Grand Finale - The Winner takes it all !!

I cannot believe that we are finally here - the grand finale of the Pratapgad Chronicle. This finale started with the meeting between Shivaji Maharaj and Afzalkhan and concluded by a great win by Shivaji Maharaj. Lets go through the sequence of events, shall we?

Most of the historians have narrowed down the timing of Shivaji-Afzalkhan meeting to around 4 PM in the evening. Afzalkhan arrived to the meeting place along with his musketeers, musketeers were positioned at an arrows distance and then when Afzalkhan was seated in the meeting tent, summons were sent to call Shivaji to the meeting.

Shivaji came in with Jiva Mahal. The envoys of both the side announced introduction of both the men and then Afzalkhan stood up for an embrace. He extended his arms and invited Shivaji for an alliance. Shivaji responded back by walking towards Afzalkhan with open arms and the two leaders embraced each other.

Just when things looked to be going so well and moods of all looked so merry, two sounds were heard - a clinging sound due to striking of two metals and a reflexive shout by wounded Afzalkhan. Both Shivaji and Afzalkhan had attacked each other with hidden daggers, just as they had entered each others arms.

Now, I have read it at so many places that Afzalkhan attacked first, but his dagger proved ineffective, thanks to the armor wore by Shivaji under his clothes, and then as a response to this attack, Shivaji attacked back. Well, I must beg to differ from this sequence of events.

We have to acknowledge the fact that both Afzalkhan and Shivaji were out there for blood. Despite all the propaganda of peace, all they wanted to do was kill each other.
Afzalkhan wanted to kill Shivaji - out of his addiction to kill opponents, to fulfill the orders given by his Sultan and Badi Begum, to have another chance of hurting Shahaji, to take control of all the territories that Shivaji had so far acquired and to end forever the menace that was Shivaji.
Shivaji wanted to kill Afzalkhan - to protect his budding Maratha empire, to avenge the murder of his elder brother, to avenge the humiliation of his father at hands of Afzalkhan, to avenge the destruction of all those temples and gods by Afzalkhan, to defeat a massive Adilshahi force and send a clear signal to the Adilshah that Marathas would not be stopped by anything now.

The only catch here is Afzalkhan had a history of killing people during peace talks and hence Shivaji knew exactly what to expect of him. Accordingly, Shivaji had shielded himself for the meeting. Afzalkhan, on the other hand, had no reasons to think that Shivaji can also kill him and did not assume so.

Coming back to the meeting, both men knew that their only chance to take out the hidden dagger and strike the opponent from a close distance was when they were locked with each other in an embrace. So, they did strike each other, almost at the same instance. Shivaji succeeded in putting his dagger into Afzalkhan, while Afzalkhan's dagger just went till the armor of Shivaji.

Sayyad Banda was quick to realize that Afzalkhan's strike had failed. It was his turn now. He was also quick enough to sense that Shivaji was wearing an armor under his clothes. Bang - he took out his Danda-Patta [a belt with blades on it, which was used to strike the opponent from a distance] and slammed it's blades on Shivaji's head. Shivaji's turban tore apart and his helmet was now clearly visible.

When Jiva Mahal saw Sayyad Banda attacking Shivaji Maharaj, he rushed himself in to this combat. Without wasting time, he used his own Danda-patta to cut off Sayyad banda's hand, with which Sayyad Banda was holding his danda-patta. Jiva Mahal then moved in quickly and killed Sayyad Banda by his Sword.

Seeing Sayyad Banda dead, Afzalkhan sensed trouble. It was probably the first time in his life-time, that this great general got scared. He rushed himself out of the tent, and now the only thing he wanted to do was to protect himself. Afzalkhan came out shouting "Dagaa, Dagaa".

As soon as Shivaji's men outside the tent saw Afzalkhan coming out, they rushed to his bodyguards and started slaying them. Afzalkhan's bodyguards were falling down even before they could hear Afzalkhan and react to his words. Afzalkhan knew this whole thing is going the wrong way. He sat in his palanquin [Paalkhi] and ordered its carriers to take him down the hill as fast as possible.

This is where Sambhaji Kavji jumped in. He first cut-off the legs of all men carrying Afzalkhan's palanquin and Afzalkhan fell down on the ground. [This is same as modern cops shooting at tyres to make a car stop :-)]
Without wasting any moment, Sambhaji Kavji cut off Afzalkhan's head, while he was still trying to get himself up from the ground.
Afzalkhan was dead. The great general of Bijapur was dead. The biggest threat to the Maratha empire was be-headed. Victory was now just a matter of time!!

But wait, this was not the only place where some action was taking place. Netaji had already taken off from Mahabaleshwar and was rapidly riding towards Wai.

Moropant and Kanhoji's men in the jungle had worked for the whole night before the meeting to cut the tree trunks half-way. so that these big trees can be easily pulled down to block ways of fleeing Afzalkhan troops, they had dug trenches and covered them with sticks, clothes and sand, so that the horses and camels and elephants and men rushing out of Javali basin can fall in these trenches and get trapped. They had positioned their archers on tree tops to kill anyone who passes through their line of attack. They had made arrangements to take care of those Afzalkhan's men who would try to flee and now they were ready to attack the Afzalkhan camp.

Ragho Atre had long discussions with Shivaji's spies and had identified priority targets. His men and his horses were all set for the first blood.

On the other hand, Afzalkhan camp as such knew that Shivaji and Afzalkhan are currently meeting on the Pratapgad fort. They also knew that Afzalkhan has taken his elite musketeers with him on the fort. They could sense that Afzalkhan would kill Shivaji in this meeting and it would be all over. There was a relaxed, jolly mood in Afzalkhan camp and nobody really expected any ambush in that Jungle of Javali Basin.
Besides if you are an army with 15,000 infantry men, 10,000 elite cavalry men and have 90 big cannons, 85 Elephants, 1200 Camels and a 1500 men strong artillery unit, all of it stationed in a single big camp, you don't expect that anyone would dare to attack the camp.

But then, at the per-determined time, a blood bath began. Arrows started swooping in from all directions and before anyone could notice, ranking officers and soldiers on guard at the perimeter of the camp started falling down. Even while Afzalkhan's men were trying to figure out what was happening, there were horsemen entering the camp from all directions. Horsemen who were shouting and threatening and killing anyone who was in their way. These men penetrated the Afzalkhan camp and started killing their targets. There was such a ruckus and chaos caused in the camp, that nobody knew what is to be done.

Are these Shivaji's men? If so, why are they attacking us even while Shivaji is having meeting with Afzalkhan? Have they revolted against Shivaji because he was talking peace with Afzalkhan? Are these Prataprao More's men, who came out of nowhere in this Javali basin? Are they sent by Mughals? We can only think of the confusion that got created in minds of Afzalkhan's soldiers.
Add to it, more and more of their ranking officers were found dead and this was delaying any decisions to be taken.

And then, they heard it. The distinct war cry of the Marathas 'Har Har Mahadeo'. Moropant and his men had attacked the still-confused artillery unit. Before they could get ready, the whole artillery unit was slayed and all the cannons were taken into possession. The gun power was now in hands of more alert men, and if somebody was to attempt taking it back, they would have faced cannon shots fired from a very close range. Marathas were now charging more and more and Afzalkhan's men were still undecided.

At the meeting place, as soon as Afzalkhan and all his bodyguards were taken down, Shivaji and his unit of bodyguards rushed back to the Pratapgad fort. He then fired cannon shots to signal his men all around the Pratapgad fort and it's foothills that he was safe and that Afzalkhan was dead.

Netaji's handful men, which he had left behind, picked up the signal and galloped to give him the good news. Kanhoji knew his king was safe and he no longer has to form a dam between retreating Afzalkhan and his musketeers. All men who had started ambush by attacking Afzalkhan's camp now knew that the victory was close.

I mean imagine a cricket match, where your team is to bat second against a mighty opponent. Your bowlers keep a tight leash on the opponent batsman and fielders make sure that there are no free runs scored. With this discipline, Wickets are taken at consistent intervals and score of the opponent becomes achievable. And then, in comes your opening pair and scores most of the runs. When the first wicket fells, and the new batsman walks in, if he know his team has 9 wickets in hand, 15 overs remaining and 10 runs to win, he knows they are already a winner. He is more relaxed than ever, as he enters the field, and also more enthusiastic to score. Instead of scoring singles, he now goes for the big shots. As the morale of opponents is already down, he actually succeeds in hitting the big ones.

Same was the case of all Shivaji's men. After the cannon shots, deep down, they knew that they were already the winners and all they had to do was take this whole affair to it's finish-line. They got more enthusiastic and attacked with more vigor on the opponents.

Coming back to the meeting place, Shivaji's troops in the fort now began descending down and soon reached near the musketeers of Afzalkhan. These musketeers were not sure what to conclude of it. Was Afzalkhan dead and were these men attacking them? Was Shivaji dead and were these men running for their lives? They were unsure and decided to wait till the Marathas closed in. When Marathas arrived, they launched an offensive on the musketeers directly. Just when the musketeers started attacking back, more Maratha soldiers appeared out of no-where and attacked the musketeers side ways.

And then, they saw it. Afzalkhan's head put up on a spear and being waved around to cheer the Marathas. They knew the war was lost and started fleeing the scene. Marathas went after these musketeers and started slaying them.

Once the message was passed on, Shivaji ordered his men to immediately bring back the head of Afzalkhan. It was then sent to Jijabai as a gesture of victory. Shivaji ordered a formal burial of Afzalkhan's corpse and made sure it was not mutilated by anyone.

Some of the musketeers eventually succeeded in reaching the base camp and they informed Fazal Khan, the son of Afzalkhan, about the death of Afzalkhan.

Fazal Khan decided to retreat and go back to his province of Wai. He took off from the Javali basin along with Prataprao More and his 500 men immediately.

When the remaining of musketeers and the Marathas in their pursuit came down the Pratapgad fort, it was time for those engaged in attacking the camp to return to their positions in the Forest. They were now to kill anyone who tries escaping the Javali basin.

News of Afzalkhan's death and Fazalkhan's retreat spread immediately in the base camp and the confusion till now in their minds got replaced by Panic. Their leader was dead, his successor had fled the war-scene and the Marathas were already out there killing whoever comes in the way. As in case of most of the oriental armies of those days, the only choice these men thought of, was to flee the battleground themselves.

If the readers remember, this is a similar situation, in almost the same place, when Shivaji and his men had attacked Chandrarao More. But then, unfortunately, Afzalkhan's troops lacked leaders like Baji Prabhu and Murarbaji, or visionaries like Shelar Mama, who would fight and make their troops fight the battle despite fall of the commanders and rulers. So it was, that the blood bath began.
All those who tried to flee were killed, all those who resisted were killed, all those who attacked were killed. However, those who surrendered their arms were spared and taken as war-prisoners. The odds of the war were 1:3 in Afzalkhan's favor, if the total number of soldiers were to be considered and Shivaji's men beat the hell out of these odds to emerge victorious!!

I could only imagine Marathas at the end of this entire saga - All drenched in the blood red, with their pulse pumping high, their hearts pounding heavily and their spirits hitting the sky!!

When Afzalkhan's forces in Wai saw Netaji coming, they were not sure what to expect. They put up a line of defence anyways. And then, even while Netaji was surrounding Wai and trying to make inroads in the province, he got the news of Afzalkhan's death. The intensity of attack suddenly increased. After some time, a handful of Afzalkhan's men also succeeded in reaching Wai to inform the Afzalkhan camp of his death. I believe these men were sent by Fazal Khan to alert the troops in Wai and he wanted to have a strong, well guarded place to retreat.

The effect of news was however exactly opposite and as soon as they heard of Afzalkhan's death, all the men from Wai started withdrawing and marching towards Vasota for retreat. In no time, Netaji took control of Wai, only to welcome Fazal Khan and his men and arrest them.

On his way, Fazal Khan was ambushed by Shivaji's men deployed to prevent traffic towards Wai. These men realised that Fazal Khan has more soldiers with him and they would eventually be outnumbered. Hence, they decided to make a surgical attack and ambushed Fazal Khan directly. He got wounded heavily, and by the time Marathas could do any further damage, these 50 odd men were all killed by Fazal Khan's troops. As he was wounded heavily, Fazal Khan did not put up any resistance against Netaji and surrendered straight away.

Netaji then took his horsemen and chased the fleeing Adilshahi troops. He went on till Vasota and put up a siege to Vasota. Sarvarkhan and his men were now trapped and they knew Afzalkhan was dead. After trapping the huge Adilshahi army in Vasota fort, Netaji galloped ahead acquiring regions in Satara and Kolhapur and took over the a total of 17 forts including Panhalgad and Vishalgad. Eventually, Sarvarkhan surrendered the fort of Vasota as well to the Marathas.

Shivaji's forces in Rajgad also moved swiftly and took back the areas in and around Pune, which were taken over by Afzalkhan.

When Siddi of Janjira got the news of Afzalkhan's death, he decided to withdraw his forces and wait for another opportunity. Shivaji's immediately sent in a cavalry unit under command of Doroji Patil and took control of his original territory and also acquired the cities of Dabhol and Rajapur.

So it was that during the Pratapgad battle and it's after-math, Shivaji took over a heavy consignment of Adilshahi artillery and ammunition, 65 Elephants, 90 Cannons, 4000 Horses, 1200 Camels, Jewels worth 3,00,000 Rupees, Coins worth 1,00,000 rupees, heaps of previous clothes, lots and lots of tents at the foothills of Pratapgad and also the provisions and grain stores at Wai.

5,000 of Afzalkhan's men were killed, an equal number of them were wounded, 3000 soldiers were taken as war prisoners, equal number of men - mostly servants, merchants, etc were showed safe passage to Bijapur. Fazal Khan and his brother were also released and allowed safe passage to Bijapur. Many men in Adilshah's troops requested Shivaji to take them in his troops and Shivaji approved of this. Siddi Hilal was one of the prominent commanders among these men joining Shivaji.

Shivaji on the other hand lost 1734 men and 400 of his men were wounded.

To sum it all, Adilshah lost a quarter of his territory, forts and a fifth of his army were captured or destroyed; while Shivaji doubled his territory, losing a tenth of his army, all within fifteen days of the Battle of Pratapgad.

It was a great and glorious victory for the Marathas, and well-deserved as well.

This is the legacy of Shivaji - his courage to take on mightier opponents, his strategy to make them yield, his foresight to build an empire, his promptness to take immediate advantage of crisis in enemy camp, his absolute prowess in terms of intelligence network, his ability to convince people about the vision of Maratha empire so much that they stake their lives and families in the battlefield, his empathy which won him friends and companions and not just warlords and soldiers and which allowed safe passage even to the opponents ..

I can just go on and on..

May be I will continue further on Shivaji's qualities, when I write the further blogs on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Till then, enjoy reading this Chronicle of Pratapgad Battle and enjoy the glorious moments which defined the Indian history.

"Proudh-Pratap-Purandar.. Kshatriya-kulavantas.. Shreeman-Yogi .. Sinhasanadhishwar.. Maharajadhiraj.... Yogiraj...

SHRIMANT CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ KI JAY......."

Chapter Twelve - Tiger-Claw - I don't think so

It is a popular legend that when Shivaji and Afzalkhan met, Shivaji killed Afzalkhan using a weapon commonly known as Tiger-Claws. Before, we go into unfolding the events pertaining to this historical meeting and of the historical battle of Pratapgad, I wanted to throw in couple of my arguments for why it cannot be a tiger-claw.

This below is the picture of the Tiger Claws. As you can see, it is wore like rings in your fingers and it gives out sharp metal claws on the inner [or outer] surface of your palms. Let us also note that these metal claws cannot be folded and this weapon was also not so sophisticated in those days as to hide the claws in some aperture and take them out whenever you want by automatic push of some button. I mean, imagine Logan from X-Men taking out his claws from knuckles as and when he wanted. THAT was NOT the case with Tiger-Claws.

To start with the arguments, let us have the basic assumption that both Shivaji and Afzalkhan showcased that they trust each others words and none of them asked for frisking the opponent to find any hidden weapons. Else, Daggers carried by both of them would have been discovered before the meeting itself.

Furthermore, we already know that Afzalkhan was to be seated first in the tent and Shivaji came in later.

Argument One:
So, when we are to greet anyone, as a gesture of upcoming friendship, a new alliance, how would we do it?
Firstly, we would have to go in front of the other person, with OPEN arms [which also means with open palms that are facing the opponent].

Take a look at these pictures below. First one is from an old movie showing Shivaji and Afzalkhan approaching each other, second one is a picture showing the meeting between Shivaji and Mirza Raje Jaisingh.

Both these pictures clearly show that when greeting each other by an embrace, the two people have to have open palms. If Shivaji entered the meeting tent with open palms, did Afzalkhan really NOT notice the Tiger-Claw?? I doubt that he would not notice such a thing.

Argument Two:
When we are embracing other person, one hand [usually the right hand for the right-handed person] is above the other person's arm and towards the back of the other person and other hand is under the arm.

Using both the palms which are close to each other at the back, it is possible to take out a dagger hidden in one of the sleeves. But if your right hand is already above the other persons arm and left arm is under the other persons arm, is it possible for you to reach the front  torso of that person to use a tiger claw?

This is a picture of a normal embrace and following it is the pictorial depiction of the use of tiger claw. Even if we are to assume that Afzalkhan did not notice the tiger claw on Shivaji's palms, If we take a look at both these pictures, is it possible to go from stance in the first to the stance in the second within a fraction of the moment, that too when the person opposite is mighty Afzalkhan? I think not.

The tiger-claw movement was only possible if like in the below picture, Afzalkhan had both his hands wrapped around Shivaji, but that would not be the case. It had to be one hand only. Besides, once his dagger had penetrated Afzalkhan, Shivaji knew that his men would take care of finishing the job. There was no need for Shivaji to maintain a variety of weapons in his assault plan.

Anyways, that's just me and now that I had this platform, I wanted to put forth my views on the entire Tiger-Claw tale.

Next Chapter will be the last of this series, wherein we will take a look at the grand finale of Pratapgad battle.

Stay tuned readers. We are almost there :-)

Chapter Eleven - Preparations and Instructions

I know I have been adding up more and more chapters to this chronicle, but just before we enter the grand finale, it would be worthwhile to take a look at the preparations done by Shivaji for the meeting and it's after-events and also the instructions that he would have given to his men.

So, we know that a meeting was fixed between Shivaji Maharaj and Afzalkhan by their envoys. Terms of the meeting were agreed upon by both leaders and the date of this meeting was decided to be 10th November 1659.

Frankly speaking, I am aware that all readers know the output of this battle anyways - Afzalkhan was killed and his army was defeated in this battle. So, instead of providing too many historical details and references in this chapter, I am going to put forth my theory on what preparation was done by both Afzalkhan and Shivaji for the meeting and how these preparations materialized in to the actual battle of Pratapgad.
As I said, not all that you will read below can be found in the history books and has been said by the historians, but it is all that I have always imagined about the Pratapgad battle. 

Preparations:
When the meeting was finally decided, both Afzalkhan and Shivaji had one common agenda - "to kill the opponent".

The biggest reason I see why Afzalkhan lost this battle was that he had only this ONE agenda. For him, his massive army was already spread across Pune, Vasota, Wai and the foothill of Pratapgad and it was just a matter of killing Shivaji before it was all over.

After agreeing for the terms of the meeting, the only preparation I think he did was to order his musketeers to accompany him and stay at an arrow's distance during the meeting; and to order Prataprao More to be with his sons, ready for departure, as soon as he descends Pratapgad after the meeting. Along with these, he would have ordered Sayyad Banda to be his backup in killing Shivaji. If Afzalkhan misses to kill Shivaji by any chance, Sayyad Banda was to act as a backup killer and assassinate Shivaji. Again, as I said, this is all as per my imaginarium, based on the facts and references I have been reading.

There is no actual reference which says Afzalkhan gave these specific orders, and it is my thought process which has linked the actual events that took place on the D-day with these orders. Another testimony about Afzalkhan's focus on only killing Shivaji is that he did not even care to wear any armour for self-protection. His mind was completely occupied by a single thought - Shivaji is going to meet him and he has to kill Shivaji. Nothing else matters.

On the other hand, Shivaji Maharaj had a threefold agenda - Kill Afzalkhan, defeat the massive army of Afzalkhan and the Siddi of Janjira, cover enough ground to be ready for the anticipated Shaistekhan campaign.
While Shivaji Maharaj had already created a backup arrangement for Maratha empire in case of his death during this battle; he also made sure that he shields himself from the anticipated attack. He wore an armor under his clothes and a helmet under his turban while going in to the meeting.

Moropant and Tryambak Bhaskar were moved with their infantry units from Mahad to the foothills of Pratapgad. These forces surrounded the left flank on Afzalkhan's army and were positioned very close to his artillery unit. Ragho Atre was given a Swift Cavalry unit of around 1000 men and these men had taken their positions around the Afzalkhan's army. Netaji Palkar was already stationed in Mahabaleshwar with his cavalry unit.
Kanhoji Jedhe's men of Infantry were also spread in the jungle of Javali surrounding the right flank of Afzalkhan's army. Kanhoji himself took along 300 men and he was positioned on the Pratapgad mountain, very close from the place where Afzalkhan's musketeer unit was to stand.
Apart from this, there were about fifty men deployed in the trees very close to Wai, such that they can ambush any incoming traffic.

All these men and the 11 bodyguards [10 + 1] accompanying Shivaji Maharaj had specific orders to be executed. Some of these orders were time-based i.e. these were supposed to be executed at a specific time - no matter what the output of meeting is, some of these orders had an IF-ELSE clause and depended on the outcome of meeting.
We will see more into what these orders were or would have been as per my theory, in the next section of this write-up.

Bottom-line is that Shivaji had not left anything to chance. He had provided specific instructions to his men, he had set specific protocols to indicate various events and he had prepared his army and himself for all eventualities. This attention provided to all aspects was what made Shivaji the winner of this battle.

Instructions:
While I have already mentioned about what would have been the only instructions Afzalkhan gave his men in relevance to his meeting with Shivaji, I would like to put forth my theory of instructions given by Shivaji to his men.
1. Jiva Mahal - Who was to accompany Shivaji Maharaj in to the meeting tent was entrusted with only one task - protect Shivaji at all costs and stay in the role of Shivaji's bodyguard at all times.

2. All the bodyguards deployed outside the meeting tent [except one] were instructed to attack their counterparts i.e. Afzalkhan's bodyguards, as soon as they see anyone coming out of the tent. It does not matter if it is Shivaji or Afzalkhan who comes out first; they were to strike fatal blows to opponents without wasting any time.

3. If Afzalkhan had thought of a backup plan to kill his opponent, so had Shivaji. In fact, he put forth two backup arrangements. Before we go into details, we should all understand the fact that both Shivaji and Afzalkhan had agreed to NOT carry any arms to the meeting. This made a backup arrangement for the killing a necessity for both Shivaji and Afzalkhan. Only difference is that Afzalkhan made the man standing with him in the tent responsible for the kill, while Shivaji made the men standing outside the tent responsible.
a. Sambhaji Kavji, one of the bodyguards outside the tent, was instructed to kill Afzalkhan, as soon as he comes out of the tent.
I know that people sing songs of heroic deed by Sambhaji Kavji and how he went after Afzalkhan to behead him, but think of this. If his king Shivaji had a danger of life, if ten of his peers were fighting the mighty opponents in Afzalkhan's army, why would Sambhaji leave his peers and go after Afzalkhan? He was risking the life of his fellow soldiers and the life of Shivaji Maharaj himself, by doing this act. Also, Shivaji himself did not tolerate any indiscipline on anyone's part and there is a strong evidence for this in form of the Prataprao Gujar episode.
So, I have always considered that Sambhaji went after Afzalkhan, because it was what he was instructed to do, by Shivaji, even before the meeting took place.
b. Shivaji had also placed his most trusted men just around Afzalkhan's musketeers. Their instructions were simple - If they see Afzalkhan descending from meeting place, form a wall between the musketeers and Afzalkhan and kill him before he reaches near his men. Instead, if they see Marathas descending down the meeting place, wait till their combat with Afzalkhan's musketeers begin and then make a surprise charge in to this battle, to gain advantage over the musketeers.

4. Netaji Palkar had a time based instruction. At a specific time, start from Mahabaleshwar and attack Wai. Keep some men in Wai to battle against Afzalkhan's army returning from Pratapgad and move forward to attack Vasota.

5. Moropant, Tryambak Bhaskar and Kanhoji's men in the jungle of Pratapgad were also to attack Afzalkhan's army a a specific time, taking them by surprise. Moropant was told to specifically target the artillery units and take rapid control over them.

6. Ragho Atre was supposed to make surgical strikes. His target was to rush in the Afzalkhan camp with his horsemen at a specific time and kill as many commanding officers of the cavalry as possible, making the massive cavalry unit to surrender, seeing their leaders dead.

7. A small unit of 50 men was entrusted with the task of ambushing any messengers and men who try to get out of Javali, and wanted to to break the news of attack to the forces in Wai. Alert troops at Wai meant trouble for Netaji and also availability of reinforcements for those fighting in Javali Basin. This had to be prevented.

Thus, with carefully laid out strategy, with pre-defined protocols to mark various events, with definitive instructions on the plan of action, with complete attention to self-defense, Shivaji prepared himself and his men for the battle which was coming soon. 

Chapter Ten - Terms of the Tie-breaker

As Monsoon advanced, the war game between Shivaji and Afzalkhan entered into it's 'endgame' state. Even while they were figuring out the odds, an anticipated interference by the Mughals made them go for a tie-breaker session. Let us see how this all took place as we move forward in the game, shall we?

BLACK: Tick-Tock, the time is out.
Well, this was not exactly the signal given by Afzalkhan. Here the black refers to Aurangzeb, who crowned himself as the Mughal Emperor, on 6th June 1659. And then, on 14th July 1659, Shivaji received orders from the newly anointed Mughal emperor. "I am sending Shaistekhan as the Mughal Viceroy to Deccan. Comply to his commands."
Around the same time, Adilshah also received a memo from Aurangzeb. The gist of the memo was "Take care of the menace caused by Shivaji at the earliest."
Aurangzeb had played both the contenders. It was just a matter of time, and as soon as the monsoon was over, they were expecting Shaistekhan in Deccan. Now, their only chance was to act as fast as they can and secure their goals.
Shivaji immediately left Rajgad and reached Pratapgad. This helped him to be closer to Afzalkhan's post and this also helped to boost the spirit of his army in the territory.
On part of Afzalkhan, although he wanted to avoid the interference of the Mughals, he knew he was not at an immediate loss if Shaistekhan reaches Deccan. He was mentally prepared to join hands with Mughals. In fact, he had also got a large number of traders, merchants and jwellers along with him, so that he can buy various gifts from them, as per the liking of the Mughal commanders to confirm the gesture of his friendship.
In other words, the urgency was more upon Shivaji than Afzalkhan and he had to do something to resolve the deadlock of their game before time runs out completely.

WHITE: Engage the opponent, distract the moves, bring out the opponent's king.
Soon after Shivaji moved to Pratapgad, Jijabai sent one of her trusted maids and her envoy to Afzalkhan. They had brought a plea from Jijabai. "Please spare my only son alive. As it is, he is afraid of you. We will surrender all our forts to you, and keep only a handful of land and a couple of forts for our livelihood. Spare our lives in return and help us reconcile with the Adilshah. I had sent my son to you for surrender, but he is so afraid of you, he stopped mid-way and has gone into hiding on Pratapgad. As an elder among the two, please be generous to invite Shivaji to you. Please have mercy on us and help us."
Afzalkhan knew that Shahaji had changed many sides and had caused many troubles, but he had never lied. Afzalkhan therefore had no reason to distrust Shahaji's wife. More than that, he could sense the cry of a mother for saving her son's life. Also, even though Jijabai was lying, it did not matter. All that Afzalkhan needed was one live encounter with Shivaji. He tried that encounter to be on a battlefield, and did not succeed. Now thanks to the mercy plea by Jijabai, he had a chance to have one-to-one encounter with Shivaji. His wish had come true. He was going to respond to Jijabai.
Another advantage of this dialogue was that it would pacify Shahaji, who was now ready with a force of 17,000 in Bangalore.
Afzalkhan replied to Jijabai assuring her that her son will not be harmed in any ways. Jijabai's envoy kept on visiting Afzalkhan for another couple of months, but Afzalkhan had not yet initiated any dialogue with Shivaji directly.
Finally, in the month of October, just after both the Diwali and Eid celebrations were over, Krishnaji Bhasker went to Pratapgad and met Shivaji on behalf of Afzalkhan. Shivaji told him that he is too frightened of Afzalkhan and his massive force and he does not want to risk going to Wai for meeting Afzalkhan. He urged Afzalkhan to come in person to Pratapgad and take him along to Wai and Bijapur.
Afzalkhan commended Krishnaji Bhasker for securing a meeting with Shivaji and told him to finalize the terms of meeting. Shivaji appointed Pantaji Gopinath as his correspondent and the talks to decide terms of meeting begun.
In around 15 days time, all the terms and conditions of the meeting were finalized and approved by both Shivaji and Afzalkhan. These terms were:
1. Meeting would take place on 10th November 1659. The meeting spot should have only four people - Afzalkhan, Krishnaji Bhasker, Shivaji and Pantaji Gopinath. All these men should be unarmed.
2. One bodyguard at a entrance of the meeting tent was allowed for both sides. While Afzalkhan nominated Sayyad Banda for this position, Shivaji chose Jiva Mahal.
3. Ten guards at a distance of 10 meters from the tent. All these ten people were identified at the time of agreement itself and their names were listed in the agreement.
4. At a distance of Arrows throw, Afzalkhan will have his 1,000 musketeers deployed. Shivaji would keep an equal number of men at the Pratapgad Fort entrance.
5. As Shivaji is the younger one, he should go to meet Afzalkhan. Thus, Afzalkhan was to be seated first in the tent.
6. Shivaji was to arrange for creating the tent of meeting, as it was his territory. [This clause helped Shivaji to select the meeting spot, which was of a strategic advantage to the Marathas. The tent was erected at a spot which was easily visible from the Pratapgad fort and when the Musketeers of Afzalkhan stood on the other side down the slope, they had no view of the tent.]

Shivaji also asked Afzalkhan to bring along the group of merchants with him, as he wanted to buy rich gifts for the Adilshah and Afzalkhan and there were not many places to shop around Pratapgad :-)

Thus it was, that with the play of words, Shivaji convinced Afzalkhan to meet him in the place of his choice and brought him out of his highly secured camp.

BLACK: Promotion of the Pawn.
Many historians have projected Afzalkhan's decision to agree on Pratapgad as a venue as his folly. When I think about it, I don't think that was the case.

Afzalkhan had an unit of Prataprao More [descendant of Chandrarao More] and around 3000 of his men on his side. These men knew the nooks and corners of Javali Basin and the region surrounding Pratapgad. All he had to do was use the knowledge of these men and get to Shivaji. Also, considering that when the battle broke out after the Shivaji-Afzalkhan meeting, Fazalkhan [son of Afzalkhan] and Prataprao More were among the first to reach Wai, I believe that they were already set to travel and the plan was always that when Afzalkhan comes down from Pratapgad, he will march out of the area with these handful of men. But then, that's just me.
Speaking of Afzalkhan, he saw no harm in taking a short guided Jungle tour, if he was going to get his hand on Shivaji and he decided to go for it.

The mistake he did was that he could not resist a show-off of his strength to Shivaji. He kept only 5000 soldiers of the infantry in Wai, as a reserve force and took along all his cavalry, infantry, artillery and musketeer units to the bottom of Pratapgad. While his earlier moves had failed to have the desired effect on the battle, this was the first mistake Afzalkhan did.

As a military general, he could not appreciate the fact that passing through the dense forest with so many camels, so many elephants, so many horses, so many cannons - big and small was simply exhausting - for both his men and the animals. Moreover, if you have such a thick tree cover around and if there is no open ground around, what use are the cannons? Where will the camels and horses ride with the cavalry?
But then, when a man gets down to a show-off, it's hard to stop him :-)

My belief is that Afzalkhan promised to return the Javali province to the Prataprao More and make him the next Chandrarao [king of Javali] for his services during the battle.

Thus, as Afzalkhan was sensing the climax of the game, he promoted a pawn to be the knight that would lead his entire army into the dense forest of Javali.

Chapter Nine - The Hand of Goddess

In the previous chapter, we saw the opening of war game between Shivaji and Afzalkhan. As Afzalkhan proceeded towards Shivaji's territories, this game entered it's 'middlegame stage'. Without further ado, let us get back to the game, shall we?

WHITE: King Safety.
King here refers to all that Shivaji considered close to his heart - his family, his people and above all else his vision and his cause of creating an independent Maratha empire. Shivaji was a Shrimant Yogi and never assigned importance to his own life.
Shivaji knew that it would be pointless to face Afzalkhan in the open grounds around Pune. He evacuated his family and his troops from Pune and the surrounding areas. Families of many soldiers were sent to Rajgad, where Jijabai and Shivaji's family were also stationed and to the other forts controlled by Shivaji. The rest of the families were taken to the villages bordering Nagar. Idea was that if Afzalkhan raids the place, these people can quickly pass into Nagar. Nagar was under mughal rule and unless Afzalkhan intended to start a war with mughals, he would not have trespassed into Nagar.

OK, now that the innocent people were safe, next task was to secure the cause and vision of independent Maratha empire. Shivaji stayed at Rajgad and had various rounds of discussions with his mother and many of his prominent men. He chartered a backup arrangement in case he does not survive the raid of Afzalkhan. His infant son Sambhaji was to be made leader of his clan and the pursuit of an independent Maratha empire was to continue under the leadership of Jijabai. Shivaji made it very clear that his existence does not matter anymore and the war for freedom should continue whether he lives or dies.

The white King was safe and secured now in hearts of people. 

BLACK: Bishop to the King (God).
Well, I know that Bishop is a religious figure in Christian world, but then it is also a player in the game of Chess. A player which always moves on not-the-straight-forward path but an odd and twisted path. It is the "tedhi chaal" [slanted movement] of the chess board bishop that is referred here, and has absolutely no relevance to the Bishops in Christian world. This move has its own religious impact though.
Let's see the details, shall we?

As Afzalkhan started from Afzalpura, he knew that he needs to draw Shivaji out of his mountain posts and have a battle in the open ground. He wanted Shivaji to challenge him, and as earlier as possible, so that he can get done with the raid. There was no point in surrounding each of Shivaji's forts and stations - it would take years before the entire region is recovered. Waiting for longer would mean giving more time for Shahaji to organize more and more forces and also allowing mughals to interfere. He wanted none of these. He wanted an open war and he wanted it ASAP.

So, what is the best way to foment Shivaji and get him on the battleground? What was Shivaji still vulnerable to? What would piss him off real bad and get him to attack Afzalkhan?? Well, let's see - How about Religion and Gods??
This is one tactic which Afzalkhan knew that always worked. Destroy the places of faith of the clan and they will try to fight you. And so it began!! Afzalkhan started destroying all the temples on his way to Pune. These included prominent temples as the Tuljapur Bhavani temple, the Kolhapur Mahalakshmi temple and the Vitthal-Rukmini temple in Pandharpur. When he reached Purandar, he tried to surround the fort and kept the siege for around a month. When there was no luck in retrieving the fort, he gave up and went to Pune. However, during this one month, he sent in his troops and violated the Jejuri temple as well. In Pune, his troops brought down all the temples.
This is just like the Joker guy in the movie Dark Knight. Just as the Joker kept killing the people near-and-dear to the Batman, one after the other, to make the Batman show up, Afzalkhan kept destroying the holy temples one after the other. The guy would not just stop at anything!!

Shivaji knew this is a pressure tactics of Afzalkhan and exercised control over himself and his forces. The temples destroyed and looted by Afzalkhan were of the prominent family deities of all Hindus in the region and everybody was furious about the sequence of events. When they appealed to Shivaji to stop the destruction of their gods, Shivaji pacified them and told them to keep faith. He encouraged them to join the cause against Afzalkhan.

Thus, this move which Afzalkhan took to drive Shivaji out on open, turned against him. All those who were still undecided about which side to join, now readily joined Shivaji. All the hindus in Afzalkhan's army knew their side has sinned and just like Mahabharata, it does not matter if the army of sinners is larger - it will eventually perish. They entered a state of dejection and despondency.
Morale of Shivaji's troops on the other hand got high due to the rage they developed. It was no longer a war to protect Shivaji, no longer a war to protect the Maratha empire, no longer a war to live the vision of independent Maratha empire; it became a war to protect religion, to protect gods, and to avenge wrong-doings done to gods.
In response to check by the bishop to the king [gods], all white pawns got re-arranged and the white became stronger. 

WHITE: Pawn Structure.
After hearing the news that Afzalkhan is coming, Shivaji started to secure his territories. He positioned his troops on all places which were vulnerable to attack, either by Afzalkhan, or the mughals or the Siddi of Janjira. These troops were also stationed in such a way that they can survive the battle as independent units [taking advantage of terrain, etc] and can reach to the rescue of each other when required.

A line of defense was formed using various forts and stations along the southern and south-western borders. This consisted of a chain of posts at Rohida, Kenjal, Kamalgad, Mahabaleshwar, Makarandgad, Mahipatgad, Palgad, Mandangad, Songad, Mahaad, Chambhargad and Raigad. Each of these forts were equiped with a 1000 soldiers while the temporary and new stations [e.g. Mohangad] were guarded by 500 soldiers each. Thus, around 15,000 of Shivaji's men were dedicated to defending the forts and regions than participating in any attacks or battles.

10,000 soldiers were stationed at Rajgad under the direct command of Jijabai. If mughals decided to attack Shivaji's territories, these troops were to form the first line of defense in the north.
And then, there was the Siddi of Janjira - If he decides to align with Afzalkhan and attacks Shivaji, somebody was needed to stop him. Moropant was sent to Konkan with an infantry of 3,000 men in case the Siddi attacks. As a backup to Moropant, Tryambak Bhaskar was posted in Mahad with another infantry unit of 3,000 men. It would be worthwhile to note here that Siddi of Janjira commanded an army of 15,000 men and it was critical to contain these forces before they could cause any damage to the maratha empire.
Wai was Afzalkhan's province and if Afzalkhan decided to make it his headquarters and drive his battle movements from Wai, there needed to be presence of Shivaji's men along borders of Wai. The best place for this was the mountain ranges of Javali and the best commander suitable to conduct guerrilla warfare in these mountain ranges was Netaji Palkar. Netaji was posted in Mahabaleshwar and was given the command of the light cavalry consisting of 6,000 horsemen. This positioning of Netaji also had another strategic advantage. He was now at a distance of less than a day from Pune and Rajgad and could be called to Rajgad at a short notice. Thus, there was a backup force created to defend Rajgad, in case the battle breaks out at Rajgad.
As most of the infantry units of Shivaji were posted in the southern and south-western regions, in order to overlook their activities, a parallel headquarter was setup at Pratapgad. Kanhoji Jedhe was made chief of 5,000 infantry and these forces were spread around the Pratapgad fort.

Shivaji had now made sure that his forces are well stationed for the war which was coming on them real soon. 

BLACK: Control of Center.
Well, Afzalkhan really wanted to make Shivaji confront him head-on as soon as the Adilshahi army reached Pune. But then, this hope of Afzalkhan did not materialize. Now, he was needed to stay a little longer than he wanted to. That called for securing control of the region, and arranging for encampment of his troops. He needed to make sure that he had a strategic advantage over Shivaji and also needed to make sure that his troops are ready against the Mughals.
Interesting right? Both Shivaji and Afzalkhan knew that if Shaistekhan reached Deccan, there was a chance of alliance. Problem was that an alliance with opponent meant a complete wipe-out of self and alliance with self meant losing control to the mughals - so both of them were wishing that the arrival of Shaistekhan gets delayed and both of them were getting ready for defense against the mughals.

Afzalkhan succeeded in getting the Siddi of Janjira on his side and Siddi started approaching the battle zone with an army of 15,000 men. He took Danda-Rajapuri and from there shipped a huge consignment of men, cannons, ammunition and provisions to Dabhol. Afzalkhan made Dabhol as his main station in Konkan and asked his allies to assemble there. Along with the Siddi's men, there were local warlords from Konkan as Surve, Palwankar, etc who joined arms with Afzalkhan. These other warlords and local soldiers added upto 6000-7000 men. This combined force of around 22000 men started penetrating Konkan territory of Shivaji. They took the Baankot region and were gradually inching forward towards Mahaad.
Sarvarkhan, one of the captains of Afzalkhan took control of Vasota fort and stationed there with a force of around 10,000 men. Vasota fort is very close to Mahabaleshwar and Sarwarkhan was stationed there to counter the threat of Netaji.
It was already mid-April when Afzalkhan started on his mission and by the time all these developments took place, monsoon arrived in Deccan. Troops now needed permanent stations. Afzalkhan retreated with all his forces to his province in Wai. He kept around 10,000 men around Pune, dividing them into four stations of Pune, Saswad, Supe and Shirval. These troops were to keep a check on activities of Shivaji's men at Rajgad.
Thus, Shivaji's estimates on various lines of attack by Afzalkhan proved quite correct. There was an eminent clash approaching between Siddi of Janjira and forces of Moropant/Tryambak Bhaskar, between Netaji and Sarvarkhan. While Afzalkhan's troops were poorly staffed in and around Pune, Shivaji let it be. He did not want his troops in Rajgad or under Netaji's command to get diverted from their posts.
In Wai on the other hand, Afzalkhan maintained a huge force with himself. There was the 10,000 strong armored Cavalry given by Adilshah, 15,000 infantry, 1500 musketeers, 90 big cannons, 85 Elephants, 1200 Camels and a artillery unit with hand-held cannons of 1500 men under his command.
Thanks to the monsoon, Afzalkhan had to slow down in his activities further more.
Despite this slowdown, he had made sure that he took a control of the war-zone and made the numbers in his favor !!

WHITE: The Hand of Goddess.
Well, as Monsoon started pouring over the war-zone, Shivaji got some more time to think on his strategy. This was a time when armies of both sides were relatively less occupied by thoughts of war. While Shivaji's men now believed that they are fighting for the right cause and Afzalkhan deserves to die, they were not sure how this would happen.
On the other hand, there is a letter discovered by historians, sent by some Adilshahi soldiers to the court, requesting a pay raise. Yes, a pay raise :-)
Usually, the soldiers in the sultanates had a basic pay and had an incentive to share the loots of any raids they participate in.
In case of this battle, they did raid, loot and destroy many temples on the way, but after reaching Pune, all they were told to do was to be stationed at fixed posts. There were so far away from homes and were supposed to be on guard rather than raid others. Add to it the rain, which was delaying the whole campaign and was pissing them off. This indicates the overall tempo of Adilshahi forces. Worst part was, their leader did not really bother too much about the delay. He was not going to give up unless he had Shivaji. By the way, the request for increment was approved by Adilshah and all soldiers got a raise of 10 percent. This would have cheered up the adilshahi forces for sure :-)
On the other hand, one fine day, while it was still too early to be a morning and a little late to be dawn, Shivaji had a dream. Now, the common belief is that dreams seen at this particular time always come true :-)
He dreamed of his family deity, the goddess Bhavani herself. The goddess blessed Shivaji and directed him, "I have sent an one-headed-daemon to you. Go ahead and slay him for me. Fulfill your duty to the gods. Act on their behalf."
Before the Sun could set on that day, news of this dream spread across the deccan.
There is a difference of opinion among historians whether the dream was real. But yes, there is no disagreement among them about news of the dream. Real or not, the news of this dream was spread all over the region and this news had worked it's magic on the people. It reassured them that the destruction of temples will be avenged some day. It also announced to them that Shivaji has himself taken up this role of Avenger.

People were convinced that Shivaji was now blessed by the goddess of strength. This brought a wave of cheer and encouragement among all of his troops and subjects. They knew that Shivaji was now going to kill Afzalkhan soon. Shivaji was now to act as the 'Hand of Goddess' !!

Chapter Eight - The Game Opens

The most fascinating aspect of the Pratapgad battle is not the battle itself, but the strategic turn of events that took place until the battle begun.
It is these events, tactics and moves done by both Shivaji and Afzalkhan, which takes this entire episode to a whole new level. These tactics tested the strengths and exposed the weaknesses of both contenders and it is the way Shivaji handled the chaos, overcame all the dreadful threats, readied himself for all the anticipations and executed his strategy, that made him a winner.

I have been thinking of writing about this phase between Afzalkhan accepting the challenge thrown by Badi begum and him arriving at the Pratapgad, for quite some time now and the best metaphor I have always thought of, for this phase, is that of a 'Game of Chess'.

A real life war game, where two contenders moved each pawn, each rook and knight very carefully, and with each new step, did their best to overcome the strategic advantage of the other.

I think it's high time I shared this metaphor of a Chess game with you all. This write-up looks to be a lengthy one, and I will be splitting it into three chapters - One chapter per stage of the Chess Game. In order to preserve the momentum of reading, I will recommend the readers to go through all these three chapters as one.

As in any game of Chess, the White moves first. Well, as I believe that Shivaji represented the right cause, I also consider his side to be the white side. I know that the obvious question you want to ask now, is that this whole sequence of events got triggered by a challenge thrown by Badi Begum - So is it that the black moved first in this game??
The answer to your question is a NO.

The challenge thrown by badi begum was an eventuality and it had to take place some day or other. It was just the whistle blown to indicate the spectators that game has begun - the fact is this game was laid long back and the White side had done their opening even before anyone could sense it.

WHITE: Securing the Pawns.
This is the step zero by Shivaji. It is the empathy and vision of Shahaji and Shivaji, which helped them win the loyalties of soldiers and warlords in their regions. Their soldiers were not just paid employees, they were driven warriors fighting for the cause of an independent Maratha empire. Not just the common soldiers, but also the various chieftains and warlords in and around Shivaji's territories were infested and infected with the vision of an independent Maratha empire. For these men, fighting against Shivaji was now an act of betrayal to a king and to the Maratha kingdom.
Thus, when Afzalkhan sent in memos for these people to join him on his arrival, he was too late. Shivaji had already secured the allegiance of most of these people.

BLACK: Securing the Pawns.
Badi begum handed an elite force of ten thousand Adilshahi soldiers to Afzalkhan. Many other prominent warlords and commanders from Adilshah's court were ordered to join Afzalkhan with their forces. Afzalkhan himself had big enough cavalry, infantry and artillery unit. Apart from these forces, Afzalkhan also wanted participation of the local warlords in and around Shivaji's territories on his side. Reminding them of their past allegiance to the Adilshah, Afzalkhan sent in memos to all the local warlords and chieftains and informed them about his raid. He ordered all of them to be ready to help the Adilshahi forces and join in the battle for defeating Shivaji. These memos arrived to their destinations in around 2 weeks time.
Although a handful of warlords like the fleed descendants of Chandrarao More and the chieftains of Khopde clan accepted the orders, most of them denied. Some like Kanhoji Jedhe swore their loyalties to Shivaji, while others who were undecided whether to join Shivaji or not, stayed aloof and decided to wait-and-watch.
This move of securing the locals did not go well for Afzalkhan and after a few later developments, he lost all of the locals to Shivaji [we will come to that soon].

WHITE: Early threat to King by deploying a Decoy.
OK. This was not exactly a part of Shivaji's strategy, but it helped his case regardless. And although the decoy did succeed in creating a distraction, it was also a genuine threat posed by the White side. Alright, before someone gets irritated, let me unfold the metaphor.
When badi begum challenged her court to take care of Shivaji, Shahaji was still a commander of Adilshahi forces. Although he was deployed at a war post in the south, he had his ambassadors in the court. It is these representatives, which conveyed the news of Afzalkhan's raid to both Shahaji and Shivaji. And it was done within a day or two.
While Shivaji started to think of the future strategy, Shahaji wanted to take no chances. He had already lost a son and did not wish to lose anyone else. He immediately sent a message to both Afzalkhan and the Adilshah and warned them, if there is any harm caused by Afzalkhan to Shivaji, Shahaji will raid Bijapur, the capital of Adilshah, and destroy the Adilshahi sultanante forever.
He also starting gathering his men.
Both Adilshah and Afzalkhan knew that the threat was real. Shahaji may not be able to destroy the sultanate as he had threatened, but he surely can cause immense damage. Whatever they do, it had to be quick and it had to be swift. These letters would have reached both Adilshah and Afzalkhan in 4-5 days after the court challenge episode.

BLACK: Castling.
Even while Afzalkhan and Adilshah were busy thinking of the way to mitigate the threat from Shahaji and his army, Afzalkhan took off from Bijapur on his mission.
By coincidence, on the day of his departure, a bad omen occurred for him. All the warlords, commanders and generals of those days carried a mark with them during the wars and this mark was generally protected by a small unit of elite soldiers. In Most of the cases, the carrier of this mark was also a fixed pet - either a lucky horse or a lucky elephant [for those who could afford one]. For many soldiers this elephant and the mark together represented the good fortune of their commander. These animals were at all times, protected and pampered, for good omens.
On the day of his departure, the lucky mascot elephant of Afzalkhan was found dead. I am not sure of the cause of this death, but I know for sure that no historians have yet claimed this to be an act by Shivaji's [or Shahaji's] spies in Bijapur. So, lets accept this as a normal death of the elephant.
While this shocked most of the soldiers in Afzalkhan's command, he himself was undeterred and started off on the raid without paying any heed to the elephant's death. In a day or two, he reached his native place, currently known as Afzalpura.

Afzalkhan camped in his village for a week - He wanted to wait till all the other warlords caught up with him and joined his forces and he wanted to seek blessings of a local religious man for the campaign.

And then it happened. Afzalkhan for the first time got to experience the power of Shivaji's intelligence wing. He had already sent memos to the local warlords in and around Pune, Wai, Javali, Konkan; hence there was already a frightful anticipation in minds of all Shivaji's subjects. In order to win this war, Shivaji had to make sure that his subjects put faith in him and see him as a winner. Only when they are confident, they can fight the war better. Even while Afzalkhan was settling down in Afzalpura, Shivaji's spies told him the news that the lucky Elephant is dead. Without wasting a single moment, this news was spread in the entire region - "Gods have delivered a bad omen for Afzalkhan and his cause. They have decided to not support him this time. A win over this most dreaded commander of Adilshah was a possibility."
I am sure that Afzalkhan also had his own spies and they brought him the news of the spreading rumor soon. After the meeting with the religious man, Afzalkhan stayed for a couple of days more in Afzalpura. And then, he did most unexpected of the acts. He ordered killing of his entire Janankhana that was with him in Afzalpura. A total of his 63 wives were killed that day and their tombs still stand in Afzalpura.

While we do not find of any reason in history books, as to why Afzalkhan did this, I have a theory of my own. We all know this as a "fact" that 'Afzalkhan's elephant died', but many historians only mention it as a "rumor" that 'the religious man told Afzalkhan that this is the last battle of his life and he sees a beheaded corpse of Afzalkhan'. I think there is a reason for that.

When Afzalkhan came to know that the rumor of his elephant's death was spreading across deccan and is transforming into an news, he knew where this is going. He is being projected as the man without god's help.
And then, as per my theory, his spies told him that there is also a rumor floating around that when you met the religious man, he predicted your death. This was probably not something which reached Shivaji till then, but was definitely a budding candidate for a rumor.
Usually, when we meet religious people to seek their blessings, we try to be away from our professional circles and take our family along. So, if there was a rumor, true or false, about conversation that Afzalkhan had with the religious man, it had to be emerging from some member of Janaankhana that he took along.
Afzalkhan wanted to eliminate the threat of leaking news and rumors forever and he ordered the killing of all his wives - no mercy, no hearings, no favors. Equal punishment to all.

This helped Afzalkhan to send message across a different cross-section of audiences.
a. This killing was a message to Shahaji that Afzalkhan does not care of what happens to his loved ones - all that he cares about is his mission. If he can kill his wives, he can also bear the grief of Bijapur's defeat, in case that becomes a reality in near future.
b. It was also a message to his accomplices and army that there would be no indiscipline or treachery tolerated.
c. It was a message to Shivaji that he means business. No matter what image gets created of him in and after this battle, he has set out for blood and he will fulfill his destiny.
d. Adilshah was now convinced that there is no other guy more tough than Afzalkhan and that Afzalkhan would do whatever it takes to fulfill his mission.
Adilshah decided to appreciate Afzalkhan's brave gesture of accepting to raid Shivaji by giving his own lucky elephant to the Afzalkhan for this special battle. He also gifted Afzalkhan with the biggest cannon in Adilshahi sultanate. He was sure this move will also boost the confidence of the adilshahi army and restore their faith in the cause of the war. 

Thus, Afzalkhan pushed the king [and all the worldly affairs] away from him and his cause, and the Rook got crossed over from the king's side to his side.

Black played Castling !!

Chapter Seven - The Trigger for Afzalkhan Raid

It is a popular tale that one fine day the Badi Begum of Adilshah challenged her court - "Is there a commander here who can take care of Shivaji?" and when no other general/warlord/commander came forth, Afzalkhan volunteered for the task - and he volunteered with a roar "I undertake this mission and will bring in Shivaji or kill him in a single ride to Pune even without getting down from my horse !!"
I am not sure how much of that is the actual history and how much is folk lore - but yes, both these statements definitely reflect the attitude, the intention and the thought process of both badi begum and of Afzalkhan.

While we all know Afzalkhan by now, let us try to understand who was this badi begum and what made her speak about taking care of Shivaji in the Adilshahi court.

Well, again a flashback!!

Story begins with Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan, who was always a little friendly with the Adilshahi Sultanate and always for some reasons despised the Nizamshahi sultanate. So, there was a alliance between Moghuls and Adilshah throughout the reign of Shah Jahan. This same alliance proved useful to Aurangzeb, when he first took help of  Fath Khan [son of Malik Ambar] and then chased down Shahaji, to destroy the Nizamshahi sultanate. While Shah Jahan was seemingly content with this, Aurangzeb was not. He had a broader vision - A vision which envisaged the entire Indian subcontinent under Mughal rule!! It was his dream to conquer entire deccan, and as history tells us, he died in deccan trying to fulfill that dream.

So, after bringing Nizamshahi sultanate on the brink of extinction, Aurangzeb diverted his attention to the Qutubshahi sultanate. After rounds of convincing and offers, he got hold of the most reverred Qutubshahi General - Mir Jumla.
With help of revolting Mir Jumla, Aurangzeb began tearing down the Qutubshahi sultanate. Mohammad Adilshah was wise enough to sense that it is no longer about destroying the traditional enemy "the Nizamshah" anymore and Aurangzeb wants more!! He could also sense that after the fall of Qutubshah, Adilshahi sultanate is going to be the next target.

He send in reinforcements to help Qutubshah. While the combined forces were successful in preventing a complete wipe-out of Qutubshah, damage was already done. Qutubshahi sultanate was reduced to a size, where it did not matter anymore.

Aurangzeb was happy that it was Adilshah who first went against their alliance. However, before he could revert to the Adilshah for this or take any more of the territories in Deccan, Shah Jahan started having health issues. Sensing that it is about time for him to take over the Moghul empire, Aurangzeb rushed to the North.

Adilshah got a breather. But did he??

Just when he thought that all his troubles were over, there started a rising menace of Shivaji in Maharashtra - He was rapidly taking possesion of more and more territories - by invading Adilshahi lands and by negotiating with the Mughals.

And then, one fine day of November 1657, Mohammad Adilshah died. One of his wives, who was famous as the badi begum took help of some senior generals and diplomats in her court and crowned an 18 year old boy Ali Adilshah II as the new sultan. Badi begum became his regent, as the new sultan was not much familiar with the court proceedings.

Guess what!! This badi begum was sister of Qutubshah and hence she knew exactly the threat which Adilshahi sultanate was facing.

Ali Adilshah was not a legitimate son of Mohammad Adilshah and Aurangzeb declared that the Mughal empire does not approve of him as Sultan. The message was clear - sooner or later, Aurangzeb is going to try his best and take over the Adilshahi sultanate.
Time was upon Adilshahi sultanate to preserve itself.

Aurangzeb had already begun talking with Adilshahi nobles and commanders to change allegiance. Badi begum started thinking about the potential candidates - which of the Adilshahi commanders can be as fatal to her Sultanate as Fath khan was to Nizamshah and Mir Jumla was to Qutubshah?
Who among them would actually change sides without giving any thought to the future of Adilshahi sultanate?
Among the answers she found - there was one prominent name. He commanded a large invincible army and his changing sides would be prove catastrophic!! Add to it, he had his personal reasons as well to see that Adilshah goes down. He was Shahaji!!

And then there was his young son Shivaji, who was rapidly eating into the Adilshahi territories. Not only his territory was expanding, but also his troops were multiplying. Besides, he had already declared his allegiance to the Mughals.

If Shahaji changes sides, it would mean that Adilshahi forces would be engaged on three fronts - in extreme south with Shahaji and in Maharashtra with Shivaji on one side and Mughals on the other side. That would be the end of Adilshahi forces. Badi begum knew this. She knew something had to be done to take care both Shahaji and Shivaji !!

Plan A: Attack both Shahaji and Shivaji simultaneously: This means diversion of attention on two fronts and division of forces. Shahaji was notorious to be invincible, so chances on winning against him with just half the forces were rare. Shivaji was relatively young and a less seasoned commander, so there was a chance, but if nearby Mughal troops join him, adilshahi army will be outnumbered and it would be difficult to defeat him as well. In this case, Aurangzeb would not even need to send any help down to the deccan and he would have fulfilled his agenda of destroying Adilshahi sultanate!! So, there was no point in attacking both.

Plan B: Attack Shahaji and eliminate his threat forever. This was almost the same as plan A. Agreed that Shahaji would now be attacked by a full strength of Adilshah, but hadn't they tried this before at Bhatwadi? You never know what Shahaji would come up with and then defeat your forces before you even notice it!! Also, this leaves the regions in Maharashtra vulnerable to Shivaji. Besides, considering that Mughals had already helped Shivaji in securing release of Shahaji previously, they would also have intervened to avoid his death at the hands of Adilshahi commanders. Aah, let's drop this plan as well.

Plan C: Attack Shivaji with full forces. If he gets surrendered or arrested, Shahaji would not want another of his sons to die and would give up automatically. If Shivaji gets killed, all the region he has taken would be recovered and Adilshahi sultanate would be in a better position against the mughals. After losing two of his sons, Shahaji would be emotionally vulnerable and there was a possibility of defeating him. Aurangzeb would possibly not want to interfere if Shivaji was attacked, as he would wait for both sides to cause maximum damage to each other. Even if he does interfere, if Adilshah deploys his full strength, they can cope with Mughal army currently in Deccan and hold the ground till there is any new reinforcement sent by Mughals from the north.

That is it !!

The best plan to come out of the crisis was to attack Shivaji. So, comes the challenge by Badi begum in the court and then we see Afzalkhan rising to the occasion.

By the way, I have a feeling, no matter Afzalkhan would have volunteered or not, he was most loyal commander to Mohammad Adilshah and Badi begum would have anyways wanted him to accompany whoever goes after Shivaji. Also, there was no body of his stature in the Adilshahi court at that moment, hence it was naturally going to be an army led by Afzalkhan.

For the dramatic effect, lets just stick to the popular tale I mentioned in the beginning of this chapter :-)

And so it was that in the April of 1659 Afzalkhan's raid on Shivaji was triggered in the adilshahi court.

What happened next - read it in the subsequent chapters :-)

Chapter Six - Exploring the legend of Shivaji II

We have read what historians and dignitaries and saints had to say about Shivaji Maharaj. Let us try to decipher some of those words.

 To start with, Shivaji Maharaj respected human life and it's dignity - however simple this quality may seem, it is the quality which led to many of the great decisions by Shivaji.
Respectful and equal treatment to all his subjects, no cruelty or discrimination on any women and children during the raids, specific and strict instructions on guarding the forts, minute details on maintenance of store houses, artillery, grain houses and lamp-posts to avoid any mishaps and accidents [thus saving lives], preventing conflicts and battles where they may result in large scale blood shed of his troops or where they seem impossible to win, preventing battles on open fields and adopting guerrilla warfare instead, making surgical strikes on enemy than destructive strikes, building forts and garrisons to protect his subjects in times of danger - all these reflect the same basic quality of Compassion in Shivaji Maharaj.

While every ruler, big and small has always relied on an intelligence network, Shivaji Maharaj was the first Indian ruler to have an official intelligence wing. Head of this department was the famous Beherji Naik and all those people who worked as spies for Shivaji Maharaj were on his official pay-roll. Well, I must say not all of them :-)
The spiritual guru of Shivaji and his ally Samarth Ramdas Swami had a strong network of his disciples and he had established many temples and Monasteries across Southern India in kingdoms of Adilshah as well as Kutubshah. His disciples who frequently traveled between these monasteries were a great medium to exchange information - May be not the information of high urgency, but definitely the information regarding the general sentiments and well being of people, etc. Unfortunately, there is no historical reference which proves that the huge network of Samarth disciples were at any time also helping Shivaji Maharaj and hence this has to be mentioned just as a speculation.
The Best part of Shivaji's intelligence department was that he also employed people to spread the information he wanted - sometimes this information was to inspire people in joining the greater cause of Independence, sometimes it was to invoke self-respect in them and sometimes it was also to make some rumor popular.

Discipline and a well-defined Protocol, these are also the prominent qualities which Shivaji had, and which he practiced in all aspects of his life. His troops knew and followed exact signals which were to be given out in case of victory, in case of loss, in case of danger, in case any help was needed. That made communication faster and convenient. That made life of soldiers of all ranks easier. They were not needed to figure out - just acknowledge and act.
To check that all guidelines are properly followed and his men adhere to the discipline warranted, Shivaji himself conducted surprise checks from time to time. Legends and History books speak of so many examples on this.

Just like his father, Shivaji had excellent networking skills. It was this ability which helped him keep mughals at bay during the initial days of his conquest and also helped him create a huge army of dedicated soldiers and brave warriors. It is also this networking, which helped him to prevent the local landlords and warlords from changing loyalties at times of danger and enemy raids.

During the life time of Shivaji Maharaj, there were many moments of eminent dangers looming over the Maratha empire and also on the life of Shivaji Maharaj. Pratapgad episode is one such case. In all these situations, Shivaji Maharaj never gave in to the attacking mughals and sultanates. Instead of saving his own life in return of some fat title and lordship in their courts, Shivaji opted to defend his empire against those threats. He created a plan B and set guidelines on what is to happen in case he dies while tackling those threats. No wonder, Samarth Ramdas Swami refers to Shivaji as "Shrimant Yogi".

One last thing before we conclude this chapter - Shivaji was an excellent Strategist and knew exactly when to play his next step. Even when Afzalkhan started destroying prominent Hindu temples to get Shivaji and his troops out in the open ground, Shivaji knew it was not the right time to face Afzalkhan and exercised appropriate restraint. It was only when the place was in his favor and when the time was right, that Shivaji escalated the battle with Afzalkhan to the next level. He created an upper edge in the battle by careful planning, strategic thinking and timely escalation.

It is these qualities that helped Shivaji Maharaj to be a great commander of his troops during his conquest in enemy territories and also be a great ruler who could ensure that his defenses are adequate and his subjects are happy. And, it is these qualities of Shivaji Maharaj which inspired Setu Madhavrao Pagadi and Bhimsen and Khafi Khan and Swami Vivekananda and Samarth Ramdas to praise Shivaji Maharaj.

Chapter Six - Exploring the legend of Shivaji I

As promised in the previous chapter, we will now embark on a ride to explore the legend that was Shivaji. I know that there is so much to talk and write about this divine king; but to limit our scope, we will take a look only at the pre-Pratapgad war period.

We will do this in two parts and to begin with the first part, let us take a quick look at the extent of Shivaji's rule, the budding Maratha empire, when Afzalkhan took up the task of "taking care of" Shivaji.

 Shivaji's pursuits before the arrest of Shahaji were quiet limited to the forts and areas around the estate allocated by Adilshah to Shahaji. It was only after the release of Shahaji in the year 1650, that Shivaji geared up his operations for expanding the Maratha empire.

At the outset, with blessings and guidance of his mother Jijabai, Shivaji was already governing Shahaji's estate in Maharashtra. This estate included Pune, Chakan, Supe, Shirval, Saaswad and Indapur. The nearby Bara-Maaval area was estate of Adilshah's general Randulla Khan - However, just like Shahaji, he had also appointed Dadoji Kondadev as the manager of his estate. Dadoji was a loyal ally of Shahaji and also mentor to Shivaji, and his affiliation towards Shivaji ensured that the Bara-Maaval part was also an integral part of Shivaji's kingdom.
I sometimes wonder that if Randulla khan made Afzalkhan his proxy for Wai territory, why did he not do the same for Bara-Maaval :-)
Anyways, that's the way things were and we will leave them at that.

Now, when Shahaji surrendered to Mughals and the Adilshah in Mahuli, he was a regent for the Nizamshah and had supreme authority over most of the Nizamshah's kingdom. Even while he kept his earstwhile Adilshahi territory of Pune with him, in Maharashtra, he also personally governed the regions of Baglan, Nasik, Shahgad, Junnar, Chambhargonde [Currently called Shrigonda] and 75 percent of the Konkan, which was all Nizamshahi territory.
After his surrender, he asked for retaining this entire territory as his estate. Aurangzeb, the mughal viceroy of Deccan rejected this demand.
In lieu of the regions of Nasik to Chambhargonde, Shahaji was offered an estate of similar income and size in Karnataka. This was done to keep him away from his home ground and from Nagar [prominent city in Nizamshahi] and prevent him from causing any further nuisance to the Mughals. Aurangzeb decided to retain the Nizamshahi konkan with himself.

While Shahaji followed the arrangement and went to Karnataka, Shivaji continued to apply in mughal court for governing the above mentioned earstwhile Nizamshahi territories. He also declared his complete affiliation to the Mughal empire.

While he was doing this, Shivaji also kept sending his spies and his trusted men in these areas and these men had only one agenda - to spread the awakening about independent Maratha empire in minds of the residents and to win over their trust and loyalty, which would prove useful in all future pursuits. We will talk about this tactic in details in the next part.

When Aurangzeb came to know about deteriorating health of his father, he rushed out of deccan to plan his conquest to be the Mughal Emperor. Before leaving, he gave his final decision on Shivaji's persistent appeals. Shivaji was to become governor of earstwhile Nizamshahi konkan, but he was denied any access to Nasik and other territories on Deccan plateau.

This decision shows Aurangzeb's strategy - prevent Shivaji from moving in Deccan plateau, thus reducing threat to Mughal territories there - at the same time, provide him access to konkan, and hope that he takes care of the Siddis of Janjira [who had a distant relative of Nizam and proclaimed to revive the Nizamshahi at the first chance they get]. At around the same time, Shivaji also moved swiftly and conquered the Mughal territories of Kalyan and Suvarnadurg in southern Konkan. He was also prompt to apologize to Aurangzeb for this blunder and sought permission to retain the two regions. Hopeful that Shivaji would some day help him to eradicate all deccan sultanantes and help him to establish a single Mughal Rule in entire India, Aurangzeb agreed to this request as well.

And then in 1656, Shivaji took control of Jawali province, securing his territories in Konkan and Pune and creating a continuum in his rising empire.

I found this map in a book by Major Mukund Joshi. It nicely paraphrases the entire conquest of Shivaji Maharaj, during the time of Afzalkhan's raid.

So, now we understand what kingdom Shivaji was defending against Afzalkhan and from the chapters before this, we also know about Afzalkhan and the history of traditional rivalry between Shivaji and Afzalkhan.

I think it's about time we explored the winning qualities of Shivaji. Let us do exactly that in the part II of this Chapter :-)