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.
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.
Nice one PD. Some of the facts were unknown to me. Keep flowing more :)
ReplyDeleteThought the name was behind one of the brave Sardars -Prataprao
ReplyDeletehmm .. may be. I somehow have never come across any such reading or reference. If you know of any please let me know.
DeleteI suppose you are referring to Prataprao Gujar.
What this would mean is that Pratapgad was named only around 1674, after Prataprao Gujar's heroic death.
Interesting thing here is Prataprao was also a title conferred on him by Chh. Shivaji Maharaj after his bravery against Mirza Raje Jaisingh and his real name was Kudtoji Gujar :-)