Confrontation with the Regional Sultanates

 

Confrontation with the Regional Sultanates

At the age of 17 Shivaji carried out his first military action by attacking and capturing Torna fort of the Bijapur kingdom, in 1645. By 1647 he had captured Kondana and Rajgad forts and had complete control of the Pune region.
By 1654 Shivaji had captured forts in the Western Ghats and along the Konkan coast. In a bid to sabotage this move of the Marathas under Shivaji's able leadership, Adilshah had his father - Shahaji arrested by deceitful means, and he sent one army against Sambhaji, Shivaji's elder brother at Bangalore (lead by Farradkhan) and another against Shivaji at Purandhar (lead by Fattekhan). However both Bhonsle brothers defeated the invading armies securing the release of their father. Afzal Khan, the seasoned and great warrior, was then sent to destroy Shivaji, in an effort to put down what was seen by Bijapur as a regional revolt. 


 

The Battle of Pratapgad which can also be described as 1st defense of swarajya was a land battle fought on November 10, 1659 at the fort of Pratapgad near the town of Satara, Maharashtra, India between the Maratha King Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Afzal Khan of the Adilshahi. The Marathas defeated the Adilshahi forces despite having fewer soldiers. It was their first significant military victory against a major regional power, and led to the eventual establishment of the Maratha Empire. 


 


 Battle of Kolhapur

To counter the loss at Pratapgad and to defeat the nascent Maratha power, another army, this time numbering over 10,000, was sent against Shivaji, commanded by renowned Bijapuri general Rustemjaman. With cavalry of 5000 Marathas, Shivaji attacked them near Kolhapur on 28 December 1659. In a swift movement, Shivaji led a full frontal attack at the center of the enemy forces while other two portions of his cavalry attacked the flanks. The hand-to-hand combat was ferocious, the action was interspersed with the Maratha war cry "Har Har Mahadev" (hail to Lord Shiva), with "Allahu Akbhar" (God is great) the Muslim war cry. In a bloody pitched battle, the Bijapuri forces folded under the ferocious Maratha onslaught and in the ensuing panic, Rustemjaman fled the battlefield.
Shivaji's Mavale/Maratha soldiers clearly demonstrated their courage and martial tendency by fearlessly attacking in a pitched battle the combined and formidable Bijapur army made up of elite forces of Arab, Abyssinian, Persian and Afghan mercenaries. This news made the mighty Mughal empire more alarmed at the successes of the upstart Maratha - Shivaji, who was now derisively called "Mountain Rat" by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He was now actively preparing to bring the full might and resources of the Mughal Empire to bear down on the potential Maratha threat, as he was not one to tolerate any challenge to his rule. 

In the battle of Panhala Raja, Shivaji escaped through this pass
In 1660, Adil Shah, a regional sultan, sent Siddi Johar - an Abyssinian general of great repute. He was eager to put down Shivaji once again, and this time he committed all the manpower and resources available to him in his kingdom to this end. He ordered his large and imposing army north to Kolhapur, Maharashtra to confront and defeat Shivaji once and for all.
At that time Shivaji was camped at the fort Panhala with a small part of his army, near present day Kolhapur, on the borders of his dominion. Siddi Johar's very large and intimidating army camped near Panhala, cutting off supply routes to the fort. Shivaji, in a bold move, decided to escape to a nearby fort Vishaalgad, where he could regroup his soldiers to fight a decisive battle.
Shivaji sent misleading messages to Siddi Johar indicating that he was willing to negotiate and was looking for accommodation, understanding and mercy. With this news Adilshahi soldiers relaxed somewhat, and Shivaji escaped under the cover of a very stormy night. Johar's soldiers captured a small group of the Marathas apparently including Shivaji, only to realize he was a look-alike dressed like Shivaji, sent out to create a diversion and facilitate the real king's escape. It did not take much time for Siddi Johar's soldiers to realize that the imposter was Shivaji's barber and that Shivaji and his army were headed to Vishaalgad.
A large enemy cavalry, in hot pursuit of Shivaji's infantry and foot soldiers would probably have overtaken and captured him. Sensing that enemy cavalry was fast closing in on them Shivaji sought to avoid defeat and capture. And indeed, this very likely eventuality was avoided by Shivaji in a last minute rear-guard defensive move. Baji Prabhu Deshpande, a brave Sardar along with 300 Maratha soldiers, volunteered to fight to the death to hold back the enemy at Ghod Khind to give Shivaji and the rest of the army a chance to reach the safety of Vishaal Gad.
In the ensuing battle of Pavan Khind, Baji Prabhu Deshpande fought relentlessly, at times with scimitars curved swords in both hands. He was almost fatally injured but he held on for precious minutes and only succumbed to his injuries after hearing cannon fire from Vishaal Gad, signalling Shivaji had reached safety of the fort.
Ghod Khind was covered with blood of 300 Marathas who willingly gave up their lives and fought to the last man for the cause of freedom, along with that of 1286 of Adilshah's brave and elite troops. Baji Prabhu Deshpande and his men's bravery, sacrifice and heroic stand at Pavan Khind is a very popular story in the annals of the great and illustrious Maratha history. And has been recited as a folk lore in Maharashtra in many inspiring renditions.
Thereafter a truce was made between Shivaji and Adilshahi through Shahaji, acknowledging and formally recognizing the independence of Shivaji's Kingdom. Also, as the terms of peace, the fort at Panhala was awarded to Siddi Johar.
This remained the situation until the death of Shahaji. Henceforth the Marathas became a formal and recognized power in the Deccan. Ghod Khind (khind = " a narrow mountain pass") was renamed Pavan Khind (Sacred Pass) in honor of Bajiprabhu Deshpande and the soldiers who selflessly fought and died to save their king and country. A small memorial stands even today in the pass in recognition of the heroism of Bajiprabhu and his courageous men.
This battle was one of the last serious challenges to Shivaji from the regional sultanates, from now on the attention of the mighty Mughal empire would be firmly focused on danger posed by the emerging Maratha nation under the able leadership of Shivaji and his potential challenge to their supremacy in the Indian sub-continent.