for want of any kind of success. His one Uzbek general,Kartalab Khan was deputed on a mission to descend in the konkan and reduce Shivaji's forts. This time mughals did not march with their ususal open march, rather they wanted to give a surprise to Shivaji. They selected a pass 'Umber Khind' near present day,Pen. Shivaji took them by surprise near the pass, challenged them for a war which they could not give. They surrendered with their entire baggages and arms. One lady commander, Rai Bagan was present over there. However Shivaji allowed her safe passage including the entire troops. Next to target was the mughal camp at Poona.
In the guise of a marriage party, Shivaji led a small group to a daring attack on the residence of the Khan in April 1663. Khan was occupying a small palace, Lal Mahal which was Shivaji's childhood place. Mughal troops were at least 50,000 strong if we exclude their stores and ancillary units. Shivaji drew a plan and boldly attacked the person of general. After successfully hitting the general, he managed to escape from the mughal camp. Chasing Mughals were fooled by torches attached to bulls in another pass'Katraj Ghat', near Pune. Next day when they attacked Shivaji at Sinh Garh they were defeated. The Khan somehow managed to escape with the loss of three fingers, cut off by Shivaji as he jumped out of a window. The narrow escape made the Khan give up the fight and withdraw from Pune. He did his best to give a fight , but it was no use.
Next target was Surat, a port and wealthy town. Mughals were looting maratha countryside for a number of years. Poor peasants were looted of their produce and livestocks. It was necessary to counter it. Surat was giving huge tax to Mughals which was enabling Mughals to organise massive campaings against him. Against this background he arrived at Surat and demanded tribute from the Mughal commander of Surat. It was refused. As a punishment Shivaji defeated Mughals and exacted tribute from the wealthy merchants. It must be noted that poor, ladies or religious places were not harmed, as attested by even foreign travellers. There is a view that Shivaji lacked the administrative capacity to build a system of taxation. Probably it arises out of these kind of financial attacks.
Long back Allauddin Khalji and his general Malik Kafur had defeated the Yadavas, the Hoyasalas and other kingdoms of South India. During that expedition, not only gold and silver was looted, but many women were taken into harems. Against this background Shivaji had laid these attacks. There were repeated attacks on the town of Surat, where there was a large Gujarati and Parsi trading community. But their women were neither molested nor taken to harem like earlier invaders. When Shivaji attacked for the second time, Mughals intercepted him at a pass 'Vani Dindori' near Nashik. Shivaji sent certain troops with tribute ahead and himself took the position to fight out. In a pitched battle, Mughals were badly beaten and retreated from there. That's why it was not plundering, it was tribute from a vanquished army. The foundations of Bombay as India's commercial capital were laid through this, when after two consecutive attacks on Surat, there was a flight of the business community from Surat to Bombay. Certain islands of Bombay was ruled by the British,and while the British in India were weak at the time, Shivaji was even weaker as far artillery is concerned. The lawlessness on the west coast of mughal possession, with pervasive theft and rapine, coupled with the ability of the British to preserve law and order in certain portion of Bombay, led to Bombay's domination. Moreover the present day Colaba was in possession of Shivaji. Maratha navy under Shivaji and afterwards checked British as well as many other Pirates. It had had an effect on India's west coast. Around same time, Europeans were making Africans as their slaves and they were being sold in united states .
The Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb was greatly angered by Shivaji's activities, and he sent a vast army to finish off Shivaji for good.The Mughal army was led by Raja Jai Singh of Amber. Shivaji was outnumbered as usual, and his usual guerilla tactics were successfully repulsed by the experienced Jaisingh. In a heroic battle of Purander, Murar Baji, a brave warrior fought out the Mughals. He laid his life. Shivaji was a brillaint general. Considering all aspects, he prefereed peace and surrendered before Mughals. The peace treaty that he signed extracted a heavy price. He lost about 80% of his territory and 23 of his forts. But he managed to keep strategic forts with him.He also refused to accept mansabdari and instead proposed name of his son,Sambhaji.
Trip To Agra
In 1666, Aurangzeb summoned him, along with his son Sambhaji, who was six years old at the time, to Agra. In Agra, on 12 May 1666 Aurangzeb made Shivaji stand with the lowly commoners in his court, an intended insult for a ruler like Shivaji. Deeply insulted, Shivaji stormed out of court, and was promptly placed under house arrest. From his spies, Shivaji came to know that Aurangzeb planned to soon shift him to a secure location from where his escape would be impossible.
Great Escape
Shivaji then feigned sickness, and requested to be allowed to have sweets sent to temples in Agra as an offering. After several days of sending out boxes containing sweets, Shivaji and his son got into two of them, and managed to sneak out without being seen. According to some historians, this was possible only because the guards and some influential officials of the Mughal state were heavily bribed. He reached his kingdom in October 1666. Even certain officials might have been bribed,but not the entire mughal army or administration.Moreover Aurangzeb was of suspective nature and was strong in intelligence.One can guess from the fact that in future, same Aurangzeb caught hold of Sambhaji from his own territiory near Ratnagiri.One can imagine the dimension of the problems before Shivaji.
An Alternative Route?
A recent book by Dr. Ajit Joshi debunks the above story, and proposes what it claims are the real facts of the escape.
Shivaji and Aurangzeb met in Agra, not Delhi on May 12, 1666. Aurangzeb's father and former Emperor Shahjahan died in the Agra fort on 22 January 1666. Aurangzeb and his retinue reached Agra in mid-February 1666.
Shivaji and his son, Sambhaji were put under house arrest on May 29, 1666 in a large haveli in Agra owned by Jai Singh. He feigned sickness during June 1666, and obtained permission from Aurangzeb (who was also busy with a rebellion in the North West) to distribute sweets to sadhus, fakirs, and general public to get cured from ill health. Shivaji also obtained approval to send some of his courtiers back home since his audience with the Emperor was over. This entailed the procurement of Dastaks (Urdu:Notice) - a travel permit. This enabled these men to establish outposts along the way from Agra in preparation for Shivaji's escape.
During mid-July, Shivaji received intelligence that Aurangzeb and his courtiers were to depart on a hunting expedition on July 22, 1666. Jai Singh's son Ram Singh requested Shivaji to join the expedition, but Shivaji refused.
Shivaji had invited Pandit Kavindra Paramananda, of the Sanskrut Pathashala at Varanasi (Kashi) to visit him. This visit took place on July 22, 1666. During this visit, Shivaji shaved his beard, donned the garb of a Pandit and joined the entourage. A Dastak with his new name had already been procured.
After breaking off from this group outside Agra, Shivaji took to Gwalher (Gwalior), Narvar then straight to Burhanpur! From here Shivaji diverted to Nashik, since he did not want to go to Aurangabad. Sambhaji did not join his father on this escape, but left Agra on August 16, 1666 disguised as another Brahmin boy. He joined his father via Mathura.
Shivaji's escape was only discovered on August 18, 1666 when Aurangzeb appointed him to the North-West frontier and wanted him to leave for Kabul.
In the years 1667-69, Shivaji lay low. The Mughals got the impression that he was now a spent force and would not cause them any more trouble. In January 1670, Shivaji's forces launched a concerted attack on Mughal garrisons in Maharashtra. The force of the assault was overwhelming; within 6 months Shivaji had regained most of his old territory. His army was also much larger now: about 40 thousand cavalry, backed by 60 thousand infantry. From 1670-74 Shivaji greatly expanded his territory at the expanse of the Adilshahi and the Mughals.
Coronation
A thread ceremony (Upanayanam) took place on May 29, 1674, and then a Vratya Stoma ceremony was performed.
Shivaji was formally crowned Chatrapati ("Holder of the Umbrella", representing the protection he bestowed on his people) on June 6, 1674 at the Raigad fort, and given the title, Kshatriya Kulasampanna Simhasanadheeshwar Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Pandit Gaga Bhatt, a Bramhin from Varanasi, officially presided over the ceremony. A few days later a second ceremony was carried out, this time according to the Bengal school of Tantricism and presided over by Nischal Puri.
The coronation itself was the subject of controversy among the inner circles of Shivaji, on doubts over Shivaji's status as a Kshatriya, since a Kshatriya alone could be crowned a King [1]. Some historians attribute the need for the coronation to resentment by the other Maratha Deccan nobles of Shivaji's success (he being a Bhosle) and his taking a higher seat than them at state dinners [2].
Henry Oxinden (later Acting President of the Bombay Presidency) from the British East India Company was present at the ceremony.
Shivaji's rule
After his coronation, Shivaji launched a wave of conquests in southern India by attacking Mughal encampments in Berar and Khandesh. He defeated and captured the forts at Vellore and Jinji in modern day Tamilnadu. He also signed a friendship treaty with the Kutubshah of Golconda. Shivaji died in 1680 at Raigad, after running a fever for three weeks.
Shivaji established an effective civil and military administration and adopted a policy of religious tolerance to accommodate all religions and sects. He made it a state policy never to desecrate a mosque or seize women. Many Muslims were loyal to him, admired him and served in his army. He also created a government with democratic structure, where 12 ministers were elected by the public - one of the first experiments in democracy in the Indian subcontinent. The chief of ministers (prime minister) was chosen by the public and was called "Peshwa".
At a time when Hindus didn't cross the sea, Shivaji built coastal forts and maintained a navy, forcing the Portuguese to give up their system of passports for Indian ships.
After his death, his elder son Sambhaji and his step-mother Soyarabai fought for control of the kingdom. After a brief struggle Sambhaji was ultimately crowned king. Aurangzeb's son, Prince Akbar, rebelled against his father and was sheltered by Sambhaji. The emperor and his entourage moved to the Deccan in 1681 to coordinate the assault on the Marathas. Aurangzeb was never to return to Agra until his death twenty-six years later.
Remembering Shivaji
Because of his struggle against an imperial power, Shivaji became an icon of freedom fighters (along with the Rani of Jhansi) in the Indian independence struggle that followed two centuries later.
Shivaji remains a prominent figure in the pantheon of Marathi nationalism. He is remembered as a just and wise king and his rule is called one of the six golden pages in Indian history. A political party, the Shiv Sena, claims to draw inspiration from him. School texts in Maharashtra glorify his period.
Devotional and political approaches to Shivaji have clashed with historical ones. The publication in 2003 of James W. Laine's Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India [3] sparked controversy in India. In December 2003 one of those thanked by Laine, historian Shrikant Bahulkar, was assaulted and had his face blackened by Shiv Sena activists. And then on 5 January 2004 a group calling itself the Sambhaji Brigade attacked the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, Maharashtra, doing considerable damage to the holdings of this significant cultural repository.
Associates of Shivaji
Some of Shivaji's close associates were also his primary army chieftains, and have entered folklore along with him. These include Baji Pasalkar, Tanaji Malusare, Bajiprabhu, Firangoji Narsala, Murarbaji, Prataprao Gujar, Kanhoji Jedhe, Kondaji Farjand, Balaji Avji Chitnis, Netaji Palkar and Lay Patil Koli.
External links
- the controversy over James Laine’s Shivaji (Complete Review Quarterly)
References
- Joshi, Dr. Ajit. Agryahun Sutka, Marathi, Pune: Shivapratap Prakashan (1997)
- Kasar, D.B. Rigveda to Raigarh making of Shivaji the great, Mumbai: Manudevi Prakashan (2005)
- ^ Laine, James W. Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India, Oxford: Oxford University Press (2003), ISBN 0195141261
- ^ Singh, Patwant. The Sikhs, Knopf (2000), ISBN 0375407286
- ^ Vaidya, C.V. History of Mediaeval India, Pgs. 248-252
