HOW AFZAL KHAN OF BIJAPUR KILLED SAMBHOOJI THE ELDEST
SON OF SHAHJI RAJE AND BROTHER OF SHIVAJI MAHARAJ
Dr K Prabhakar Rao
Maratha
history usually revolves around Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj who
carved out an independent Hindu Kingdom ( Swarajya) in 17 century
against all odds at a time when anti
Hindu forces were at peak. These forces were let loose by the religious bigot
Aurangzeb the Mughal emperor at Delhi duly abetted
by the Bijapur kingdom
of Adilshahis and
Golconda Kutubshahi. There is no doubt that achievement of Chatrapathi Shivaji
Maharaj was immensely great and entire
nation has to be indebted to him for inspiring the nation with his
achievements. After the fall and disappearance of Vijay nagar empire in 1646, rise of Shivaji Maharaj
was the only hope for Hindus in this country. Shahaji Raje Bhonsle a descendent
of Sisodia Rajputs was a very able General and he originally served with Nizamshahi kingdom of Ahmed nagar and later shifted to
Bijapur. It is believed that he never lost a battle. Although he made efforts
to carve out an Hindu kingdom, circumstances were not favorable to him and he
had to continue in the service of Ahmednagar initially and later at Bijapur. The history books do not give
detailed accounts of Shahji Raje and his life and due credit has not been given
to this magnificent personality in the history of India. Similarly, brave Sambhooji (
Sambhaji) the eldest son of Shahji Raje
and brother of Shivaji Maharaj ( Later Chatrapathi) go unnoticed in the
Indian history. Sambhooji died fighting
bravely in his youth in a battle due to treachery by Afzal Khan while he was in
his teens. Very few know how he died at such an young age. The brave elder brother
of Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj has vanished into history without a
recognition. Had he lived long life
probably Maratha empire would have flourished further and hands of
Shivaji Maharaj would have become further stronger. But god willed otherwise.
Shivaji Maharaj named his eldest son as
Shambhaji in memory of his brother. It
is a must to know the accomplishments of Shahji Raje to understand the life of
Shambhooji Raje .
The period saw
the declining Vijaynagar empire in south India. The empire under Aliya (
Araveeti)Rama Raya suffered greatly after defeat of Hindu army at the hands of
confederation army of Deccani sultans at Tallikota battle on Jan
26, 1565 owing to the betrayl my
the Mulsim generals of Vijay nagar army. Venkatapathi Rayalu II who ruled for
30 years at Chandragiri as emperor of
Vijaynagar redeemed the prestige of the empire to a very great extent. However
after his death ,war of succession took place.
The Hindu empire was greatly wakened due to inner rivalries of Nayaka
chieftains of Madurai,
Jinjee, Tanjavoor and Kalahasthi after
Topur Battle on the banks of Kaveri river in 1616. The battle took place
between rival factions of Vijaynagar
empire over the issue of succession to the throne of Vijay nagar. Ramadeva son
of Sriranga II succeeded to the throne after the battle. The next ruler was Sri ranga III who succeeded Ramadeva to the throne of
crumbling Vijayanagaar empire. Bijapur
and Golconda
sultans were eagerly waiting to ensure
the demise of the Hindu empire that was struggling. These Deccani sultans were
already vassals to the Mughal emperor and were constantly pressurized to destroy the Hindu kingdoms in the south India
as a policy of Islamization. Shahji Raje was serving Bijapur sultan under these
prevailing conditions. His inner spirit
craved for establishing a Hindu kingdom
although he was loyally serving the Bijapur sultan. Shahaji Raje was a very capable General and
Mughals, Nizamshahi sultan of Ahmednagar and Adilshahi sultan of Bijapur desired to
have him with them. . He was well known
not only for his military and leadership skills but also as a Man who kept his
word. Shahji Raje served under all these important
dynasties in his eventful career. Shahaji Raje
had a chequered career and he served Nizamshai kingdom in the initial
career. He was very impressed by Malik Amber who steered the troubled
Nizamshahi kingdom in the most crucial days. Shahaji observed him very closely
and grasped the intricate techniques of
Guerilla warfare and the methods to
counter enemy’s large forces with small
number of troops. This helped him very greatly in his later campaigns against Mughals and while in
service of Adilshah of Bijapur. These
were the days when emperor Shahjehan was hell bent on destroying Nizamshahi
kingdom based at Ahmednagar at any cost.
Shahaji
Raje had three surviving sons. He had six sons from his queen Jijabai daughter
of Raja Lakhooji Jadhav who wasa senior noble in the service of Nizamshahi
kingdom. However four of them passed away in childhood
. The third son Shambhooji Raje (Shambhaji) and fourth son
Shivaji Raje ( Chatrapathi)
survived and grew up as brave and able warriors and administrators and men
of high
taste, virtues and culture. Venkoji ( Enkoji I) Raje was the youngest son
born to Shahji’s other wife who came from the family of Mohites.
Venkoji I in later part of his life ruled at Tanjavur after the fall of it’s Nayaka dynasty as independent king and
the kingdom lasted till it was annexed
by the English men in 19 century.
The battle of Bhataudi wasa
very crucial battle in the career of Shahji Raje that brought him great fame.
It was fought in 1624 in Ahmednagar ( Maharashtra
) between forces of Maharaja Shahaji, Nizamshah led by Malik Amber and the
combined forces of Mughals
and Adilshahi
Sultan of Bijapur . Mughal forces of 1,20,000 strength were led by Lashkar
Khan
, Mughal
commander-in-chief
. He was supported by 80,000 strong army of
Bijapur .
Against this massive force of
2 lakhs army,
Maharaja Shahaji had an
army of 20,000 at his disposal. Maharaja Shahaji
assigned 10,000 of these, the task of
protecting and defending the Ahmednagar fort and town. The remaining 10,000
were with Maharaja Shahaji.
Mughal and Adilshahi forces were
encamped on the bank of the
Mehkari
River
that had a dam to conserve water, as
Ahmednagar experienced water shortage.
The dam was full
as there had
been good amount of rainfall.
Maharaja
Shahaji came up with a brilliant idea. With utmost care, cracks were developed
in the dam. It was the time of night; the whole Mughal and Adilshahi encampment
was fast asleep and suddenly, water
gushed out of the cracks and flooded Mughal
and Adilshahi camps .
There was chaos
and confusion. Enemy’s equipment like clothes, rations, arms, ammunitions,
cannons and cattle and horses everything were drowned. There was huge loss of
life.
Many were taken as prisoners
including 25 renowned, Mughal and Adilshahi chiefs.
It was
a huge win for Maharaja Shahaji, after which Maharaja Shahaji became famous and
well known. But Shahji lost his brother
in this battle. He later however left Ahmednagar
being unhappy with policies of Malik Amber.
Nizamshi kingdom was
passing through difficult phase.
Jahan
Khan, the wazir of Nizam shah killed Nizamshah on the reasoning that
he
was
an incapable and unwise ruler, who couldn’t take appropriate decisions and was
easily deceived by some people. Jahan Khan greeted Maharaja Shahaji with open
hands and asked Maharaja Shahaji to join him. Maharaja Shahaji started leading
Nizam’s forces. However, at that time, the Mughal forces on the order of Shah
Jahan had slain all the men in relation to Nizamshah and also killed two
pregnant women. This was done to finish off the Nizamshahi, as there wouldn’t
be any male heir to the throne of the Nizamshah. However, Maharaja Shahaji, in
order to protect Nizamshahi
dynasty
decided to crown a child named Murtuza, who was in relation with the late Nizamshah,
as the next ruler. Maharaja Shahaji assured Murtuza’s mother that he would not
be harmed and vouched for his safety.
Shahajahan soon dispatched
a force of 48,000
to
suppress Maharaja Shahaji, Nizamshah and his
ally Adilshah. Under such mounting attack Adilshah sued for peace. With the
withdrawal of Adilshah's support, Maharaja Shahaji could not hold much against
the Mughals. His possessions were reduced quickly. In the fort of
Mahuli he was besieged.
Portuguese
did not offer any help from naval side due to fear of the Mughals. In this war,
Maharaja Shahaji fought till the last. But, unfortunately Nizamshah Murtaza,
the little kid, was being kidnapped by Mughals and for the purpose of saving
the life of Nizam, it became necessary for Maharaja Shahaji to make compromise.
This compromise finished Nizamshahi kingdom. Maharaja Shahaji, on the condition
of protecting the life of little Murtaza Nizam at any condition, handed him
over to Shahajahan.
Murtuza was taken
away by Shah Jahan to Delhi.
Shahji Raje
was inducted into Adilshahi
forces. As a precaution Shahajahan ensured that Shahaji Raje was posted in deep
south so as not to pose any challenge to Mughals. He finally became one of the
top generals in the Adilshah's army, accepting a
Jagir in his court.
In
1638, a large
Bijapur army led by Ranadulla Khan and accompanied by
Shahaji defeated Kempe Gowda III and Bangalore
was given to Shahaji as a
jagir Shahaji
successfully led the Bijapur army to many victories against the
Rajas (
Nayaks ) of southern India.
Instead of punishing or executing them, Shahaji reprieved all the
Rajas.
The
Rajas thus developed healthy relations with Shahaji and offered
military support to Shahaji whenever required.
The eldest son
Sambhooji stayed with his father Shahaji Raje along with Venkoji at Bangalore which he was
given , while young Shivaji was sent to live at Pune the original jagir of Shahji Raje. Mother Jijabai was the
queen regent for Shivaji. He also sent many worthy people like Shyamraj
Ranjhekar, Balkrushnapant Hanmante, Raghunath Ballal Atre, Kanhoji Jedhe Naik
and Dadaji Kondadev to assist Shivaji Maharaj prepare thoroughly for
establishing his governance. This was a very wise step by him as events proved
later. Adilshah suspected that Shahji
was secretly assisting his sons Shambhooji and Shivaji in their anti state activities and summoned him
to stay at Bijapur with his family. Shahji Rajeof course smelt foul and
avoided the orders. On 25 July, 1648, Adilshah’s Prime Minister Nawab Mushtafa Khan, with the help of Baaji
Ghorpade, Mambaji Bhosale, Mambaji Pawar, Balaji Haibatrao and Fatehkhan,
betrayed and captured ShahajiRaje near Jinji in Karnataka. He was chained and
dragged through Bijapur and brought to the court.
Following
Shahji’s arrest, his sons Sambhooji in Banglore and Shivaji in Pune started asserting
their independence against the Moslems. With the help of the Brahmin advisers
they started acting as independent *Hindu* rulers and did not remit any
tributes to the Adil Shah. The Sultan acted quickly and sent a force under Asad
Khan from Jinji to take Bangalore
from Sambhooji. Sambhooji gave a notable display of his valor by routing the
Moslem force advancing towards Banglore by after intercepting it on the way to
the city. Shivaji was in the mean time attacked in both Purandar and Kondana by
two columns of the Sultan’s army, but he too gave an ample taste of his valor
by defeating both the Moslem armies. The action by Shahji’s sons and their
ability to punish the Moslem armies both in North and South made the Sultan
wary of any action on Shahji. In the meantime, the brothers tried an unusual
political move by contacting a representative of the Moghul emperor to
negotiate with the Sultan for their father’s safety and possible release from
captivity. Ahmad Khan the Moslem commandant agreed to negotiate his safe
release provided his sons surrendered Kondana and Bangalore. Shahaji agreed to such a deal and
was released. His sons on the surface agreed to do so but secretly harbored
plans to seize back their territory from the Muslims.
Soon they had their
chance when the two Moslem Sultans, the Sunni and Shia sultans of Bijapur and Golconda started fighting
amongst themselves over their territorial possessions after the battle of
Jinji. In course of this fight, Shahji Raje and Sambhooji secured Banglore and
went on take Kanakagiri for themselves. When Mir Jumla of Golconda
started driving the Adil Shahi troops, Shahji
Raje and Sambhooji intervened with their forces. To the Hindus, they were
protectors from Moslem depredations and for Adil Shah they were the only hope
to survive Mir Jumla. They caught Mir Jumla in an ambush between their columns
near Bangalore
and defeated him
. They held him ransom
for 900,000 gold pieces and with this victory became the most powerful force in
South India. In Kanakagiri, Sambhooji saw the
remnants of the past Hindu glory and the idea of founding an independent Hindu
kingdom with this fort as a base came to his mind. Sambhooji accordingly
dispossessed local Moslem officials and appointed his Hindu ministers instead.
Abba Khan the local Moslem Adil Shahi warlord was furious over these movements
and raising a force of ghazis launched a fierce attack on Sambhooji. Shahji
Raje tried a political move by representing to the Adil Shah that he was
holding the territory for the Sultan while Abba Khan was revolting against him.
Afzal Khan was sent to settle affairs, and he long wanted to punish the
Maratha
upstarts severely. He also had a grudge
against Sambhooji due the defeat at his hands in the Bangalore encounter.
Afzal Khan laid a
cunning plan. He sent a message to Sambhooji that he would help him against
Abba Khan and asked the former to storm the defenses of Abba Khan. Sambhooji
vigorously attacked and was in the thick of battle when the detachment of Afzal
Khan which had supposedly come to help turned against him and surrounded him.
He bravely tried to cut his way out, but received several gun shots and was
killed. Thus at the age of 25, Sambhooji, the poorly known brother of the
future
Chatrapathi
laid down his life in front of Kanakagiri. His
mother Jijabai bore a long-standing grudge against Afzal Khan after this event,
and finally had her satisfaction, when Shivaji slew Afzal Khan at Pratapgarh
and
restored the Hindu prestige. In fact Shivaji Maharaj tore open the
bowels of Afzal Khan apart from stabbing him
and he enacted Lord Narasimha whotore open the belly of Hiranyakashipa the most
cruel Rakshasa and Afzal Khan was no less.
Afzal khan’s severed head was
presented to
queen mother Jijabai and
she was satisfied. Soon Shivaji Maharaj became Chatrapathi and carved out a
Hindu kingdom against all odds and Jajabai passed away soon after coronation of
Shivaji Maharaj.
The dreams of his elder
brother Sambhooji was thus realized at the hands of his younger brother.
LONG LIVE THE MEMORIES OF
SAMBHOOJI RAJE
