Chapter Five - A Tribute to Shivaji Maharaj

I know that people have spent their lifetimes as historians and researchers; and yet their pursuit to know more and more about the legacy of Chh. Shivaji Maharaj continues.

This here is just a trivial attempt to understand, acknowledge and describe some of the exemplary qualities of Shivaji Maharaj as a king, as a military leader, as a strategist and as a visionary through views and opinions expressed by some of the prominent historians and personalities.

Frankly speaking I was falling short of words to describe the greatness of Chh. Shivaji Maharaj and hence, in this blog I have decided to borrow words from others. This is my humble tribute to the great Shivaji.

In words of the famous historian Setu Madhavrao Pagadi, "Shivaji is one of the great national figures of India. As a Soldier, Warrior and General, Shivaji fashioned the army into a truly national one. Perfect discipline, rapid movements, excellent intelligence service and continuous attention to the defence marked his military organization, and this enabled him to defeat his adversaries time and again. He did not neglect the defense of the Sea Coast and is rightly called the father of the Indian Navy."

Swami Vivekananda remarks "Is there a greater hero, a greater saint, a greater bhakta and a greater king than Shivaji? Shivaji was the very embodiment of a born ruler of men as typified in our great epics. He was the type of the real son of India representing the true consciousness of the nation. It was he who showed what the future of India is going to be sooner or later."

If we go back a little in time, the great saint Tukaram referred to his reign as "Ram Rajya" and his spiritual guru and ally Samarth Ramdas reverred him to be "Shrimant Yogi" - A person who has it all, but at the same time has a power to remain detached to his belongings and use them for the greater good of mankind.

And if you feel there are too many hindu names and references I have given out, here is what Khafi Khan, a contemporary Moghul historian had to say about Shivaji Maharaj in his book Muntakhab-ul-Lubab : "Shivaji had always strived to maintain the honor of the people in his territories, and was careful to maintain the honor of women and children of Muhammadans when they fell into his hands. His injunctions on this matter are very strict."

Another contemporary historian Bhimsen writes in Tarikh-i-Dilkasha, "He was a straight-forward man and a matchless soldier and knew the administrative side of the king-ship very well. He enjoyed full confidence of this soldiers."

In words of famous historian sir J.N.Sarkar, "States fall, empires break up, dynasties become extinct - but the memory of a true 'hero as King' like Shivaji, remains an imperishable historical legacy for the entire human race."

Those, my readers were just a few words about Shivaji - his greatness, his secularism, his respect for human-beings, his care and affection for his soldiers, his leadership, his administration, his strategies, his rule, his life!!

In the next chapter, we will explore some of these qualities and leadership attributes,  particularly the ones which gave Shivaji an upper hand during the course of events, leading to the Pratapgad Battle. 
Also, we will take a sneak peak at the extent of Shivaji Maharaj's Kingdom during the time of Afzalkhan's attack - thereby making ourselves ready to start discussing the raid of Afzalkhan and the battle of Pratapgad itself.

Chapter Four - Afzalkhan and Shahaji Rivalry III

In part II, we read about the arrest and release of Shahaji. 

Soon after this episode, Shivaji and Sambhaji started aggresively acquiring the adilshahi territories. They also started claiming taxes from the earstwhile Nizamshahi territories which were handed over to Moghuls.

Sambhaji acquired Kanakgiri and started replacing the local adilshahi officers in Kanakgiri with his own men.

It was one such local warlord from Kanakgiri - Abba Khan who resisted Sambhaji and asked Adilshah for help. When Adilshah enquired about this to Shahaji, he was far away in the south and did not want any trouble. He replied diplomatically that it is Abba Khan who is causing nuisance in the Adilshahi territory and Sambhaji is trying to control his actions.

Adilshah knew just the thing to do. He ordered Afzalkhan to take care of the conflict. This time around, he did not give any direct order, as the last move against Shahaji had been a real embarrasment for him.

Afzalkhan now had the liberty to decide the fate of Sambhaji - Abba Khan conflict and he had already decided what it was going to be. He went to Kanakgiri and together with Sambhaji, attacked Abba Khan. I do not see any reference that Afzalkhan let Abba Khan live, but this was the war when he took his rivalry with Shahaji to the next generation.

While Sambhaji and his men were busy fighting Abba Khan, Sambhaji was surrounded by the light artillery unit of Afzalkhan. As many as 30 cannon shots were fired at Sambhaji from all directions. That was the end of Sambhaji.

All those years of hatred was fired from Hand-held cannons and it killed one of the bravest and most courageous generals in the history of Marathas. This attack was then labeled as an accident by Afzalkhan when he reported back to Adilshah.

The eldest son of Shahaji - the invincible, had died on the battlefield at a young age of 25. The beloved son of Jijabai was brutally murdered by a treacheror. Young Shivaji was left with no big brother to look up to. If you have ever wondered how much the family loved Sambhaji and missed him, you will find your answer in the fact that Shivaji named his first son as Sambhaji, in memory of his lost brother.

This was a fatal blow that Afzalkhan struck against Shahaji and his family. The worst part of it all - Shahaji could do nothing about it. He was posted in a faraway location. He could not run to his son's help, he could not complain about his son's death, he could not punish his son's murderer. For the only time in his life, Shahaji felt lost !!

In 1659, when Afzalkhan walked on the Maratha empire, a lot more was at stake for Shivaji. He had to fight Afzalkhan to protect the greater cause of independent Maratha empire, he had to defeat Afzalkhan before Moghuls decided to chip in, he had to fight Afzalkhan to avenge his lost brother, he had to fight Afzalkhan and take care of the rivalry which was imposed on their family. Afzalkhan was out there to finish what he had started at Kanakgiri, and Shivaji had to ensure the opposite.

Chapter Four - Afzalkhan and Shahaji Rivalry II

In the part I of this chapter, we discussed how Shahaji was inducted as a Farjand in Adilshahi forces around 1625.
This induction however came with a price. He was moved out of Maharashtra and stationed in Bangalore.

One great thing about Shahaji was that when he was granted any territory, he made sure that it remains with him or his sons and deployed any fair means necessary to achieve this - By any fair means, I meant - he employed his diplomacy, he negotiated for keeping hold of these territories, he [and his sons] fought with various sultanates and moghuls to keep hold of these territories and to get them back if lost.

The effect this had on the population in these territories was remarkable. They were no longer seeing a different warlord and/or sultan as their governor/ruler after every raid, and got into habit of calling themselves subjects of a single governor/ruler - Shahaji [and later Shivaji]. This simple protocol of Shahaji of maintaining/gaining back the same territory [and expanding it with time] proved to be a great foundation for the future Maratha empire.

This first stint of Shahaji with Adilshahi Sultanate continued for a while. It was during these years that Shivaji was born to Shahaji and Jijabai.

Then, in the year 1633, the power equation in deccan took a dramatic turn. Malik Ambar had died in 1627 and thereafter his son Fath Khan had taken over as the Vajir of Nizamshahi Sultanate. In 1633, Fath khan joined hands with Moghuls and killed the Nizamshah by treachery. He also murdered the pregnant wives of Nizamshah, to ensure that there is no heir to the Nizamshah Sultanate.

Nizamshahi sultanate was on the brink of extinction and entire Deccan was watching. It was at this moment, Shahaji teamed up with the Nizamshahi commander Jahan Khan, convinced a distant relative of Nizamshah into making her infant son Murtaja as the new Sultan and became the regent of this sultan.
Suddenly, Shahaji was ruling the Nizamshahi Sultanate.

This move however did not go well with both the moghuls and the adilshah and they combined forces to defeat Shahaji. Shahaji continued to fight with these combined forces for more than 3 years.
And then, in 1636, while Shahaji was at Mahuli, Moghuls surrounded his camp. Aurangzeb, who was then the Moghul viceroy in Deccan, was wary of Shahaji's reputation in various battles and also remembered the Bhatwadi episode well. He did not wish to take any chances this time.

While Shahaji's camp was still surrounded, Moghul army kidnapped Murtaja. Aurangzeb sent in an envoy to Shahaji and asked him to surrender the Nizamshahi troops. In return, Moghuls promised him to let the boy [young Nizamshah] live and Adilshah promised to take him back at the same rank as before.

Knowing that there was no way out, Shahaji surrendered. This is the only battle in which Shahaji surrendered - without fighting the battle.

So, it was again that Shahaji was back in Adilshahi Sultanate. When the new Adilshah started his aggressive campaigns against hindu kingdoms of the south, Shahaji made up his mind to help the cause of these small states fighting for their existence and freedom. Together with Sambhaji, he continued to supply intel to the Nayakas fighting against Adilshahi forces. He gave them a heads-up of the attacks planned. In fact, when it was his army fighting the war and defeating the hindu states, he was letting off the kings and princes by doing peace treaties, so that they can live to fight back.

Adilshah was hearing news of the narrow escapes that hindu kings were making in various battles. Inspite of looting these kingdoms again and again, the kings, princes and nayakas were regrouping and launching offensives from different places. They were getting help and they were getting funding. It was necessary to stop either or both.

This Secret funding was mostly done by the Tirupati temple priests from the temple reserves and Adilshah could not find it or prevent it from happening.

But he did decide to stop the help which these kings were getting. My guess is that his commander Mustafa Khan was already on the case. If the nayakas and kings were getting any help, it had to be from some prominent officer in the adilshahi sultanate - more likely a prominent hindu officer - which was only Shahaji !! Besides, his sons were also causing a growing nuisance around Pune and Bangalore. It had to be Shahaji !!

So, in the year 1648, when Shahaji delayed an attack on Jinji, stating the reason that his men are feeling homesick and need some time to get in better state of mind, Mustafa Khan decided to trust his gut feeling. He labeled Shahaji as the insider helping the kings and sought permission from Adilshah to take care of him.

Adilshah knew that he had to play this one intelligently. He ordered Mustafa Khan to bring in Shahaji before him.
Mustafa Khan delegated the task to his most trusted man - Afzalkhan.

Afzalkhan had only hatred for Shahaji. He would have so much wished to kill Shahaji instead of bringing him in - Just like he did it for Kasturi Ranga and for Murar Jagdev. But then, Adilshah's order was straight forward. Shahaji was to be brought in alive. And despite all the hatred for Shahaji, Afzalkhan was loyal to his sultan.

But, then this was probably his only chance to get back to Shahaji -  a chance which he was waiting for a long time - to revenge it all from Bhatwadi to the Nizam's regency. He took help of Baji Ghorpade to grab Shahaji in his sleep and then hand-cuffed Shahaji. Farjand Shahaji was brought in from Jinji to Bijapur in hand-cuffs. Now, that the damage was already done, adilshah also decided to support Shahaji's arrest. This was very humiliating for Shahaji and rather enthralling for Afzalkhan. Although on a relatively small scale, but he had his way to get back to Shahaji after all.

This happiness did not last long for Afzalkhan though. Shahaji's sons - Sambhaji and Shivaji started talking with Moghuls - They were ready to surrender all their territories and serve Moghul empire, if the moghuls helped in freeing Shahaji.

To deter these talks and gain control of regions held by the two of Shahaji's sons, adilshah sent troops to Pune and Bangalore. Sambhaji and Shivaji both fought valiantly and defeated the attacking armies of Farhad Khan in Bangalore and Fateh Khan in Pune. Meanwhile, Moghul viceroy in Deccan - Murad Baksh favored the proposal of Sambhaji and Shivaji.

This was about time when Afzalkhan entered Bijapur. Adilshah had his troops engaged in southern India and wanted no troubles from the Moghuls. Instead of imprisoning Shahaji, he sent Ahmad Khan to do negotiations with Shahaji. It was also around the time of these talks that a son was born to Adilshah. Shahaji apologized for the mis-appropriations of his sons and handed over Bangalore and Kondana Forts - to Adilshah as a gift for the new born son. Adilshah in return restored Shahaji's stature in the court and honoured him with a royal robe.

So, Shahaji was arrested, but he was freed again in no time. He was then posted further south to Vellore, to prevent any troubles in Pune and Bangalore.
Guess what, his sons took back the surrendered territories almost immediately after Shahaji was freed.

Shahaji was in a deep crisis and he came out as winner again.

What turn this rivalry took next, let's see that in part III of this chapter :-)

Chapter Four - Afzalkhan and Shahaji Rivalry I

So, if the Pratapgad war was fought between Shivaji and Afzalkhan, why do I keep talking about the rivalry between Afzalkhan and Shahaji? What was this rivalry all about and how does it relate to the context of Pratapgad war?

The rivalry I am going to write about began like any other professional rivalries among peers and then got ugly when personal attacks were made.

And now that we are anyways talking about a professional rivalry, lets start this chapter with tracing the career paths of both Afzalkhan and Shahaji. By the way, by the look of it this may turn out to be a lengthy chapter and I will be splitting it into three parts.

While tracing the career of Afzalkhan, we find him serving at various positions and ranks within the Adilshahi Army and from these positions, we can know his gradual rise to prominence.

He was a head constable [Sar-Hawaldar] at early stages of his career and moved in to the Adilshahi Army, when Randulla Khan took over as the Commander of Adilshahi forces. He fought under the leadership of Randulla Khan and Mustafa Khan in many battles, specially in the current Karnataka state.

As feats of Afzalkhan started becoming well-known, his rank grew.

During the famous Bhatwadi battle, he was a nobody. In 1637, the Adilshahi forces started their campaign against the Hindu kingdoms of the south. It was only during this period of continuous warfare, that Afzalkhan became well-known. In 1639, his treachery and murder of Raja Kasturi Ranga made him really popular within the adilshahi sultanate, and by the time it was 1644, he was already a Prominent officer working along side Randulla Khan and Mustafa Khan.  
Around 1640, he was made a proxy [Naayab] by Randulla Khan to take care of governance matters in Wai. Eventually, after death of Randulla Khan, Afzalkhan replaced Randulla Khan as the Subhedaar of Wai.

Just a passing reference, Afzalkhan had a special expertise in artillery and commanded a personal platoon of light artillery - hand held cannons, mid-sized cannons etc.

After the courageous fight against Aurangzeb in 1656, he was entitled as Mansabdaar and was given an elite force of 10,000 men to command by Adilshah.

So, there you go!! Almost a life time [20+ years from Bhatwadi to Pratapgad battle] of Loyalty, hard work and valor to become a Mansabdaar with 10,000 soldiers.

With this background, we can now move on to the story of Shahaji. And to tell the story of Shahaji, I need to go a little back in the history.
There was a African Slave boy, who was bought by the Nizamshah. This boy grew up as a slave like many others, but he knew, he cannot be the same forever.
So, began the story of Malik Ambar. He started grouping the fellow slaves and when the time came, these slaves transformed themselves into a war force. They fought for the Nimashah and showed him their worth.

Impressed with valor and wisedom of Malik Ambar, Nizamshah made him an officer in his court. As Malik Ambar grew in his ranks, he expanded his forces. He freed and recruited slaves which were capable of battle and he started promoting Hindu warlords of Maharashtra for their bravery and achievements in battle. Suddenly, those who were only a subject of neglect and atrocities started gaining ranks. This transformation was a new experience to many.
Malik Ambar encouraged self-respect, bravery and resourcefulness. He himself grew upto the rank of Vazir in Nizamshahi sultanate.

There was one young Maratha warlord, who took the lessons of Malik Ambar way too seriously. He always considered himself an aristocrat, a nobleman and started calling himself with a title 'Raje' [King]. He developed new guerilla warfare tactics and created an invincible army of fellow Marathas. This young warlord was none other than Shahaji Raje.

And then came the day of the famous battle of Bhatwadi bringing in a glorious and historical win for Shahaji Raje. His Invincible valor was now certified.

While this win was largely celebrated by the Nizamshahi sultanate, the aging Malik Ambar did not take it too well. He could sense that Shahaji Raje was on the rise and this could mean that the next Vajir would as well be Shahaji Raje and not his own son. Politics creeped in and Nizamshah was persuaded to promote Shahaji's nephew to the post of Commander by sidelining Shahaji.

Shahaji could sense a family trouble and also sense the hostility in Malik Ambar's mind. Instead of falling for political tricks, he decided to move out of Nizamshahi.

When Shahaji approached Adilshah, I could imagine Adilshah's state of mind to be same as that of the underworld don in 'Ab Tak 56' movie.When the most honest police officer of crime branch decides to go rogue and approaches the underworld don, he knows that this is the man who has killed more than 50 gangsters, this is the same man who has slayed 32 members of his own gang and yet the only choice he could think of is to invite the guy with open arms. He cannot resist to think that this guy would bring in so much intel about rivals, about spies, about forth coming hazards - add to it the guy himself is brave and invincible. He would be the prized asset to possess.
So, for more or less the same reasons, Adilshah happily invited Shahaji to join him and not just that, he conferred a title of 'Farjand' on Shahaji and gave him an elite force of 10,000 men to command.

One smart career move that was, I would say :-)

I can't help imagining the expressions on the faces of all those Adilshahi men, ranking officers and common soldiers, when they would have first seen Shahaji Raje moving along freely on the streets of Bijapur and also, think of all the embarrasment, all the frustration, all the anger they would have concealed within themselves when the news of Shahaji being made a Farjand would have broke out to them - This was the same man, whom they absolutely hated - for the religion he belonged to and for the humiliation he had inflicted on them at Bhatwadi. I also cant help to presume that Afzalkhan was one of those men and the bitterness in his mind for Shahaji started around this time.

It's like those men working on a sales project - they do their research, they work hard, they work their way up to the Client's Demand and Supply Management, and then when they are only an inch close to getting the deal, some Biz School graduate of rival company walks in, talks with the client for 5 minutes and takes home the deal. If this loss was not humiliating enough, they find the director of their own company give an elaborate speech in the next week - "Current business dynamics demand that we have a new Vice President. So, welcome Mr. smart-guy-Rival as your new VP"!!

Getting the vibe??

As the years passed on, this hatred for Shahaji grew more and more in Afzalkhan's mind. More about that in Part II of the Chapter.

Chapter Three - Shahaji Raje Vs Sardar Afzalkhan

Farjand Shahaji Raje Vs Sardar Afzalkhan

I know that the topic we really want to discuss is the Pratapgad Battle - But without this chapter, we would not have been able to view the Pratapgad episode in it's full context. In this chapter, we shall start with understanding Shahaji and Afzalkhan for what they were and then in the next chapter, trace development of the historic rivalry between these two, a rivalry which was taken to the next generation and which was concluded by the next generation!!

Agreed that Afzalkhan's death was a fruit reaped at Pratapgad, but the seeds of this event were sown long ago.

Trust me on this one and be sure that I am going to share some interesting history in here.

So, here we are, trying to know the two men, whose names have become integral part of the Maratha History - And the History of entire Southern India.

To help with the comparison, let me put forth three strong personality traits that these two men possessed.

Farjand Shahaji Raje Vs Sardar Afzalkhan

Invincible Resourceful Visionary Vs Loyal Disciplined Fanatic

Starting with Shahaji - He was invincible. He fought 32 notable battles and the only battle in which had to surrender was the one he never fought.
Sounds strange?? Well, keep reading and we will come to that battle very soon.
Point here is there was no way Shahaji could be defeated. And it was only because of this reputation, that he could comfortably change his allegiances as and when needed.

He was resourceful. Do you know that one battle, which made Shahaji really famous?? Which made his name known to entire India - from the Moghuls to all Deccan Sultanates to the kings and Nayakaas of the South? 

The year was 1624. Moghul Emperor Shahjahan badly wanted Nizamshahi sultanate to be wiped out and had sent his Commander Laskhar Khan with a force of 120,000 to Decccan. Adilshah knew this is the best opportunity to be an ally to the Moghuls and joined in with a force of 80,000.

Shahaji was stationed in Nagar when these forces combined and assembled just outside Nagar at the banks of river Mekhri. It was only a matter of few hours and as the next day would dawn, Nagar was going to be ravaged.

Shahaji had a force of 20,000 at his disposal. He kept 10,000 of them in Nagar to guard the town, if it gets attacked and with remaining 10,000 men he took a stand against the moghul forces at Bhatwadi. The odds were 1:20 and only a miracle would have saved Nagar.

And during the dark hours of the night, there was indeed a miracle!! All the sleeping moghul and adilshahi forces were swept away by a massive force of water. The entire camp was drowned in flood and all that Shahaji's 10,000 men did over next few days was fishing!! Fishing out men - ranking officers, common soldiers, slaves, servants, all alike; and not just that - fishing out weapons, cannons, horses, elephants - dead and alive both !!

This miraculous flood was caused by Shahaji's resourcefulness. He deployed a handful of his men to develop cracks in the dam over Mekhri river, just a few miles upstream of the moghul camping site.
Atleast 25 of Adilshah's elite officers were fished out and taken as war-prisoners. The defeat itself was very humiliating for Shah Jahan and he stopped the campaign against Nizamshah immediately.

This is Shahaji's legacy. Battles which were won by being resourceful, by deploying guerrilla warfare, by improvising, by strategic planning, by confidence in the men fighting along-side, and by care and affection for these brave souls. This legacy was also Shivaji's inheritance, one which he explored to its fullest for creating the Maratha empire.

About - Shahaji being a Visionary. Well, it was a dream of Shahaji and Jijabai to have an independent Maratha empire. A dream which their elder son Sambhaji died for, a dream which their younger son Shivaji finally fulfilled!!

Shahaji was not only a visionary for himself - He shared his vision with his men, mentored them and groomed them for their future roles.

An interesting fact I find about Shahaji is that he always had a force between 10,000-15,000 [of his own] - I think I know the reason why. 
Shahaji groomed his capable companions to lead, as ministers, as ambassadors, as commanders and these men when ready were sent to Pune for Shivaji's help or to Bangalore for Sambhaji's help. We come across so many references in history of Shivaji, when some wise and brave men sent by Shahaji joined Shivaji and proved to be of great help.

As mentioned earlier, my school of thought is that Maratha empire was always Shahaji and Jijabai's vision, which they could successfully imbibe in their sons and Shivaji made a reality out of this vision.

Shifting the gear now towards Afzalkhan - Well, the greatest quality of this Pathan was his unquestionable loyalty towards Adilshah. There were times when his superiors failed adilshah, but Afzalkhan was always the one who could be relied upon!!

It was this loyalty which helped the Adilshah in using Afzalkhan for straightening out any political troubles in his regime and also helped Afzalkhan himself grow within ranks of adilshah sultanate.

Afzalkhan was a disciplined soldier. Although standing tall with 7 feet height and having a well-built body stature, Afzalkhan was never lethargic or over-confident. He believed in discipline and expected his forces to be disciplined. The roots of this discipline can probably be traced back to the beginning of Afzalkhan's career, when he served as an head constable for Adilshahi police and was well-known for his strictness.
[There are letters when people from as far away as Karnataka made special requests to send the head-constable Afzalkhan for taking care of men who were trying to default on their long standing debts.]

Having said that Afzalkhan was also a fanatic. He had a fanaticism for religion, he had a fanaticism for cruelty, he had a fanaticism for victory and he had fanaticism to stress his existence.

This fanaticism was one of the main reasons that Afzalkhan could rise to eminence during the reign of Sultan Mohammad Adilshah - Mohammad Adilshah, was young and fanatic about religion himself.

I know I would be expected to explain the fanaticisms a little more. So, here we go:

After the Bhatwadi battle, Shah Jahan and Adilshah became allies. This also meant that Adilshah was to refrain from any expansions in the northern territories. Add to it, shortly after that a young sultan Mohammad Adilshah ascended the throne.

So, a war on hindu states in the south was the only way for expansion and being young and ambitious - Mohammad wanted to expand his rule. And, he knew that the best way to achieve this was a Jihad "War for Religion". Jihad against the princely states in southern India would both justify the expansion and inspire the expansion.

Scores of adilshahi forces started attacking the hindu territories in south and this campaign brought forth an array of fanatic commanders - one after another. Randulla Khan, Mustafa Khan, Asad Khan, Afzalkhan are just a few prominent names.

Afzalkhan used to call himself by the title : Deendaar Butshikan Deendaar Kufrashikan [Servant of religion - demolisher of the idols - servant of religion - destroyer of the Kaafirs]
I guess this is enough to tell about his religious fanaticism.

About the fanaticism for Cruelty - When someone slayed his opponent in wars, it was a common [although barbaric enough] practice in those days to advertise the victory by showing off the head of your opponent!!
Afzalkhan had his own way of this show-off. There is atleast one known instance of Murar Jagdev, whom Afzalkhan slayed with treachery and then put his head on top of a sewer outlet in Bijapur!!

They say that when soldiers die in the battlefield, they go to heaven. I don't think any soldier out there in heaven would want to see his head become a shit-hole after death!! That was the fanatic cruelty of Afzalkhan!!

Fanaticism for Victory - Well, Afzalkhan was like those Police officers in modern day Bollywood movies - No Arrest, No Surrender, Faisla on-the-spot !!
Even when he invited his opponents for a truce, he killed them during the talks. Murder of Raja Kasturi Ranga is a well known example of this. For him battles were meant only to be won and victory was never complete without killing the opponent!!

Well, I think I have led to formation of images and preconceptions here  - Shahaji the hero and Afzalkhan the bad guy !! But then, that is what the history books tell us. Anyways, an interesting fact is that despite all these attributes, Afzalkhan was a self-made commander, and when he fought the battle of Pratapgad, there were only a couple of moments when he failed himself !! 
He was no doubt an opponent, who tested the mettle of Shivaji's qualities and who posed a real threat to Shivaji's life.

But more about that  - Later :-)

In the next chapter, I will unravel the rivalry between Shahaji and Afzalkhan and discuss various aspects of this rivalry. Also, if you are wondering about that title Farjand against Shahaji's name, you will get to know the answer in next chapter. So, keep reading and stay tuned to this series !!

Chapter Two - Why Visit Pratapgad

Every Person has some likes, interests or hobbies. I mean even the person who keeps sulking all the time - likes to sulk :-)

So, what is it that you like to do? What is your Hobby? What is your thing?

Is it Trekking? Is it Sight-Seeing? Is it Nature Photography? Do you like taking pictures of monkeys and birds and such creatures while they are out there in wild? Or is it mountains and roads and trees that appeal your camera??

Are you a biker who likes to explore new roads? Are you into Hill-Stations?

Are you a religious type, who likes to visit different temples? Are you a patriotic type, who likes to get lost in the glorious past of India? Are you a devotee of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?

Are you the romantic type, who likes to visit some picturesque location with love of his life, specially on a rainy day?

Are you into handicrafts or into shopping of those handicrafts for decorating the living room? Are you a young parent, who is keen to get your kid(s) acquainted with history of his forefathers? May be you are visiting India for only a few days and want something fast track?

Do you like to watch amazing Sunsets? Do you like to just sneak out of this hectic life every once in a while and retreat to relaxing, calm, energetic reserves of nature?

Well, Well, Well .. Enough Questions already lah~ [Singaporean slang]

If you have answered any of the above questions as YES, you gotta visit Pratapgad. It's got it all !!

Pratapgad is just 15 KMs away from Poladpur and 22 KMs from Mahabaleshwar [140 KMs from Pune]. If you are already in Mahabaleshwar and without any vehicle, there is a Pratapgad Darshan bus which runs from Mahabaleshwar.


For Trekkers, this fort stands 1080 Mt above Sea-level and village at the base is Wada-Kumbhroshi. The grade of fort can be considered simple to medium and it would be around 2 hours of climb till the Entrance of the fort. Here's a picture of Pratapgad, as it is seen from Wada-Kumbhroshi.





Those who don't want to trek - no worries at all. There is a asphalt road which takes you right till the Entrance of the Fort.


If you are a biker, who likes to swing and swirl along the roads, then the Ambenali Ghat [From Mahabaleshwar towards Pratapgad], Par Ghat [from Mahad to Par and Pratapgad] and the road to Pratapgad are just the perfect destination for you. Checkout this image of Ambenali Ghat and its curves!!








I went there in our car. On our way up from Wada-Kumbhroshi, I enjoyed seeing many monkeys, various kinds of birds including Peacocks roaming around freely along the sides of the road. The forest cover in this area is home to many amazing creatures, big and small and if you like watching or photographing them, you are in for a treat. 

Too bad that I started from Satara only in the afternoon and so did not stop on the way for taking too many photographs myself.

Remember the Hindi song - "Waadiyan mera daaman, raastein meri baahen, jaao mere siwa, tum kaha jaoge" You can experience the same romantic appeal in these mountains and valleys of Pratapgad. It's mesmerising - and if you are visiting Pratapgad in the monsoon season, it's mystic and magical!! You get to be in the clouds almost all the time.

Ok, once you reach at the Parking lot, you can find the fort divided into two parts - an Upper Fort and Lower Fort.

Just to make sure that you don't miss seeing anything, you can have a map of the Fort handy. I found this one on the internet.

 

So, did you spot the Handicraft center? Well, I got some Leaf Paintings and a brass vintage car from here, as souveneirs for my friends in Singapore. Hand-Crafted wooden toys and statues, brass and bronze crafts, designer stuff made from Shells, etc there is a lot more to shop in here.

Pratapgad has four places of worship. There is a Lord Hanuman Temple right at the entrance of Citadel. This temple was established by Samarth Ramdas Swami.

Then, there is the Bhavani temple built by Chh. Shivaji Maharaj himself - Shivaji's life was getting busy and when he was finding it difficult to visit his family deity located in Tuljapur, he got a temple built at Pratapgad. The idol of Goddess Bhavani has been sculptured from special Shaligram Stone, brought in from Nepal and the temple was inaugurated in 1661. Don't miss to see the Crystal Shivalinga, which Shivaji Carried all the time with him and the Sword of Hambirrao Mohite kept in this temple.

There is also a Lord Shiva Temple of Kedareshwar at the fort. When Chh. Shivaji first visited Pratapgad, he found a Shivlinga on the fort. Immediately, he ordered for a temple to be built around this Shivlinga and this temple came to be known as the Kedareshwar temple.




And the fourth place of worship - A Tall Standing Statue of Shrimant Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This statue was unveiled by Jawaharlal Nehru in the year 1957.

Did I mention it to you that there are a lot of food stalls at the Fort? And also that there is a Maharashtra Government guesthouse at the fort, right behind the statue of Chh. Shivaji Maharaj? In fact you can see this small building even in the map above.
So, if you are planning to stay on Pratapgad, enjoy the evening sky from the fort, watch the sun rise and set, catch some misty cool breeze, it's all possible - Just plan ahead and do the reservations !!

There is a cultural library with some old Maratha paintings, battle gear etc. If you are present in the library at the right time, you may also end up watching a small slide show on History of Pratapgad.
 

At the foothills of Pratapgad, there is also a Shiv-Shrusti center, where we can quickly browse through the entire life span of Chh. Shivaji Maharaj by walking through a hall full of Metal Carved Drawings. These drawings have been picked up from the book 'Raja Shiv-Chhatrapati' by Babasaheb Purandare, along with the quotes that are mentioned in the book. There is a refreshment center and a handicraft center as well in this place.

Now that we have covered all other interests, lets take a look at the fort itself, shall we??

Pratapgad was built in two stages by Shivaji. In the first stage old door [Juna Darwaja], Citadel [Balekilla], Bhavani temple and Tank Bastion [Buruj] were constructed. In the second stage main door [Mahadwar], Mahadwar machi and flag bastion were built.

Main Door 'Mahadwar':
 
From Parking lot, as we start climbing the stairs towards the main door, we can see a cave used for hiding soldiers. Currently, you may find some old ladies selling eatables around this place and taking a photograph may not be possible. The Mahadwar [Main door] is visible only after we reach really close to it. Till then, it remains hidden between two bastions [buruj] around. This camouflage technique can be seen at many of Shivaji's forts. There are narrow windows in the bastion called ’Jangya’, which were meant for firing guns and arrows on enemies attacking the door. This main door opens at sunrise and is closed at sunset even now. The rampart wall [Tatbandi] starting from Mahadwar takes us to the Tank Bastion on the right and to the Flag Bastion on the left.

Old Door 'Juna Darwaja':

The old door was the main entrance of the fort before the Flag bastion and Mahadwar were constructed. In Shivaji’s time, this door led to the Bhavani temple on left side and citadel through the way up on right side.

 
  

Lamp Towers 'Deep Maal' and Drum House 'Nagaarkhana':

In front of the Bhavani temple, there are two huge lamp towers [Deepmaal] made out of stone. There is a Nagaarkhana [Drum House] on the eastern side of these towers.

Tank Bastion 'Talawaacha Buruj':

There are four water tanks on the Pratapgad Fort. It was the stone dug out from these tank sites that has been used for construction of the entire fort. The tank bastion encloses and protects the Bhavani tank.It also controls and prevents the way up from South side.


 
 Citadel 'Balekilla':

Citadel 'Balekilla' is a fort within the fort and has all the important building of the fort. In the Citadel of Pratapgad, we can see the Sadar [Royal Court], Kedareshwar temple, Statue of Shivaji, Garden among other things.

The rampart wall [Tatbandi] of citadel runs northwards to Redka bastion and southwards towards the Kadelot point. The Kadelot point is a spot from where the criminals were thrown into the valley as a death punishment.

Redka Bastion:

Redka bastion on the northwestern end of Pratapgad was used to keep a watch on the Konkan region. The rampart wall runs East West from Redka bastion to Yashwant bastion.


 

Yashwant Bastion:

This bastion is at the North-East end of Pratapgad. The speciality of Yashwant bastion is the triple walled protection.The innermost part of this bastion is a semi circular bastion. This bastion is connected with the Citadel with a rampart wall. At a level below and outside this part there is another semi circular bastion. This bastion has a protective wall called Chilkhat(armour wall) on the outer side.There is a small plain ground on the slope below Yashwant bastion. Triple walls of Yashwant bastion are constructed to obstruct the enemy attacking from this side.

Mahadwar Machi:

This part of the fort is the most famous one.It is a projecting portion of the hill of Pratapgad running eastwards and fortified with rampart walls on both sides and a bastion on the Eastern end. This type of fortification is called a Machi. It is believed that this Machi was built in the memory of the great victory against Afzal Khan. The rampart wall runs Eastward from old door towards Flag bastion and it turns back encircling the Flag bastion and runs Westwards towards the old door.

Flag Bastion "Tehaalni buruj' or 'Jiva Mahale buruj':

Flag bastion is an elliptical shaped bastion having the rampart wall of mahadwar machi surrounding it as the armour wall [Chilkhat]. Mahadwar machi and Flag bastion were constructed to control the approach towards main door.

There are a few secret passage-ways 'Chor Darwaje' [currently closed] as well on the fort, mostly associated with various bastions. May be those are for you to visit in person and see for yourself. After all it is always thrilling to discover a secret passage way, ain't it??



I am concluding this chapter with all this information. Next Chapters will be about the Battle of Pratapgad. Stay with me on this and keep reading :-)

Chapter One - The Making of Pratapgad Fort

Those who know Shivaji and his history, also know that the first conquest of Shivaji in the Adilshahi Sultanate was that of Fort Torna and also that the Sahyadri mountain ranges with it's forts were always at the center of many of Shivaji's Strategies.

If you ask me I would say that Shivaji was in deep love with the Sahyadri mountain ranges. 
And this love paid off on more than one occasions.

OK, before you notice that I have wandered away from the current topic, let me get back to it :-)

 So, the story of Pratapgad can be traced back to around 8 generations before the times of Shivaji. These generations were that of Chandrarao More, the ruler of Jawali State [Chandrarao was the title of the ruler and More is the clan name].

Jawali was one state in times of Anarchy, which had managed to maintain the governance and rule of a single clan for at least 8 known generations. Add to it a single Hindu clan, even while it was surrounded by the reigns of various Sultanates. Of Course, while generations of Chandra Rao had favored an alliance with the Adilshah sultanate of Bijapur, they had always called themselves autonomous rulers.

For generations, various sultanates had also let this be - All this because Jawali had a naturally gifted advantage of Terrain - High Mountain ranges of Sahyadri all around and a very thick and dense Forest Cover. Not to mention, an army of 12000-15000, well-versed with this terrain, that Chandrarao maintained.

These are the present day pictures of Jawali basin - Imagine it some 350 years ago :-)

But this is all just a background and context setting. So, when Shivaji was doing his early conquests, he found an immediate hindrance on the southern and south-western borders of his land. This hindrance was that of the very same invincible state of Jawali - Until Jawali was taken, Shivaji knew that complete expansion of Maratha Kingdom was not possible.

Many historians justify that the Shivaji Maharaj undertook the conquest of Javali because the Chandrarao ruling in those days was harassing his subjects and was a drunkard. As per me, even if this is true, it was a secondary reason. If the budding Maratha empire had to be secure and stable, Shivaji Maharaj knew that it needs to include the Javali basin and it's tall standing mountain ranges. Javali had to be taken, no matter how the Chandrarao was!!

One fine day, he called his paymaster [Sabnis] Raghunath Ballal Korde and shared his plan of Jawali's conquest. 

Raghunath Korde fixed a meeting with Chandrarao to discuss some diplomatic matters and went to Jawali, accompanied by 125 expert swordsman from Shivaji's army. First day of discussions was done, and before the second day began, Chandrarao More was attacked by Shivaji's men. He was in fact killed in this assault.

Once this assault started, Shivaji entered Jawali with his forces. Hearing the news, two sons of Chandrarao and the rest of his family fled from Jawali.

Surprisingly, even after their ruler was dead and his family had fled away, the forces of Chandrarao kept fighting Shivaji for more than 6 hours.
Finally, when they were conquered, Shivaji persuaded those brave men to join his noble cause of building the great Maratha empire 'Swarajya'.

Among those who joined Shivaji on that day, there were two - who went on to become his bravest and most loyal generals and who later fought valiantly, sacrificing their lives, for the cause of Swarajya. These gems which Shivaji received in Jawali were Baji Prabhu Deshpande and Murar Baji. Both these men are legends in themselves.

But these were not the only jewels that Shivaji discovered in the battle for Jawali. There were two more.

The sons and family of Chandrarao, which fled from the battle scene of Jawali, went on to a difficult mountain of Rairi for refuge.

Shivaji and his forces followed them. On his way from Jawali to Rairi, Shivaji saw a mountain standing tall on the banks of Koyna and Nira rivers. It was no doubt at the most strategic location, if one was to keep control of the Jawali basin, control the banks of both Koyna and Nira rivers and also keep an eye on the in-roads to Central Konkan. This mountain was known as Bhorpya.

Recognizing the significance of this mountain, Shivaji immediately commissioned his prime minister Moropant Pingle to build a fort on the mountain.

In 1656, Hiroji Indulkar, chief of Shivaji's construction unit, completed building of this fort on the Bhorpya mountain. This fort was named "PRATAPGAD - The Valor Fort".

And yes, the other gem which Shivaji discovered - Rairi. After a short seige, the family of Chandrarao ran out of provisions and surrendered. Shivaji ordered construction of another fort on the lofty and inaccessible Rairi plateau. This Fort was named - Raigad, another historically significant forts of Shivaji.

With this conquest of Jawali, Shivaji and his troops got a direct access to the southern and south-western regions of Konkan and Kolhapur, got two strong commanders, and two greatest forts.

Thus began an invincible journey of Pratapgad. 
Throughout the rule of Marathas - either by Shivaji and his descendants or by the Peshwas, this fort served it's purpose of safeguarding the empire, protecting its inmates and providing an strategic advantage to its rulers.

In 1818, Pratapgad was handed over to the British rulers by means of private negotiations.

The Pratapgad Chronicle - Prologue

It's been a real long time since I last wrote for this blog. Even though, for all this time I was not sure of when I would visit the next Shrine of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, I was almost certain that it is definitely going to be one place and one place only - Fort Pratapgad: The Valor Fort.

So, it was that during my holidays this December, I finally managed to visit that one place which has been an epicenter of Maratha Valor, Courage, Patriotism, Bravery, Devotion, Pride, Inspiration and above all a stage to the greatest battle in history of an equally great empire!! This place is of course Fort Pratapgad.

Call it a destiny or a mere coincidence, although I visited Pratapgad in last week of December, by the time I could manage to gather enough references and facts about this place and start with this series of posts, it is already January 12 and this date of today is of immense historical significance. 
It is the Birthday of Raajmata Shrimant Chhatrapati Jijabai - mother of Chh. Shivaji Maharaj and the conceiver of Hindavi Swarajya - the great Maratha empire which Chh. Shivaji Maharaj built.

So, what better way to start this Chronicle than to dedicate it to Raajmata Jijabai and seek her blessings for this endeavor.

To start with, I have always wanted to share my awe about the battle of Pratapgad to as many people as possible. Hence, I am going to write information about Pratapgad, and I am also going to write about the great battle of Pratapgad.


To make both the writing and reading simple and convenient, I will narrate this chronicle of Pratapgad war in form of a series. This is the prologue to the series which will be followed by various chapters about Pratapgad, about Chh. Shivaji Maharaj, about Sardar Afzalkhan, about the Pratapgad war and about various aspects of this war.

I know what you are thinking - It's enough stuff to write and read over next few weeks.

Another obvious question - Why write in English when I can use google transliteration feature and write this in Marathi - with many more words to use in my vocabulary for all those emotions, all those narrations and all those salutations. I mean posting a blog on Chh. Shivaji Maharaj in Marathi would have after all always invoked a greater sense of patriotism in all the Marathi readers!!

Well, the simple reason for this is - I want the accounts of Chh. Shivaji Maharaj and his valor to be available for all my blog readers around the world and I don't want a language to be barrier for this.

Having Satara as the hometown [district in which Pratapgad is located] has it's own privileges and I have managed to get some fine pictures at the fort [and have borrowed some from the Internet as well]. I am hopeful that these pictures will help to make the write-up more lively and illustrative.

Finally the biggest disclaimer of all - I am writing this chronicle in a good spirit and will ensure that I present all the correct facts; But this is the history that I have read, that I remember, that I have imagined, that I have heard, that I have understood. So, if I have got something wrong, and if anything I write does not check out with the facts you know; then always know one thing - all of my blogs offer the readers a complete liberty to write comments on it. Post me your feedback and I will correct the write-up. 
I myself will also continue my striving to know more about this war and it's various aspects and would be updating the content accordingly.

So, let's all get geared up and get going with sharing of a chronicle which has inspired billions for so many generations!!

Keep watching this space for further chapters :-)