A History of the Mahrattas v1.c15: Chapter VIII
A History of the Mahrattas v1.c15
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Chapter VIII
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A.D. 1670. — THE apparent inactivity of Sivajee, and the peace between the Beejapoor state and the Moghuls, gave hopes of a tranquillity long unknown in the Deccan. Sivajee, it was supposed, satisfied with what he had already acquired, or sensible of his inability to cope with the imperial armies, would now abstain from depredation and endeavour to secure the favour of the Moghul viceroy by presents, such as were customary from those who were not altogether independent of his authority. It was indeed well known that both Sultan Mauzum and Jeswunt Sing were in the habit of receiving large sums of money from Sivajee ; and the report became at last so general, that Aurungzebe, desirous probably of dissolving their connection, if he could not succeed in again drawing Sivajee into his power, sent a peremptory order, threatening his son with severe displeasure if he did not apprehend Sivajee, Pertab Rao Goozur, and several of the principal officers. Before the public order arrived, Sultan Mauzum, apprised of its approach, privately warned Pertab Rao Goozur, who, accompanied by Sivajee’s envoy, Neerajee Ramjee, fled with the horse the same night and safely reached Poona, although pursued by a detachment sent after them by Sultan Mauzum to save appearances with the Emperor.
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The temporizing measures, for a time adopted by Aurungzebe, having thus assumed a character decidedly hostile, Sivajee soon displayed his wonted energy ; and those who had prognosticated his future insignificance or his fall, were this year astonished by a career of enterprises, exceeding, if possible, all he had yet done. His first object was to endeavour to get possession of the important fortresses of Singurh and Poorundhur, which completely obstructed his communication with Poona and Chakun, and were strongly garrisoned by Rajpoots. Singurh Sivajee justly considered one of the strongest forts in the country; and as the commandant, Ooday Bawn, was a very celebrated soldier and had a choice body of men, it was supposed impregnable. This fancied security of the garrison, however, had rendered them negligent; and Sivajee laid a plan for surprising the place. Tannajee Maloosray, whom he consulted on the occasion, offered to take it, on condition of being permitted to have his younger brother along with him and to choose one thousand Mawulees for the purpose. None of the Mawulee attacks are given so consistently and distinctly in different Mahratta manuscripts as the account of this interesting and daring enterprise.
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Singurh is situated on the eastern side of the great Syhadree range, near the point at which the Poorundhur hills branch off into the Deccan: with these hills it only communicates on the east and west by very high narrow ridges, while on the south and north it presents a huge rugged mountain, with an ascent of half a mile, in many parts nearly perpendicular. After arriving at this height, there is an immense craggy precipice of black rock, upwards of forty feet high, and similar to that which has in the first instance been described as a common feature in the mountains of the Concan and Ghaut-Mahta; surmounting the whole there is a strong stone wall with towers. The fort is of a triangular shape, its interior upwards of two miles in circumference, and the exterior presents on all sides the stupendous barrier already mentioned; so that, except by the gates, entrance seems impossible. From the summit, when the atmosphere is clear, is seen to the east the narrow and beautiful valley of the Neera; to the north a great plain, in the fore-part of which Poona, where Sivajee passed his youth, is a conspicuous object; and though, at the period we have arrived, only a small town, it was destined to become the capital of the vast empire he was founding. To the south and west appear boundless masses of rolling mountains, lost in the blue clouds or mingled by distance with the sky. In that quarter lies Raigurh¹; from which place, directed by Tannajee Maloosray, the thousand Mawulees prepared for the attempt on Singurh, set out by different paths, known only to themselves, which led them to unite near the fortress, according to the words of the Mahratta manuscript, ‘ on the ninth night of the dark half of the moon, in the month Magh ’ (February). Tannajee divided his men ; one half remained at a little distance, with orders to advance if necessary, and the other half lodged themselves undiscovered at the foot of the rock. Choosing a part most difficult of access, as being the least liable to discovery, one of their number mounted the rock and made fast a ladder of ropes, by which they ascended, one by one, and lay down as they gained the inside. Scarce three hundred had entered the fort, when something occasioned an alarm among the garrison that attracted their attention to the quarter by which the Mawulees were ascending. A man advanced to ascertain what was the matter. A deadly arrow from a bowman silently answered his enquiries ; but a noise of voices and a running to arms induced Tannajee to push forward, in hopes of still surprising them. The bowmen plied their arrows in the direction of the voices ; till a blaze of blue lights, and a number of torches kindled by the garrison, showed the Rajpoots armed or arming, and discovered their assailants. A desperate conflict ensued ; the Mawulees, though thus prematurely discovered and opposed by very superior numbers, were gaining ground, until Tannajee Maloosray fell. They then lost confidence, and were running to the place where they had escaladed, but by that time the reserve, led by Tannajee’s brother, Sooryajee, had entered. On learning what had happened, Sooryajee rallied the fugitives, asked ‘ who amongst them would leave their father’s remains to be tossed into a pit by Mhars,’¹ told them the ropes
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¹ [This is a mistake for Rājgarh, which lies north-west of Mahābaleshwar. The point is discussed in a note on the ‘Ballad of Tānājī Mālūsrē,’ Acworth’s Marāthā Ballads, pp. 120–2. Rājgarh was far more convenient as a base for the expedition, being only about fifteen miles from Singarh, while Raigarh is double the distance. The stormers
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¹ The Mahrattas who fall in battle are carried off by their companions when it is possible to do so. To leave a commander’s body
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signalled the news by firing a thatched house (p. 190, post), and as Raigarh is invisible from Singarh, it seems certain that Sivājī was at Rājgarh, from which the flare would have been plainly seen. (See also Professor H. B. Limaye’s article in *Fergusson College Magazine*, February 1919, pp. 150–9.) Finally, on p. 54 of Mānkar’s translation of K. Anant Sabhāsad’s *Life of Sivājī*, 2nd ed., the following words occur : ‘ The fort was captured. He then set fire to the stables on the fort. The king saw the light from Rājgad and was pleased to find that the fort was taken.’ The capture of Singarh took place late in January (*Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times*, Calcutta (1919), p. 208).]
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were destroyed, and now was their time to prove themselves Sivajee’s Mawulees. This address, their loss of Tannajee, the arrival of their companions, and the presence of a leader, made them turn with a resolution which nothing could withstand. ‘ Hur, Hur, Mahdeo,’¹ their usual cry on desperate onsets, resounded as they closed, and they soon found themselves in possession of the fort. Their total loss was estimated at one-third their number, or upwards of three hundred killed or disabled. In the morning, five hundred gallant Rajpoots, together with their commander, were found dead or wounded; a few had concealed themselves, and submitted; but several hundreds had chosen the desperate alternative of venturing over the rock, and many were dashed to pieces in the attempt.
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¹ Names of Vishnoo and Mahdeo. [Hara (Hur) is a synonym of Mahādēv (Shiva), and Hari of Vishnu. The Marāthās, being Shaivas, would naturally call upon Shiva rather than upon Vishnu (Hari), and this is confirmed by the Sabhāsad Bakhar, which describes the Māwalis’ war-cry as ‘ Shrī Mahādeva.’ (Mānkar’s trans., p. 53.) See also the ‘ Ballad of Sonput Paniput,’ Acworth’s Ballads of the Marāthās, pp. 61 and 125 n., and Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times, p. 209. Grant Duff’s note is incorrect.]
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The preconcerted signal of success was setting on fire a thatched house in the fort, a joyful intimation to Sivajee; but when he heard that Tannajee Maloosray was killed, he was deeply concerned, and afterwards, on being congratulated, mournfully replied, in allusion to the name he had given the fort, ‘ The den is taken but the lion is slain; we have gained a fort, but, alas! I have lost Tannajee Maloosray!’
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Sivajee, though he seldom bestowed pecuniary gifts on the Mawulees, on this occasion gave every private soldier a silver bracelet, or bangle, and proportionate rewards to the officers.
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to indiscriminate burial, without the funeral rites, is considered base in the highest degree. ‘ Father’ is an epithet much used by the soldiery of India, both as a term of respect, as appears in the text, and as a cheering encouragement. The ‘ chulo mera bap,’ ‘ come on my father,’ so often heard from officers of British Sepoys in action, is precisely the ‘ come on, my boys,’ and ‘ allons mes enfants’ of the English and French. [The objection to leaving the dead to be buried by the Mahārs was based chiefly on the universal Hindu belief that only the due performance of the propitiatory death-ceremonies, enjoined by the Brahmanic Shāstras, can secure the ghost of the dead from enrolment in the malevolent army of bhuts, prets and pishāchas (ghosts, goblins and fiends), which wander abroad haunting and harassing the living.]
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Sooryajee was appointed to the command of the fort, and afterwards assisted in taking Poorundhur, which was escaladed one month after the capture of Singurh and fell with little resistance.
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The fort of Maholy in the Concan was not such an easy conquest as Poorundhur. Moro Punt was repulsed with the reported loss ¹ of one thousand men; but the siege was continued with spirit, and the garrison, in hopes of being relieved from Joonere, made a resolute defence, beat off a second assault, and held out for two months; but at the end of that time the fort surrendered. Kurnalla was likewise besieged and taken,² and the whole province of Kallian recovered by the end of June.³ Loghur was also surprised and taken; but an attempt on Sewneree failed.⁴ Sivajee in person superintended the siege of Jinjeera. Every year since 1661 he had erected batteries against it, and he now put forth his whole strength, in hopes of reducing it before the fair season. Nor was force the only means employed; promises of every kind were resorted to, and Futih Khan, though he at first indignantly rejected every inducement, at last began to entertain thoughts of accepting Sivajee’s protection, and surrendering. There were, however, three Abyssinians under him, who had rendered themselves particularly obnoxious to Sivajee; they were also bigoted Mussulmans, detested the Mahratta name, and being alarmed for their own safety, in case Futih Khan should submit, they determined to prevent such a measure at all hazards. To this end, they formed a conspiracy among their countrymen, and having obtained their suffrage, Futih Khan was placed in confinement, and greatly to Sivajee’s disappointment, they continued the defence of the place. They afterwards applied to the Moghul governor of Surat, offering, if duly supported, to hold their Jagheer and the Beejapoor fleet under the imperial authority. The names of these three Abyssinians were, Seedee Sumbhole, Seedee Yakoot, and Seedee Khyroo. The two last gave up their pretensions in favour of Seedee Sumbhole. Their proposals were accepted by the governor of Surat, and the terms confirmed by Aurungzebe, who changed the title of the principal Seedee from Wuzeer to Yakoot Khan.¹
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¹ English Records. Bombay to Surat, March 21, 1670.
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² The Mahratta MSS. afford no particulars of the manner in which the approaches were carried on in these sieges. The Bombay records in mentioning the siege of Kurnalla, say ‘they advance by throwing up breastworks of earth and boards, which they carry before them.’
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³ Mahratta MSS. English Records.
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⁴ Mahratta MSS. and Scott’s Deccan.
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¹ This account of the Revolution at Jinjeera is on the authority of Khafee Khan, but I am not certain of the exact date of the transfer of the fleet to the Moghuls. Their previous dependence on Beejapoor had long been nominal. [The offer of the Sīdī to Aurangzeb was made in 1670. The Stracheys (Keigwin’s Rebellion) describe the Sīdī as ‘a sort of naval condottiere, who kept up a large fleet in Aurangzeb’s service for use against Sivājī. Nominally under the orders of the governor of Surat, from whose treasury his subsidy was paid, he was actually a separate power to be dealt with.’ Sīdī Sambal (Sumbhole) was created admiral with a mansab and a jāgīr yielding 3,00,000 rupees. His two associates, Sīdī Kāsim (whom the author calls Sīdī Yakūt) and Sīdī Khairiyat, were given the command of Janjīra and the land dominions respectively. Khāfī Khān states that the revolution at Janjīra took place in January or February 1671; but Professor J. Sarkar quotes a letter of April 4, 1674, from the English agent at Raigarh to Bombay, which shows (a) that Fateh (Fatih) Khān was a Sīdī and not an Afghān, as stated by Kincaid on the authority of Khāfī Khān, and (b) that he was in power in 1674. Sīdī Sambal was undoubtedly admiral of the fleet from 1671, but Fateh Khān’s deposition appears to have occurred after April 1674. (Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times, Calcutta (1919), p. 342 n.)]
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Oct. 3.—The rains had scarcely subsided when Sivajee appeared at the gates of Surat, at the head of fifteen thousand men. It so happened that the governor of Surat had died suddenly during the preceding month; and a considerable garrison which had been before thrown into the town, in consequence of a report of Sivajee’s intention to plunder it, were, by accident or design, withdrawn by Jeswunt Sing or the prince. In this unprotected state, with only a few hundred men in the castle, the city was leisurely pillaged for three days. The English, as on a former occasion, defended themselves successfully under the direction of Mr. Streingham Masters,² one of their factors, and killed many of the Mahrattas. The Dutch factory being in a retired quarter, was not molested; but the French purchased an ignominious neutrality, by permitting Sivajee’s troops to pass through their factory to attack an unfortunate Tartar prince,¹ who was on his return from a pilgrimage to Mecca, and whose property became part of Sivajee’s boasted spoils on this occasion.
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² [Streynsham Master (Streingham Masters) first arrived in Surat in 1566, at the age of sixteen, in company with his uncle, George Oxinden. He was one of the four servants of the East India Company selected in 1668 to take charge of Bombay from the King’s officers. In 1678 Master became Governor of Madras and built the church which has the distinction of being the first English church in India. Owing to differences with the Company, he returned to England in 1681 and took a leading part in the affairs of the rival New East India Company, of which he became a Director. His account of Bombay, which is earlier than that of Fryer, was published in 1889 by Yule, in his edition of Hedges’s Diary (Hakluyt Society). Hedges s Diary, ii. 226, contains an English letter of November 20, 1670, giving an account
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¹ The English factors call him ‘the late king of Kascar, deposed by his own son’; Sivajee, say they, found in his quarters a vast treasure in gold, silver, and plate, a gold bed, and other rich furniture.
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After the third day, Sivajee, in consequence of intelligence from Burhanpoor, suddenly withdrew his army; and having left a letter for the inhabitants, demanding a tribute of twelve lacks of rupees a year, as the price of exemption from future pillage, he returned towards his own territory by the great road of Salheir. He had passed Kunchin Munchin, near Chandore, when he was closely pursued by a detachment of five thousand cavalry, under Daood Khan, a Moghul officer, whose approach occasioned no alarm; but Sivajee soon perceived that a larger body had got between him and the great pass near Nassuck, by which he intended to re-enter the Concan. He therefore broke his army into four or five divisions, in order to distract the enemy. A party from one of these divisions began to skirmish with the larger body; two of them threatened to charge it; whilst one division, to whom the treasure was entrusted, passed the enemy, pushed on towards the Ghaut, and made the best of their way into the Concan. Sivajee would have avoided an action, had he been sure of saving his booty, but he was obliged to move slowly to favour the escape of the division in charge of it. In the meantime Daood Khan came up, when Sivajee wheeled about, attacked, and drove him back; after which, having left a party to defend his rear, he moved on to the large body. Finding them drawn up on the banks of a tank, he instantly charged them, which being unexpected, the whole were put to the rout, and amongst the rest, a body of Mahrattas commanded by the widow of the
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of this second sack of Surat. It is also mentioned in K. Anant Sabhāsad’s Bakhar (Mānkar’s trans., pp. 62, 63), where the pillage is described as lasting for two days, and the booty seized is said to have included ‘gold, silver, pearls, diamonds, rubies and other precious stones,’ besides ‘5 crores of hones (huns) and 4,000 horses.’ Professor J. Sarkar gives a clear account of the sack, and estimates the value of the loot seized by Sivājī at 66,00,000 rupees. (Shivaji and His Times, Calcutta (1919), pp. 220–6.)
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Deshmookh of Mahoor, whom he took prisoner, treated her with great respect, and sent her home with valuable presents.¹
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¹ Mahratta MSS.
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On Sivajee’s return he made great preparations both by sea and land. Ten thousand horse under Pertab Rao Goozur, and twenty thousand foot commanded by the Peishwa, marched for the northward, whilst a fleet of one hundred and sixty vessels passed Bombay, intended, as was supposed, to co-operate in an attack on Baroach; but, if such was the intention, it appears to have been abandoned in favour of more extensive operations. The fleet was recalled, and they returned to Dabul with a large Portuguese ship which they had captured off Damaun. The Portuguese, on the other hand, took twelve of Sivajee’s vessels, and carried them into Bassein.²
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² English Records partly confirmed by Mahratta MS.
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Dec.—Pertab Rao Goozur was ordered to make an incursion into Candeish, then a very rich and populous province, which Sivajee, judging from his late victory, justly supposed would be found unprotected. Pertab Rao levied contributions and plundered several large towns, particularly Kurinja³; but the most memorable circumstance of this expedition was the exaction of a writing from the village authorities on his route, in which they promised to pay to Sivajee, or his officers, one fourth of the yearly revenue due to government. Regular receipts were promised on the part of Sivajee, which should not only exempt them from pillage, but ensure them protection.⁴ Hence we may date the first imposition of Mahratta chouth on a province immediately subject to the Moghuls.
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³ [Karinja is situated in 77° 30' E. and 20° 32' N. in Berar. The loot seized by Pratāp Rāo, comprising fine cloth, silver and gold to the value of a million of rupees, was loaded on 4,000 oxen and donkeys (Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times, p. 233.)]
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⁴ Mahratta MSS. and English Records. The Surat factors particularly notice this incursion, which they suppose was headed by Sivajee in person. They mention his having exacted the promise of chouth, and that he ‘very severely plundered Kurinja, and carried away all the chief men, except such as escaped in women’s clothes,’ from which it is evident that the Moghuls knew by experience that part of Sivajee’s regulations regarding protection to females.
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A.D. 1671. Jan.—Moro Punt, at the head of the infantry, took several forts, amongst which Oundha and Putta are particularly mentioned, and the important fortress of Salheir.
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During these extraordinary successes of Sivajee, the inactivity of the Moghuls is chiefly to be ascribed to their want of troops. Whilst the Peishwa was besieging Maholy there was a considerable force at Joonere, and five thousand spare troops at Surat; but Sivajee could at that time collect at least forty thousand men to dispute their advance, or intercept their retreat. A deficiency of force, however, on the part of the Moghuls was not the only cause which operated in Sivajee’s favour. Common report represented Sultan Mauzum as in league with him; and we have seen that a good understanding did exist between them. Jeswunt Sing was certainly no enemy to Sivajee; at his recommendation frequent applications were made for reinforcements, which he well knew Aurungzebe was too jealous to grant. There is, as we have already observed, no satisfactory evidence of Sultan Mauzum’s intended rebellion; but, in desiring reinforcements and in not doing his utmost against Sivajee, he may have been influenced by the natural desire of all the sons of the Moghul Emperors, to strengthen their own party, as at the death of their father they had no alternative between them and the grave, excepting a prison or a throne. The same reason may have made him regard the increasing depredations of Sivajee without regret, as they afforded a pretext for enlisting followers, and a prospect of compelling Aurungzebe to accede to his views. But in this hope he was disappointed. Jeswunt Sing was recalled, and forty thousand men were sent into the Deccan under the command of Mohabet Khan,¹ who was so completely independent of Sultan Mauzum that he scarcely allowed one thousand horse to remain with the prince at Aurungabad.
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¹ [i.e. Mahābat Khān, who conquered Daulatābād for Shāh Jahān.]
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Mohabet Khan commenced operations against Sivajee by endeavouring to reduce his forts; but, at the setting in of the rains, he had only retaken Oundha and Putta, when he withdrew to cantonments, and the ensuing season was considerably advanced before his army appeared in the field.² At length, one half of the force under Dilere Khan attacked Chakun, and the other half laid siege to Salheir. Sivajee, sensible of the great importance of the latter fort, determined on making an effort to save it. The garrison, from some cause not clearly explained, had not been able to lay in a sufficient store of provisions, and two thousand of Sivajee’s best horse, stationed in its immediate vicinity, had been cut to pieces by a body of Patans; circumstances which rendered speedy succour essential.¹ On this service Moro Punt and Pertab Rao Goozur were both detached with twenty thousand horse, and ordered to give battle. As soon as the Moghul general² heard of their approach, he sent the greatest part of his force to oppose them, under an officer named Ikhlass Khan. Pertab Rao, who commanded the advance of the Mahrattas, seeing Ikhlass Khan eager to attack him, waited his approach, drew him on to charge, fled before him until the Moghul troops were broken, when, turning round, supported by Moro Punt, he gave them a signal defeat. The Moghuls recovered their order and rallied to the last; but they were charged, broken, and routed with prodigious slaughter; twenty-two officers of note were killed, and several of the principal commanders wounded and made prisoners. The Mahrattas lost Sur Rao Kakray,³ a commander of five thousand, and had upwards of five hundred killed and wounded.
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² Mahratta MSS. partly confirmed by English Records.
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¹ Mahratta MSS.
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² I conclude that Mohabet Khan was the general who sent Ikhlass Khan to oppose the Mahrattas, and that there is a mistake in the Mahratta manuscript, which mentions that he was detached by Dilere Khan.
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³ Sur Rao Kakray was one of Sivajee’s earliest followers; he was originally a leader of Mawulees, and particularly distinguished himself at the attack on Jowlee and escalade of Rohira.
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This victory was the most complete ever achieved by Sivajee’s troops, in a fair fought action with the Moghuls, and contributed greatly to the renown of the Mahrattas. Its immediate consequence was the abandonment of the siege of Salheir and a precipitate retreat of the army to Aurungabad. Sivajee treated the prisoners of rank who were sent to Raigurh with distinction, and when their wounds were healed he dismissed them in an honourable manner.⁴ Such prisoners as chose to remain were admitted into his service; and deserters, both from the Beejapoor and the Moghul armies, began to join the Mahratta standard in considerable numbers.⁵
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⁴ Mahratta MSS., partly confirmed by Scott’s Deccan, and English Records.
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⁵ Mahratta MSS. and English Records. The standard of Sivajee, or the national flag of the Mahrattas, is called the Bhugwa Jenda. It
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During the rains, Sivajee possessed himself of several places in the northern Concan, which had belonged to Koolee Rajas ¹ or petty Polygars, whom he compelled to join him. As he was at war with the Portuguese, and was threatening to drive them from the coast, unless they paid him tribute, it was expected from the vicinity of the Koolee possessions that he would attack the forts of Damaun and Bassein. An attempt was made by a party of Sivajee’s troops to surprise the small fort of Gorabundur ² on the island of Salsette, then in possession of the Portuguese; but they were repulsed. The English at Bombay were so much alarmed at this near approach to their settlement, that they began to strengthen their fortifications, and became solicitous to conclude some treaty with Sivajee, which should have for its object indemnification for past losses and reciprocal advantages hereafter. Hitherto the English had not suffered materially by the ravages of Sivajee; and at Bombay, even when he was attacking the factory at Surat, an interchange of civilities used to take place; the reason of which was that the island of Bombay was dependent on the continent for grain and firewood; and Sivajee’s coast would have been greatly exposed had the English suffered the Moghuls to pass through their harbour for the purpose of attacking him. Ever since the plunder of Rajapoor in January 1661, the English had been petitioning Sivajee for is swallow-tailed, of a deep orange colour, and particularly emblematic of the followers of Mahdeo. [The story goes that Sivājī made over his whole dominions in free gift to his guru Rāmdās, who in return desired Sivājī to continue to rule the country on his behalf. As a sign that the kingdom thus belonged to an ascetic, Sivājī adopted the ascetic’s ochre-coloured flag as the national banner. Acworth, Ballads of the Marāthās, Introduction, p. xxvii; Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times, pp. 475-6.)]
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¹ [See note on pages 7, 8, supra. The present Rājā of Jāwhār, Thāna District, is the only surviving representative of the Kolī chiefs of the north Konkan. Various references to the Kolī Nāyaks of the Western Ghāt region will be found in Captain A. Mackintosh’s Account of the Origin and Present Condition of the Tribe of Ramoossies, Bombay, 1832.]
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² [Ghodbandar (Gorabundur), supposed by some to be the Hippokoura of Ptolemy, is a port on the left bank of the Bassein creek, ten miles north-west of Thāna. Fryer (1675) refers to it as Grebondel. It is a favourite place of excursion from Bombay, and contains the remains of several Portuguese buildings. (I.G. Bom., 1909, i. 377.) Crooke remarks that the Hippokoura of Ptolemy was more probably Ghoregāon in Kolāba (M’Crindle, Ptolemy, 44). Fryer’s Travels, ed. Crooke (Hakluyt), 1909, i. 190 n.]
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indemnification. They estimated their loss at upwards of ten thousand pagodas; and Sivajee continued to assure them that if they would assist him against Jinjeera, or even re-establish their factory, he would make good the injury. The English, on the other hand, declared themselves neutral—that they were mere merchants, who never took up arms except to defend their property, and that before they could return to Rajapoor, they required security for the fulfilment of his promises.¹
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¹ English Records, confirmed by Mahratta MSS.
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In the meantime, a change had taken place in the government of the Moghul provinces. Both Mohabet Khan and Sultan Mauzum were recalled, and Khan Jehan Buhadur,² governor of Guzerat, was appointed viceroy of the Deccan. Khan Jehan, under a supposition that his force was not adequate to offensive operations, adopted a scheme of blocking up the Ghauts, to prevent Mahratta incursion, and defend the passes left open with artillery; but this plan was disapproved by Dilere Khan, his second in command. That officer had been successful in his attack on Chakun the preceding season; he exposed the fallacy of a defensive system, and recommended a vigorous attack on the principal forts with the force at their disposal, however inadequate. But his arguments had no effect on the new viceroy; and the Mahratta horse, as might have been expected, instead of entering Candeish by the passes where Khan Jehan posted himself, appeared in different parties about Aurungabad and Ahmednugur.³ The viceroy went in pursuit of them in various directions, but without success, and at last cantoned for the rains at Pairgaom on the Beema, where he erected a fortification and gave it the name of Buhadurgurh.⁴
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² He was then Buhadur Khan. He got his title of Khan Jehan Buhadur afterwards, but to prevent confusion in the name, I have at once adopted that by which he is best known.
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³ Scott's Deccan, English Records, Mahratta MSS.
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⁴ It does not retain this name, but it continued for upwards of forty years one of the principal depots of the Moghul army. [Pairgaom, the Pergom of Fryer (Hakluyt ed., i. 325), is the modern Pedgāon, about forty miles south of Ahmadnagar. From 1672 to 1700 it was one of the chief stations of the Mughal army. (B.G., xvii. 732.)]
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Whilst the Khan was thus employed, Sivajee undertook a secret expedition to Golcondah, where he is said to have exacted a contribution to a large amount,⁵ and safely conveyed the money to Raigurh. On the march, or immediately after his return, he let loose the greater part of his cavalry on the Moghul territory, levying contributions from towns, and plundering the smaller villages. In the details of this predatory warfare, both the Mahrattas and Moghuls claim advantages; if the former fled, they generally brought off their booty; an object which the horsemen were taught to regard as the most substantial honour.
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⁵ Wilks, Orme, Mahratta MS.
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During Sivajee's absence at Golcondah, his towns and villages on the coast had sustained great damage by a descent from the combined fleets from Surat and Jinjeera.¹ The batteries at Dhunda Rajepoor were also stormed and destroyed, and Ragoo Bullal, who commanded them, was killed.²
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¹ English Records, Mahratta MSS.
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² Mahratta MSS. This Ragoo Bullal was the same person who murdered the Raja of Jowlee.
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But the loss thus sustained was compensated by his visit to Golcondah; and the successful campaign of the ensuing year greatly increased his power and resources.
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On the 15th of December, 1672, the Sultan of Beejapoor had a paralytic stroke, brought on by excess of various kinds; and although he lingered several days, during which he made some arrangements respecting the regency, he never rose from his bed.
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His son Sultan Sikundur was then in the fifth year of his age. Ali Adil Shah had no other son, and only one daughter, Padshah Beebee. Abdool Mohummud, the prime minister, was of a respectable private character, but shrank from the task which his situation imposed. The other principal persons at the Beejapoor court were Khowaus Khan, Abdool-Khureem Bahlole Khan,³ and Muzuffir Khan.
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³ In Fryer's Travels, in the English Records, and in Mahratta MS. he is called Bahlole or Bullal Khan, and in Persian writings, by his proper name, Abdool Khureem Bahlole Khan, or simply Abdool Khureem. He was the son of Bahlole Khan, an Afghan, originally a follower of the famous Khan Jehan Lodi, and afterwards, as already mentioned, a General under the Nizam Shahee state. He came over to the service of Beejapoor, after Futih Khan had murdered his sovereign, Mortiza Nizam Shah II.
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These three, with their dependants and attendants, were more intent on strengthening their own factions than on devising measures for the public advantage. Abdool Mohummud has the credit of being exempted from this censure; but he was destitute of that firmness which is necessary to overawe the factious, and maintain an ascendancy over men’s minds in times of civil discord. In the present instance, certainly no situation could be less enviable; faction agitated the miserable remains of a fallen state, whilst Sivajee on one side, and the Moghuls on the other, threatened its annihilation.
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In this state of affairs, Abdool Mohummud recommended that Khowaus Khan should be appointed regent, and that he himself and the two principal nobles who remained should each be sent to command in different parts of the kingdom. Kulburga, and the parts adjoining the Moghul territory, he reserved for himself; Abdool Khureem to have Merich, Panalla, Dharwar, Soonda, Bednore, and the Concan; and Muzuffir Khan to have charge of the rest of the Carnatic. The king, although exceedingly averse to this arrangement, was compelled to adopt it; and Khowaus Khan was sent for to his bed-side, to receive charge of his son and his last injunctions, as recommended by the minister. Khowaus Khan accepted the regency, and promised to fulfil the instructions; but after the king’s death, when he had established his power, he postponed sending Abdool Khureem and Abdool Mohummud to their governments, lest they should make their own terms with the Moghuls; but he despatched Muzuffir Khan to the Carnatic. He endeavoured to reconcile the others by giving Abdool Khureem command of the troops, and by treating Abdool Mohummud with every mark of outward respect. Each party had Bramin dependants, who not only fomented the disputes of their masters, but through their Hindoo connections, Sivajee had minute information of all that passed; and as his compact with Abdool Mohummud ceased with the death of Ali Adil Shah, he instantly prepared to take advantage of the distractions which prevailed at Beejapoor.¹
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¹ Beejapoor MSS.
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A.D. 1673.—In the month of March, 1673, he secretly assembled a large force at Vishalgurh. A detachment from this body surprised and retook Panalla; but the main object was an attack on the rich mercantile town of Hooblee.² The command of the expedition was entrusted to Annajee Dutto; and the booty acquired exceeded anything of the kind before taken by the Mahrattas. The account given of the plunder in their manuscripts is incredible; but there is no doubt of its having been very considerable. Merchants of all nations were pillaged; and the Beejapoor troops, stationed for the defence of the town, completed what the Mahrattas had left. The English factory shared in the general misfortunes.¹ Mr. Aungier, the deputy governor at Bombay, frequently endeavoured to obtain indemnification, both for the losses at Hooblee and Rajapoor, and took judicious opportunities of pressing the demands. Sivajee persisted in declaring that his troops had not molested the English at Hooblee; and being still in hopes of obtaining their assistance against the Surat and Jinjeera fleets, he continued to express his desire for a treaty, and to hold out expectations of granting re-imbursement for the losses at Rajapoor. Mr. Aungier² was also frequently solicited for assistance by the opposite party, particularly by the Seedee; but he maintained a strict neutrality; and several circumstances occurred which gave both the one and the other a high respect for Mr. Aungier’s judgment and firmness.³
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² [The old town of Hubli (Hooblee), now in Dhārwār District, is known locally as ‘Rāyar Hubli,’ i.e. Hubli of the Vijayanagar kings. The modern town of Hubli, situated on the Southern Marāthā Railway, and the centre of the cotton trade of the southern portion of the Bombay Presidency, was built in 1727, and was ceded with other territory to the British in 1820 by the Chief of Sangli, in lieu of fur-
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¹ They lost 7,894 pagodas.
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² [Gerald Aungier, the brother of the Earl of Longford, was Governor of Surat from July 1669 until his death on June 30, 1677. Between August 1674 and June 1675, he was resident in Bombay, of which he has been truly described as the real founder. His grave was for more than two centuries unknown; but has recently (1916–17) ‘been identified with certainty sufficient to justify the insertion of a new marble tablet in one of the inner walls of the tomb believed to be that of Aungier. The tablet was put up in 1916. (*Prog. Rep. A.S.W.I.*, 1916–17, p. 42.)’ (*O.H.I. Add. and Corr.*) For an account of his character and great achievements, see *B.G.*, xvi and xxvi, pt. i. 38 ff.; *B.C.G.*, ii. 59 ff.; Da Cunha, *Origin of Bombay*; Douglas, *Bombay and W. India*; Forrest, *Selections (Home Series)*; Malabari, *Bombay in the Making*; Strachey, *Keigwin’s Rebellion*; Anderson, *English in Western India*. See also Fryer’s *Travels*, &c. (Hakluyt), ed. Crooke, 1909, i. 155 n.)]
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³ Mahratta MSS., Orme, and English Records.
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Sivajee pressed the war with Beejapoor, and, anxious to possess himself of the whole coast, he sent his fleet to take possession of Carwar, Ankola, and various other places; whilst he excited the Deshmookhs to rebel, and drive out the Mahomedan *Thannas*. The Rana of Bednore, alarmed at the plunder of
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nishing an annual contingent to the British forces. In the sixteenth century Hubli had a flourishing trade in iron and saltpetre. (*I.G. Bom.*, 1909, ii. 75, 76.)]
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Hooblee, early solicited protection, agreed to pay a yearly tribute, and permitted a wukeel from Sivajee to reside at his capital.¹
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¹ Mahratta MSS.
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As Sivajee was desirous of prosecuting the war on Beejapoor without interruption, he endeavoured to conciliate Khan Jehan by again feigning a desire to be received under the imperial protection, through the Khan’s mediation. The viceroy was, or pretended to be, deceived; but it is more than probable that this officer, very soon after his arrival in the Deccan, became subservient to Sivajee’s views, on condition of his refraining from pillage in the Moghul territory.
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In the month of May a detachment of Mawulees surprised Purlee; but its capture having put the garrisons in the neighbourhood on the alert, Satara, a fort that had always been kept in good order by the Beejapoor government, which was next invested, sustained a siege for several months, and did not surrender till the beginning of September. It is remarkable that this fort had been long used as a state prison, anterior perhaps to the Edil Shahee dynasty. Sivajee little contemplated its being made applicable to a similar purpose for the persons of his descendants.²
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² Logurh was the state prison of Ahmednugur.
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The forts of Chundun, Wundun, Pandoogurh, Nandgheeree, and Tattora, all fell into his hands before the fair season.
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The loss of Panalla, the sack of Hooblee, the insurrections about Carwar, and the capture of all these forts, obliged Khowaus Khan to detach Abdool Khureem with an army to the westward. Abdool Khureem regained possession of the open country about Panalla; but Pertab Rao Goozur, having been sent off by Sivajee, appeared in the neighbourhood of Beejapoor, where he plundered with impunity. These depredations induced the regent to recall Abdool Khureem, but Pertab Rao intercepted him between Merich and Beejapoor, and both parties commenced skirmishing. As Pertab Rao outnumbered the army of Beejapoor, by threatening a general attack on one side, and cutting off foragers and stragglers with a part of his troops on the other, he so harassed them that Abdool Khureem applied for an armistice, and was permitted to return unmolested to Beejapoor. The terms on which this truce was granted are not known, but Sivajee was greatly displeased; and, to add to his mortification, Pertab Rao, on being severely censured, made a very distant excursion into Berar Payeen Ghaut contrary to Sivajee’s intention, who had previously commenced the siege of Ponda, which lay between his territory and his late acquisitions to the southward.¹
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¹ Mahratta MSS.
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Abdool Khureem, conceiving that an opportunity thus presented itself of retaking Panalla, a great effort was made at Beejapoor to recruit the army. The intention was early imparted to Sivajee, but he was prevented, by the absence of Pertab Rao Goozur, from making a corresponding exertion to prevent the design, without subjecting his own plans to great derangement.
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A.D. 1674.—In the month of February, preparations being completed, Abdool Khureem marched with a large force towards Panalla.² He had already arrived in the neighbourhood of that place, when Pertab Rao, with the principal part of the horse, at last made his appearance. Sivajee instantly sent him word that he was greatly displeased by his conduct, and desired that he would ‘never come into his presence until he had plundered the army of Beejapoor.’ This message was conveyed to Pertab Rao when about to commence the attack. Stung with the reproach, he departed from his usual method, and at once closed with the enemy.³ In a rash charge on a compact body of the Beejapoor troops, he was cut down with many of his men, and the main body of his army completely routed. Abdool Khureem pursued them with great slaughter, until the fugitives found shelter under the guns of Panalla. But, whilst this took place in the main body, one party of Mahrattas under Hussajee Mohitey, a commander of five thousand horse, had not been engaged. They came up when the Beejapoor troops were dispersed in the careless ardour of pursuit, and falling upon them unexpectedly, completely changed the issue of the contest. No troops are so soon rallied as Mahrattas on the slightest turn of fortune in their favour. The fugitives became the pursuers; victory succeeded defeat, and Abdool Khureem was again compelled to retire with disgrace to Beejapoor.⁴ In the division of Hussajee Mohitey, two officers greatly distinguished themselves; they were promoted in consequence, and their names, Suntajee Ghorepuray and Dhunnajee Jadow, afterwards became renowned in the annals of Maharashtra. Sivajee greatly extolled the conduct of Hussajee Mohitey, and appointed him Surnobut, with the title of Humbeer Rao.¹ The services of Pertab Rao Goozur were not forgotten; Sivajee mourned his loss, made handsome provision for his relations and dependants, and married his younger son, Raja Ram, to the daughter of the deceased. Pertab Rao’s death was followed by that of Abajee Sonedeo; Sivajee had declared that no office should be hereditary in a family unfit for the employment; but Ramchundur Punt, the son of Abajee, being qualified to fill the vacant situation, he was appointed Muzzimdar.
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² Beejapoor MSS., and Mahratta MSS.
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³ Mahratta MSS. [This action took place at Umrani, thirty-six miles west of Bijāpur.]
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⁴ Mahratta MSS., and Beejapoor MSS.
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¹ As the reader is not yet familiar with the former name, I shall continue to use his title of Humbeer Rao, as that by which he is generally known in the Mahratta country.
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The siege of Ponda continued until the setting-in of the monsoon, when it was raised. Sivajee had purchased a supply of artillery from the French at Surat; but he was not able to effect a breach. The whole of the horse, owing, it is supposed, to a scarcity above the Ghauts, cantoned this season at Chiploon.²
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² Mahratta MSS.
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Sivajee, who had long struck coins and styled himself Raja and Maha Raja, was at this time consulting many learned Bramins on the propriety of declaring his independence, assuming ensigns of royalty, and establishing an era from the day of his ascending the throne. A celebrated Shastree of Benares, named Gaga Bhutt, who arrived at Raigurh, and of whose coming Sivajee pretended to have an intimation from Bhowanee, was appointed to conduct the inauguration. After many solemn rites and every observance of the Shasters which could make the ceremony reverenced by Hindoos, Sivajee, at a propitious moment, was enthroned at Raigurh on the 6th June.³ About a fortnight after, on the death of his mother, Jeejee Bye, Sivajee was a second time placed on the throne, but the date of the abishik or era commences from the 13th day of the moon’s increase in Jesht or June, according to the previous installation. The first ceremony was partly witnessed by Mr. Henry Oxenden, who had been sent from Bombay on a mission to Sivajee, for the purpose of concluding the long-pending treaty. The preliminary articles were signed by a native agent on the 6th April. The treaty consisted of twenty articles, the substance of which the Mahrattas have preserved under four heads:—First, indemnification for the losses at Rajapoor, with permission to establish factories at Rajapoor, Dabul, Choule, and Kallian; and to trade all over Sivajee’s territory, buying and selling at their own prices without being liable to the imposition of fixed rates. Second, they were only to pay an import duty of 2½ per cent. ad valorem. Third, coins were to pass reciprocally; and fourth, wrecks were to be restored. The mode of settling the indemnification, which was dictated by Sivajee, shows his idea of the principles of trade; but it is particularly characteristic of a Mahratta agreement, not only in its intricacy, but in the evasion of any direct money payment. Sivajee was to allow the English 10,000 pagodas: that is, the English agreed to purchase 5,000 pagodas worth of goods from Sivajee for three years, they paying him half the value, so that they would then recover 7,500 pagodas; and for the balance of 2,500 pagodas, he granted to the factory, when it should be re-established at Rajapoor, an exemption from customs until it amounted to an equivalent. It was with some difficulty that Sivajee was brought to consent to those articles
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³ [Marāthī chronicles state that Gāgā Bhat at first objected to performing the coronation ceremony, on the grounds that Sivājī was a Marāthā (i.e. a Sūdra), and that the regular ceremonies were reserved for Kshatriya and Rājpūt princes. Sivājī thereupon procured from Raigarh a genealogical tree showing his descent from the Mahārānas of Udaipur. Gāgā Bhat finally agreed to perform the ceremony on condition that Sivājī was first invested with the sacred thread, which is worn only by the three higher orders mentioned in the Code of Manu. On the subject of Sivājī’s Rājpūt descent Ranade (p. 46) observes : ‘It is in the spirit of the same fond superstition that native historians trace for Sivājī a fabled descent from the royal house of Udepur.
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Sivājī was neither a robber nor an incarnation, nor did he derive his strength from his supposed Rājpūt descent.’ The same authority (pp. 284-8) discusses the subject in greater detail and decides that Sivājī’s Kshatriya origin has no foundation in fact, but was adopted for purely political reasons. Unquestionably Sivājī belonged to the great agricultural Kunbī caste. Professor Sarkar writes: ‘The Bhonslas were popularly known to be neither Kshatriyas nor of any other twice-born caste, but mere tillers of the soil, as Sivājī’s great-grandfather was still remembered to have been.’ He adds that Sivājī’s pedigree was fabricated by Bālājī Avjī and other agents of Sivājī, and that Gāgā Bhat was rewarded with a huge fee for his acceptance of it as genuine. (Life and Times of Shivaji, Calcutta (1919), pp. 267, 268). The statement made on p. 244 of A History of the Marāthā People, by Kincaid and Parasnis, that ‘the King was no doubt of Rājpūt origin,’ is quite unworthy of credence.]
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which regarded the wrecks¹ and the coin. He observed that the crews of ships should be assisted and protected; but the wrecks being long considered the inherent property of the king of the country, he could not relinquish the right; and that with respect to English coin² it should always pass for its intrinsic value. Finally, however, he agreed³ to all the articles, and Mr. Oxenden’s embassy occasioned a more favourable impression towards the English on the part of Sivajee; but, though the factory at Rajapoor was re-established, it was never profitable, and it is doubtful if the English ever recovered what was settled by the treaty. Mr. Aungier’s immediate successors had not the talents nor the weight of that able man, who died at Bombay in 1676.⁴
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¹ [On this subject see footnote, p. 206, vol. i. of Fryer’s Travels (Hakluyt), ed. Crooke, 1909. Crooke gives references to Marco Polo, ii. 386, and to Westermarck, *Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas*, ii. 25].
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² [The first mint in Bombay was established by Aungier in 1670 for the coinage of ‘rupees, pies and bujruks.’ Tavernier (1678) mentions the coinage by the English of silver, copper and tin at the time of his visit. The British Museum contains four early Bombay rupees, dated 1675, 1677 and 1678. In 1697 the value of the Bombay rupee was 2s. 6d. (B.C.G., iii. 299, 300.) There was a Bombay silver rupee issued in 1667 with the inscription, obverse, *Mon. Bombay. Anglic. Regims. A°7°*; around, *A. Deo. Pax. & Incrementum.* Another undated, but issued soon after; obverse, a shield of arms between two wreaths; reverse, in centre, *Pax Deo*; around, *Moneta Bombaiensis.* (Thurston, *History of the Coinage of the Territories of the East India Company in the Indian Peninsula* (1890), p. 21.)]
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³ Oxenden’s Narrative, Mahratta MSS. and English Records.
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⁴ [Aungier died at Surat on June 30, 1677.]
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On Sivajee’s enthronement, the names of such offices as were expressed in Persian were changed into Sanscrit, and some were designated by higher sounding titles. None of the new distinctions were preserved after Sivajee’s death, except the eight ministers, or Asht Purdhans. Their duties continued the same as already explained, except that there was one commander-in-chief of the cavalry and infantry; and the Nyadeish was not administered by two persons. The names of the ministers and the old and new appellations of their offices were then as follows:
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Linked texts (5)
- Mānava Dharmaśāstra — Manu & Bhṛgu, Sanskrit
- Surat
- Ahmadnagar
- Bijâpur
- Vijayanagar