A History of the Mahrattas v1.c18: Chapter XI
A History of the Mahrattas v1.c18
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Chapter XI
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FROM the time of the execution of Soyera Bye, the widow of Sivajee, her son Raja Ram had been confined by his half-brother Sumbhajee in the fort of Raigurh. This confinement does not appear to have been more rigid than Sumbhajee found consistent with his own security. Raja Ram had the free use of the fort, and upon the death of his first wife, Sumbhajee married him to two others, the one named Tara Bye, the other Rajis Bye; the former of the family of Mohitey, the latter a daughter of Ghatgay of Kagul. Raja Ram lived on terms of friendship with Yessoo Bye, the legitimate wife of Sumbhajee, who with her son Sivajee resided in Raigurh.
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A.D. 1689.—On the news of Sumbhajee’s death, the principal Mahratta leaders repaired to Raigurh, when it was determined in consultation with Yessoo Bye that Raja Ram should be declared regent during the minority of Sivajee, afterwards known by the name of Shao, and who was then entering his sixth year. At this council the principal people, besides the parties mentioned, were Jenardin Punt Hunwuntay, Prillhad Neerajee, the son of the late Nyadeish Purdhan, Ramchundur Punt Bowreekur, Khundoo Bullal Chitnees, Mahadajee Naik Pansumbul, Suntajee Ghorepuray, Dhunnajee Jadow, and Khundee Rao Dhabaray.
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Prillhad Neerajee, with that ascendancy which superior minds acquire in times of real difficulty, took the lead in the consultations of this important assembly. They planned their measures with wisdom, unanimity, and firmness. They took a full view of the power and the preparations of Aurungzebe. They calculated their means of resistance, and saw without dismay a public treasury exhausted, the laxity of all discipline, the unprovided state of the forts, and even the probability of their being reduced.
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Their first endeavours, therefore, were directed to lay in provisions in the forts and to keep the garrisons as complete as possible. The regulation of Sivajee, which gave the troops composing the garrisons a perpetual and hereditary subsistence from lands dependent on the forts, was of infinite importance at this period. Orders were immediately issued to preserve these institutions carefully; and the commanders of the forts, in addition to being warned to lay in as much grain as possible, were particularly enjoined to observe the orders for cutting and stacking the grass of the pasture lands under the protection of the forts, so as to preserve subsistence for the horse, when forage in more accessible parts might not be procurable. A wise precaution of Sivajee, which had already proved useful during the time of Sumbhajee.
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It was resolved that Raja Ram should move about from place to place, along the line of forts from Raigurh to Vishalgurh; but, in order to distract the attention of the Moghuls, to make none of them his fixed residence; and should it be found unsafe for him to remain in Maharashtra, it was settled that he should quit the country and repair to Ginjee on the coast of Coromandel.
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Yessoo Bye and her son remained in Raigurh, and the family of Raja Ram retired to Vishalgurh. The Mahratta chiefs were to act according to circumstances, but to keep most of their horse for the present at no great distance from the person of Raja Ram.
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The Moghul besieging force, under Yeatikad Khan, destined for the Concan, could not enter that country before the fair season. The first place attacked was Raigurh; but the Moghuls, though assisted by the Seedee, made little progress for several months, till a discontented Mahratta, named Sooryajee Peesal, who had served in the army of Sivajee, joined Yeatikad Khan and engaged to bring a body of choice Mawulees, provided he should be entrusted with the command of them and obtained the Khan’s assistance in getting possession of the hereditary rights of Deshmookh of Waee, to which he pretended a claim. These conditions being accepted, Peesal performed his part of the agreement, and the early surrender of the fort was principally ascribed to his exertions. Peesal accompanied Yeatikad Khan, and the Seedee had several of his ancient possessions restored to him.
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A.D. 1690.
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The widow of Sumbhajee and her son, Sivajee, fell into the hands of Yeatikad Khan; they were conveyed to camp, where the Khan was received with particular distinction and honoured with the title of Zoolfikar Khan. Yessoo Bye and her son found a friend in Begum Sahib, the daughter of Aurungzebe, and the Emperor himself became partial to the boy, whom he named Sahoo, an appellation which, pronouncing it Shao, he ever after chose to retain.
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After the capture of Raigurh, detachments from the grand army advanced to Merich and Panalla, which were surrendered to the Moghuls, and Raja Ram was now advised to make good his way to Ginjee as soon as possible, before his plan of retiring there should be suspected. As preliminary arrangements, he had, by the advice of Prillhad Neerajee, adopted the precaution of appointing Neeloo Punt Moreishwur to his father’s situation of Peishwa; a measure which secured Ginjee in his interests. The command of Vishalgurh, Rangna, and all the forts, with full and complete powers of government in the old provinces, was confided to Ramchundur Punt Bowreekur, with the title of Hookmut-punah. Under him was placed Pureshram Trimbuck, a Bramin, who from the humble situation of hereditary Koolkurnee of Kinneye had brought himself into notice and had given proofs of intelligence and spirit. Seedojee Goojur, dignified with the title of Surkheil,¹ was entrusted with the general command of the fleet, the superintendence of the maritime ports, and the defence of the coast. His second in command was a Mahratta, named Kanhojee Angria, whose father, Tookajee Angria,² had early distinguished himself in Sivajee’s fleet. The foresight of Prillhad Neerajee had also been the means of opening a correspondence with all the principal Mankurees, which, although it did not immediately induce them to make common cause against the Moghuls, directed their inclinations to that end.
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¹ [i.e. Sar Khel or chief commandant. Lieutenant-Colonel T. B. Jervis (1796–1857), in his MS. studies of the Marāthā people, states that Kanhojī Angria was granted the title of ‘Surkhyle’ (i.e. Sar Khel) for distinguished service against the ‘Hubshee chief of Kolaba’ (i.e. the Sīdī ruler of Janjīra) subsequent to the year 1698 (J.B.B.R.A.S., xxii. 64). In the forged letter of October 12, 1718, which Rāmā Kāmati was charged with having written to Angria, thereby disclosing the plan of the English for an attack on Khānderi, Angria is addressed in the preamble as ‘Senhor Kanhoji Angria Sarqueel’ (i.e. Sar Khel) (B.C.G., ii. 93).]
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² [The name Angre or Angria is derived from Angar or Angarvādi, a village near Harnai, Ratnāgiri District. Downing (Compendious History of the Indian Wars, 1737) states that Kanhojī Angria’s parentage was doubtful. Aceording to one account he was the son of an Arabian Cofferey’ (Arab slave), and had been in the East India Company’s service as a peon (armed attendant). According to another he was the son of ‘a Portuguese Cofferey and a Kenery (Kanarese- or Konkani-speaking) woman.’ Among Angria’s captains was one James Plantain, who had been associated with Mulatto Tom, a natural son of the
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Mahadajee Naik Pansumbul, an old man who had great weight with the Sillidars of the country, was appointed Senaputtee and left in Maharashtra. At his recommendation, the different leaders dispersed their horse amongst the villages, with directions to assemble at such place and by such signal as might afterwards be made to them by the Senaputtee, and that all their friends, brethren, and connections should join the Bhugwa Jenda¹ wherever it might appear.
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¹ The orange standard of the Mahrattas. This colour, as already mentioned, is sacred to Mahdeo, and the flag carried religious as well as military feeling along with it.
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After showing himself in his different forts, Raja Ram joined his confidential friends at Rangna, ready to prepare for flight. Having disguised themselves as Lingait Banians,² they proceeded to Soonda, and thence across the country towards the opposite coast. The party of Raja Ram on this occasion consisted of twenty-five persons, and amongst them are found the names of Prillhad Neerajee, Suntajee Ghorepuray, Dhunnajee Jadow, and Khundee Rao Dhabaray. Although the plan was well concerted, Aurungzebe got intelligence of the Raja’s flight, and immediate orders were sent to Kasim Khan, Foujdar in the Beejapoor Carnatic, to intercept him. Similar orders were transmitted by
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² [The Lingāyats are a religious community resident in the southern part of the Bombay Presidency, and date their establishment in the twelfth century when a reformer, Basava of Kalyāni, Hyderābād, first brought them into prominence. They are Shaivas, and wear the lingam suspended round their necks. Originally the movement was anti-Brahmanical, and caste distinctions were entirely ignored by the earlier converts, many of whom had belonged to the Jain religion. The converts of a later date are ranged in subdivisions based on profession and occupation, and despite their principles, castes exist among them to-day.]
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pirate Avery. (B.C.G., ii. 86, 87.) Downing gives an interesting account of Plantain, who appears to have been a first-class scoundrel. Lieutenant-Colonel T. B. Jervis (1796–1857), in his MS. studies of the Marāthā people, gives a brief account of the Angria family, and describes Kanhoji as the son of Tukoji, a Marāthā chief. (J.B.B.R.A.S., xxii. 64.) Jervis’s account is reproduced verbatim on page 660 of Forrest’s Selections (Marāthā Series), i. (1885).]
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Kasim Khan to his friends, and Raja Ram was in great jeopardy in the neighbourhood of Bangalore, where the slight circumstance of having his feet washed by a servant first attracted attention. The wary observation of Khundoo Bullal discovered that there was a plan for arresting the whole party, and to disappoint the scheme, Khundoo Bullal with the majority of the party remained cooking their victuals, whilst Raja Ram, Suntajee Ghorepuray, and Dhunnajee Jadow went off by one route, and Prillhad Neerajee with Khundee Rao Dhabaray travelled by another.
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Khundoo Bullal and his companions were taken, as had been foreseen : they were examined, confined, and beaten to extort confession, but on their firmly persisting in a preconcerted story and denying all knowledge of any fugitives from Maharashtra, they were released and finally joined Raja Ram, who, with the others, had reached Ginjee in safety.
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The first news they heard from Maharashtra was the death of Mahadajee Naik the Senaputtee : this event, although it disconcerted their measures for the time, was fortunate for the Mahratta cause, as it brought Suntajee Ghorepuray into immediate power, an officer of much greater ability and enterprise.
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The primary care of Raja Ram was to establish a court on the plan of his father, which, though at first little more than nominal, was of much importance in giving consequence to his party.
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The Purdhans now appointed were as follow : 1st, Neeloo Punt Moreishwur, Peishwa ; 2d, Jenardin Punt Hunwuntay, Amat ; 3d, Shunkrajee Mulhar, Suchew ; 4th, Ramchundur Trimbuck Poonday, Muntree ; 5th, Suntajee Ghorepuray, Senaputtee ; 6th, Mahadajee Gudadhur, Somunt ; 7th, Neerajee Rowjee, Nyadeish ; 8th, Sreekuracharya, Pundit Rao.
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The appointment of Peishwa having been previously filled, and Prillhad Neerajee continuing the soul of their cause, a new rank was instituted which raised him above the Purdhans by the title of Pritee Needhee, literally meaning the likeness or representative of the Raja himself. Although Prillhad Neerajee was fond of titles and show, a taste which he probably acquired when envoy on the part of Sivajee at the court of Golcondah, the dignity conferred upon him was entirely unsolicited. Suntajee Ghorepuray, now the oldest representative of the Kapsee family, besides the rank of Senaputtee, was further dignified with some additions to his hereditary titles and styled Hindoo Rao Mumlukut-Mudar.
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He was also entrusted with a new standard called the Juree Putka,¹ or Golden Pennon; and in imitation of the Imperial officers of the highest rank, he was authorized to beat the nobut or large drum, and assume various other insignia. Dhunnajee Jadow got the title of Jeysing Rao, and in consequence of the demise of Mahadajee Naik, both Suntajee and Dhunnajee were sent back to Maharashtra ‘to collect men and plunder the Moghuls.’²
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¹ [i.e. Jari Patka, ‘the Banner of Cloth of Gold.’]
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² Mahratta MSS.
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Raja Ram was formally seated on the throne,³ and the new court began to exercise all the forms of government. Gold bangles, clothes, shawls, and letters announcing the event, were secretly forwarded and pompously presented to all the principal Hindoos throughout Maharashtra,⁴ and what is very remarkable, Enams, Jagheers, &c. in the Mahratta country, then in actual possession of the Moghuls, and places which never had belonged to his predecessors were profusely bestowed, but few of them were confirmed⁵ by Raja Ram or Shao, after they had obtained control over the territory which the Raja thus pretended to alienate. Unsubstantial, however, as such gifts were, they had the effect of strengthening his cause, of keeping alive an interest in it, and of drawing numbers of persons to Ginjee.
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³ Some of the Mahrattas, jealous of the right of the elder branch, do not admit that Raja Ram ever sat on the throne. They say that he sat on the Gadee, or cushion, merely as regent, holding the powers of the state in trust for his nephew, Shao, then a prisoner in the Moghul camp.
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⁴ Mahratta MSS. Khafee Khan
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⁵ In the course of my official duties, after the late conquest of Maharashtra, I have had some of these very deeds, which neither Raja Ram nor any of his successors admitted, presented in hopes that they would be recognized by the British government.
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A.D. 1691.—Aurungzebe, as soon as he heard of these proceedings, detached Zoolfikar Khan with a large army into the Carnatic, vainly hoping that he would be able to strike off this last head of the Mahratta power; but the hydra had lost none of its vigour; parties under the name of Mahrattas, though they may have been discharged horsemen from Beejapoor and Golcondah, were this season plundering at Nassuck, Bheer, and Beder at the same time; whilst hundreds of horse, that had shared in the campaigns of Sivajee, were flocking to Suntajee Ghorepuray and Dhunnajee Jadow, the oldest and most popular leaders among them. The want of funds was greatly felt by Suntajee in his attempts to organize a force on the old system, which he never was able fully to effect, but Ramchundur Punt gave him every aid in his power.¹
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¹ Mahratta MSS.
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In the exposed state of the Payeen Ghaut, as Prillhad Neerajee considered that Suntajee and Dhunnajee could give more effectual aid to Ginjee by remaining in Maharashtra, he engaged a Mahomedan officer, formerly in the service of Beejapoor, to attempt some opposition on the approach of the Moghuls. The attempt was made, although unsuccessfully, and the officer in question afterwards joined the Moghuls.
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In Zoolfikar Khan’s army there were a number of Mahrattas both in the cavalry and infantry. In the latter were the same body of Mawulees that had assisted in the capture of Raigurh,² and among the former there were two of the relations of Raja Ram, Gunnajee and Ranoojee Sirkay, who having deserted to the Moghuls when Annajee Dutto was executed, had attained commands and were esteemed good officers. The second in command to Zoolfikar Khan in this army was Daood Khan Punnee³ a Deccan officer of some repute, but notoriously addicted to drinking. The fort of Ginjee consists of several contiguous hills, strongly fortified, and is many miles in circumference. The Moghuls never considered an army capable to undertake a regular siege, unless sufficiently large to surround the place invested and completely obstruct communication. Zoolfikar Khan, finding his force inadequate for this purpose, after he had commenced some works, represented that a reinforcement was necessary, and until it should arrive, he left a detachment at Ginjee and undertook an expedition to the southward, where he levied contributions both from the Rajas of Tanjore and Trichinopoly.
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² By the proceedings of a Punchayet respecting the Deshmookhee of Waee, during the early part of the reign of Shao, which may be considered a very authentic and useful manuscript, and is now in possession of the Hindoo Deshmookh, it appears, that Peesal, the Mawulee commander, came over to Raja Ram, during the siege of Ginjee, but failing afterwards in obtaining all he wished, again rejoined Aurungzebe, and became a Mussulman to gain his end.
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³ I believe he was the ancestor of the Nabob of Kurnoul. [The Nawāb (Nabob) was deposed in 1842 for an attempt to wage war against the Government of India. His territory was annexed, and with certain additions was formed into the present Karnūl District, Madras. The Nawābs of Karnūl were descended from Aurangzeb's officer, Daud Khān; and Karnūl was for a brief period the extreme limit of the Mughal Empire.]
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But this requisition for troops was not immediately complied with; the Deccan was far from being in that state which made it easy for Aurungzebe to spare large reinforcements, without running great risk of having the whole country in a state of insurrection. The depredations of the Naik of Wakinkerah had become so troublesome, that an army under the prince Kaum Bukhsh and Roh Oolah Khan was ordered to destroy his town; but they were obliged to besiege it, and came ill-prepared to overcome the defence which was maintained against them.¹
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¹ Khafee Khan, and Scott’s Deccan.
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A.D. 1692.—Ramchundur Punt was as useful in Maharashtra as the Pritee Needhee at Ginjee; he had an excellent second in Pureshram Trimbuck, who used great exertions in restoring the arrangements of the forts and giving spirit and zeal to the garrisons. Ramchundur moved from place to place, but fixed his principal residence at Satara, where by the aid of his head Carcoon, Shunkrajee Narrain Gaudekur, he not only attended to every military disposition, but regulated the revenue and established some order in the country. He had raised troops of his own, and had cut off several straggling parties of the Moghuls, before Suntajee and Dhunnajee returned; but when they joined him, Ramchundur proposed a plan for surprising the Foujdar at Waee, to which Suntajee, greatly pleased,² immediately consented, took the Foujdar with all his troops prisoners, and established a Mahratta *Thanna* in the place. The mere presence of Suntajee and Dhunnajee animated Ramchundur’s followers, and he incited his commanders to follow their example. He sent them out to make their established collections, as the Chouth and Surdeshmookhee were termed, from the Moghul territory; and as they became encouraged by success, his officers added a third contribution for themselves under the head of *Ghas-dana* or forage money. In this manner a distinct army was raised, of which the principal leaders were Powar, Thorat and Atowlay. The commanders received honorary presents and rewards from court, the title of Wiswas Rao was conferred on Powar, Dinker Rao on Thorat, and Shumsher Buhadur on Atowlay.
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² It is not known what was the stratagem proposed which pleased Suntajee so much, and which he executed so successfully.
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Ramchundur was particularly partial to the Mahratta *dhungurs*,¹ or shepherds, a great number of whom served among his troops, and many of the ancestors of those who afterwards became great chiefs in the empire, began their career under Ramchundur Punt.
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¹ [The name of the Dhangar, or shepherd, caste is derived, according to Russell, from *dhan* meaning properly ‘wealth,’ and secondarily ‘small stock’ (cf. the two meanings of the word ‘stock’ in English). It is doubtful whether the secondary meaning of *dhan* is ‘small stock,’ i e. sheep and goats. Both in Marāthi and Kanarese it usually signifies ‘cattle.’ Dhangars are found to-day chiefly in the Khāndesh, Ahmadnagar and Nāsik Districts, and are cattle dealers and graziers of sheep and goats. The chief representative of the caste in Central India is the Mahārājā Holkar of Indore. (Russell, *T. and C.C.P.*, s.v. Dhangar.)]
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Shunkrajee Narrain, hitherto known as an able Carcoon, had received charge of the Waee district and had retaken Rajgurh, which, after the fall of Raigurh, had been surrendered to the Moghuls. A still more important service was performed by Pureshram Trimbuck, who surprised and retook Panalla.
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Suntajee headed another attack on the Moghul officer stationed near Merich, against whom he was as successful as at Waee, and Ramchundur, in consequence, by virtue of the powers vested in him, gave him a grant of the Deshmookhee of Merich. As soon as Suntajee and Dhunnajee had collected a sufficient body of troops, mindful of their object of effecting a diversion in favour of Ginjee, they made their appearance on the banks of the Godavery, which was the only part of the country where scarcity, from one cause or other, did not prevail. They there plundered and destroyed every thing, and cut off several of the Moghul convoys coming from Hindoostan. Parties were soon sent against them; but Aurungzebe found that he had not ordinary freebooters to suppress; instead of fleeing from his detachments, they defeated three of them successively, took the commander each time prisoner, and, according to a rule invariably observed by Suntajee, exacted a large ransom before they would grant their release. This system was according to Sivajee’s general rule, but contrary to his practice; for he took a pride in releasing great men, although he always made what he could by the middling class of prisoners. Suntajee conformed to Sivajee’s discipline as far as was practicable, and was particular in obtaining security for the good conduct of his followers, always preferring Mahratta Wutundars to any other class of men. Dhunnajee Jadow was not so strict nor so good an officer as Suntajee, but he was a more popular leader.¹
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¹ Mahratta MSS., partly confirmed by Khafee Khan and Scott’s Deccan.
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A.D. 1693.—Whilst they were thus spreading their ravages to the northward, Aurungzebe shifted his encampment on the banks of the Beema, apparently undecided with respect to his future operations. He at last resolved to support Zoolfikar Khan, and at all events reduce Ginjee. The prince Kaum Bukhsh, under the guidance of the prime minister, Assud Khan, was destined for this service. He was directed to leave Roh Oollah Khan at Wakinkerah, the siege of which was afterwards abandoned, and move on the route to Ginjee, where he was soon joined by Assud Khan with a large army. On approaching the Payeen Ghaut parties of horse made their appearance and by skirmishing delayed their advance, but they finally sat down before the place and invested it.
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A.D. 1694.—Zoolfikar Khan, on being deprived of the command by the arrival of the prince, was exceedingly mortified, and even Assud Khan, after the late success of his son at Raigurh, considered the supersession unjust on the part of the Emperor, particularly as it was well known that it had been brought about by Joudpooree,² the prince’s mother, and the favourite wife of Aurungzebe.
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² I had fallen into the mistake of my predecessors, by writing the name Oudepooree; but I learn from my friend Major Tod, the best authority for information respecting the Rajpoots, that she was not a princess of Oudepoor, but of Kishengurh, a minor division of Joudpoor; and that the name, by which she was known, was Joudpooree. [Tod’s statement conflicts with a letter written by Aurangzeb to Kām Bakhsh, in which he says: ‘Udepuri, your mother, was with me in my sickness. She intends to accompany me’ (Bilimoria, Letters of Aurangzeb, 1908). The letter is also printed in the Appendix to Waring’s A History of the Mahrattas (1810), pp. 208-9, where the words are rendered as follows: ‘Odipooree, your mother, was a partner in my illness, and wishes to accompany me in death; but everything has its appointed time.’ Dr. V. A. Smith writes that ‘she was not so-called because she belonged to the Udaipur family. According to Manucci (Irwin), i. 361, she was a Georgian by birth, and had been in the harem of Dārā Shikoh. She is called Udaipuri in the Maāsir-i-Alamgiri (Elliot and Dowson), vii. 196). I believe she was so called because Aurangzeb met or married her at Udaipur. Grant Duff’s note is erroneous.’ See also J. Sarkar, A History of Aurangzib, i. 64; Tod’s Annals, &c., ed. Crooke (1919), i. 440; Orme, Fragments, 119.]
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The Mahratta ministers, who like all Bramins are ever on the watch for such opportunities, speedily turned this jealousy, which they foresaw would prove reciprocal, to their own advantage. They courted both, but they first gained Zoolfikar Khan, who entered into a secret compact with Raja Ram for the purpose of obstructing the prince's measures, which he did, either by thwarting his plans where the execution depended on himself, or by preparing the besieged to counteract every intended operation.¹
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¹ Mahratta MSS.
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The Emperor, probably conceiving that his army must draw the Mahrattas southward, moved to Gulgulla²; but Ghorepuray still continued to the northward, and Ramchundur's parties levied contributions as far east as Sholapoor.³ Aurungzebe, finding his feint unsuccessful, brought back his unwieldy host to Brimhapooree on the Beema, below Punderpoor, where he established his principal depôt and built a cantonment, in which he held his court; and from that point the operations of his armies, and the affairs of his empire, were directed for several years.⁴
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² Khafee Khan. Scott's Deccan.
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³ Mahratta MSS.
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⁴ Mahratta MSS. Original papers. Khafee Khan. Scott's Deccan.
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A.D. 1695.—The Portuguese about this time had fallen under his displeasure, and war was waged against them in every part where they had settlements in India. Great cruelties were exercised on the defenceless inhabitants subject to that nation in the northern Concan,⁵ but numbers found an asylum in their forts of Damaun and Bassein; at last, the Moghul courtiers, bribed by the viceroy at Goa, represented the advantage of making peace with the Portuguese, for the purpose of procuring cannon in order to reduce the Mahratta forts; a sure way to carry their point, as the Emperor's age and imbecility had become apparent, and to flatter his favourite scheme rendered even the wily Aurungzebe the dupe of that despicable deceit and artifice, which he had all his life practised on others. A like means was used to pacify him with regard to the English. The ravages of the pirates continued; and as the Moghuls always concluded that one or both the English East India Companies were engaged in these depredations, the Emperor, although a considerable revenue was derived from the customs on their trade, would have driven them from the coast, had they not been protected by the fort of Bombay, which, defended by their artillery, was considered impregnable. One capture, that of the Gunj-Suwaee,¹ the largest of the Moghul ships, proceeding from Surat to Mocha with many pilgrims as passengers, gave particular offence and occasioned the seizure of the chief at Surat, with several other Englishmen, who were imprisoned for a considerable period, until the affair was adjusted.
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⁵ From local usage on the west of India, we are in the habit of applying the designations of northern and southern Concan to the Concan north and south of Bombay.
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¹ [The Ganj Sawai (styled Gunsway in the English letters of this date) was seized by the pirate John Avery in 1695. About twenty of the men who accompanied Avery were subsequently arrested and executed in Ireland. The Court of Directors in a letter to Surat in 1696 make it clear that if the Musalman governor had not put all the English, including the President, into irons, they would have been killed by the mob in revenge for the seizure of the pilgrim-ship. (B.C.G., ii. 85.)]
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In the meantime, years had been already wasted before Ginjee. Suntajee Ghorepuray, after committing great havoc and defeating or eluding all that were opposed to him in Maharashtra, left two active officers, Pursojee Bhonslay ² and Hybut Rao Nimbalkur, both of whom had served under Sivajee, to give spirit to the Mahrattas in Gungthuree and Berar. With an army of upwards of twenty thousand horse, Suntajee passed to the west of the grand camp by the Satara road, pushed on towards the Carnatic, and as soon as he got within a certain distance of Ginjee, detached about one third of his troops, under Dhunnajee Jadow, who, making rapid marches, brought the first news of his approach by attacking some of the Moghul posts in the neighbourhood of the fort. Orders were immediately issued to the different small divisions to concentrate and form larger bodies to the right and left; but the Moghuls, always slow to obey, were not aware of the activity of the horse that now attacked them, whilst Dhunnajee, assisted both by troops and signals from the fort, cut in upon them and did great execution before the manœuvre ordered could be executed.¹
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² He was originally a common Sillidar, and a Wutundar of the village of Dewoor, near Satara, where he was born. This person was the ancestor of the Rajas of Nagpoor. In one manuscript, he is said to have been a native of the village of Hingunberdee, near Poona. [The representative of the family at Nāgpur still bears the title of Rājā of Deor (Dewoor). See Introduction, page 1.]
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¹ Scott's Deccan. Khafee Khan. Mahratta MSS.
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Suntajee Ghorepuray, with less haste, brought on the main body of Mahrattas. Upon his arrival at Covrepauk he was opposed by the Foujdar, Ali Murdan Khan, with a considerable army, but the Foujdar was speedily routed, the whole of his baggage and camp-equipage plundered, and he himself, on his flight towards the camp at Ginjee, was overtaken, made prisoner, and released for a high ransom.
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The victorious Mahrattas, with their usual activity when successful, beat in the Moghul outposts in every direction; destroyed their foragers, and so completely cut off their communications that neither supplies nor intelligence could reach them. Reports of the Emperor's illness and death were industriously circulated by the Mahrattas, who then made overtures to Kaum Bukhsh, and proposed to make him Emperor. The prince either listened to their proposals, or at all events Assud Khan and his son affected to believe that he did, and they determined on placing him under restraint.² The Mahrattas, apprised of what was going forward, taking advantage of the bustle and dissension, which the circumstance naturally created in the Moghul camp, attacked and harassed them with additional vigour. The personal troops of Kaum Bukhsh refused to fight, all became alarm and uproar; at last the Moghuls burst their cannon, abandoned their batteries, and were in turn besieged in their lines.
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² [For the treason of Prince Kām-bakhsh, see Letter clxxiv in Bilimoria's collection. (O.H.I., p. 444 and footnote.)]
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Whilst in this situation, and in great distress for supplies, a truce was proposed; from which party it originated seems uncertain, but the probability is that it came from the Moghuls; an agreement, however, was concluded between Assud Khan and Suntajee. The Moghuls were to be permitted to retire to Wandewash unmolested, and to remain until Assud Khan should receive a reply from the Emperor, according to which it was stipulated that he should abide.³
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³ Scott's Deccan. Mahratta MSS.
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Aurungzebe, foreseeing all the consequences of this ill-advised proceeding, immediately ordered Assud Khan and the prince to the presence, moved with the grand camp to Beejapoor, and directed Zoolfikar Khan to prosecute the war.
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But the siege of Ginjee was not immediately renewed. The Mahrattas were accused of not having observed the truce, because they attempted to cut off a convoy of provisions which the Foujdar of Carnatic Beejapoor was escorting to camp, and which he saved by throwing himself into Covrepauk. Their having retaken Permacoil and several other forts was still less justifiable; and Zoolfikar Khan, in order to recover these places and punish the violation of the agreement, marched to the southward and repossessed himself of the forts. Continuing this march, he entered into an alliance with the Raja of Trichinopoly, and obliged the Raja of Tanjore, one of the sons of Venkajee, to restore several places wrested from the latter, and to pay a considerable contribution to himself; after this arrangement Zoolfikar Khan recrossed the Coleroon and again sat down before Ginjee.¹
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¹ Scott’s Deccan.
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The clandestine intercourse was still carried on with Raja Ram²; and it is not improbable, from his desire to protract the siege, that Zoolfikar Khan, upon the demise of the Emperor, may have had designs of ultimately establishing an independent government in the Carnatic for himself.
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² Mahratta MSS.
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During Zoolfikar Khan’s absence in Tanjore, Suntajee Ghorepuray laid waste the Beejapoor Carnatic. To punish his depredations, a considerable force was sent off from Beejapoor under different leaders, and being joined by Kasim Khan, Foujdar of the province, the whole were about to march in quest of Suntajee; but their advanced tents had scarcely been pitched when his troops attacked and destroyed the guard, and the Mahrattas were flying about the main body on all sides, before the great men had time to caparison and mount their elephants.
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Kasim Khan’s authority did not extend beyond his own troops; the other leaders, as rash as they were destitute of resource, followed their own plans, and each body fought or defended itself as it best could; while the Mahrattas, profiting by their distraction, never ceased harassing them, charging and firing upon them by day, and rocketing them by night. At last the Moghuls on the third day sought shelter under the walls of the gurhee of Dodairee. There was a small quantity of provisions in the place, which, though sold by the Banians from the top of the walls at an enormous price, was soon exhausted. This state of privation became intolerable, but they were beaten troops badly commanded, and could not try by a brave effort to save themselves. An attempt was made to rescue them, but Suntajee attacked and defeated the party coming to their relief, whilst it was still at a distance, so that the despairing men heard nothing of the effort. In this situation the Moghul officers surrendered. Kasim Khan had served with reputation: he did not survive the disgrace, but took poison and died. The other officers, besides being stripped, had to pay a large ransom for their release, and on their return to the imperial camp they were divested of their honours, and appointed to distant and inferior commands.¹
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¹ Khafee Khan and Mahratta MSS., partly confirmed by Scott’s Deccan.
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Himmut Khan, the officer who had made the unsuccessful attempt to relieve Dodairee and the son of Khan Jehan Buhadur, being at his own request reinforced from the grand camp by an army sufficient to cope with the Mahrattas, proceeded in search of Suntajee. He was soon found. The Mahrattas, on being vigorously charged on the plain, fled, and Himmut Khan pursued the fugitives, until they had, according to Mahratta custom, drawn him into difficult and broken ground, when they turned round, attacked in their usual desultory manner, killed Himmut Khan, totally defeated his army, and plundered his baggage.
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Suntajee retiring towards Ginjee was attacked by Zoolfikar Khan, and pursued to a considerable distance. When the latter turned to resume the siege, Suntajee attended him a march in the rear.² This manœuvre is not unusual with Mahrattas; in the instance alluded to, however, the pursuit was probably a mere feint, as an intimacy subsisted between Zoolfikar Khan and Suntajee, which there is some reason for suspecting that the rivals of the latter afterwards misrepresented to his prejudice.
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² Khafee Khan. Scott’s Deccan. Mahratta MSS.
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A.D. 1697.—At Ginjee the same languid operations continued, and the siege at this time would probably have been bloodless, but for the inebriety of Daood Khan, Zoolfikar Khan’s lieutenant, who, when intoxicated, always turned out his men to storm the fort and exterminate the infidels³; these fits only produced frequent skirmishes, but the conduct of Zoolfikar Khan, having at last aroused the suspicion of the Emperor, the Khan was privately warned by his friends, that unless he speedily effected the reduction of Ginjee and the capture of all the principal people, no influence could save him from disgrace and ruin. This information the Moghul general communicated to Raja Ram, and as he was now obliged to press the siege, he connived at a plan for the Raja’s escape through his relations the Sirkays, who agreed to convey him safe to Vishalgurh, to take charge of his family, and to join him themselves on the first opportunity, provided they received certain hereditary rights and the town of Dabul in the Concan, in Enam. All these conditions being settled, Raja Ram, by the assistance of the Sirkays, escaped through the Moghul lines and reached Vellore, where he was received by Mannajee Moray the commandant.¹
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³ Wilks.
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¹ Mahratta MSS., and English Records.
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After remaining there a short time he set off with his conductors for Vishalgurh, where he safely arrived in December. Ginjee was taken early in January. It was carried by escalade,² and the wives and family of Raja Ram, who had joined him from Rajapoor by sea, were, as preconcerted, made over to the Sirkays as their relations, which Zoolfikar Khan permitted on the Sirkays making a public representation of the loss of honour they should sustain, in case of their female relations being exposed unveiled, or given in charge to persons of another cast. They were shortly after conveyed to Maharashtra.
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² Khafee Khan, and Scott’s Deccan.
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Zoolfikar Khan ordered many of Raja Ram’s people into perpetual confinement; and although he had acted this deceitful part to screen his treachery from the Emperor, many were executed as plunderers and insurgents; amongst others, Naroo Prillhad, the son of Prillhad Neerajee, suffered as a rebel. The Pritee Needhee had died previous to the fall of Ginjee.³
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³ Mahratta MSS.
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During the preceding year, the main body of the Mahrattas did little against the common enemy. Dissensions had been for some time prevailed between Suntajee and Dhunnajee; but by the judicious counsel of the late Pritee Needee, the Raja had long remained neutral in their quarrel, and thus prevented an open rupture. But after the death of Prillhad Neerajee, Raja Ram had no such prudent monitor. He had for some time smothered his jealousy of Suntajee Ghorepuray, which now uncontrolled, and worked upon by others, gave Ghorepuray an enemy where he had the best right to expect a protector, and Dhunnajee Jadow, encouraged by the Raja, raised a strong faction against him. Nor did Aurungzebe neglect so favourable an opportunity of practising his favourite policy of creating division among his enemies; he had emissaries among the Mahrattas, who fomented their jealousies and kept him informed of all that passed.
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Suntajee’s army was corrupted, and he had but just time to escape with a few followers from a combined attack made upon him by a part of his own and Dhunnajee Jadow’s troops. This sedition happened in the neighbourhood of Beejapoor,¹ parties were sent in pursuit of Suntajee, whilst the main body of the Mahrattas separated. One half accompanied Dhunnajee Jadow into the Carnatic, where Zoolfikar Khan had lately been exerting himself with great success against the smaller detachments of the Mahrattas, and was very anxious to possess Vellore, which he thought would effectually suppress their power in that quarter. The other half of the Mahratta army marched to join the Raja at Satara, which, at the recommendation of Ramchundur Punt, became the seat of government.²
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¹ Khafee Khan.
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² Mahratta MSS.
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Jenardin Punt having died, the office of Amat was restored to Ramchundur Punt, from which he had been removed by Sivajee in 1676, to make room for Rugonath Punt Hunwuntay : his late services eminently entitled him to high honour and reward, and his principal Carcoon, Shunkrajee Narrain Gaudekur, was raised to the rank of Suchew,³ which office had become vacant by the retirement of Shunkrajee Mulhar to Benares during the siege of Ginjee. The appointment of the new Suchew displeased Pureshram Trimbuck, who conceived his claims to that honour greater than those of Shunkrajee Narrain.
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³ [Shankarāji Narayan was the ancestor of the present chief of the Bhor State, Poona, who has the title of Pandit of Bhor and Pant Sachiv (Suchew), and ranks as a first-class Sardār of the Deccan. The succession has been maintained by several adoptions. (I.G. Bom., 1909, ii. 507.)]
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Timmojee Rugonath Hunwuntay, the son of the late Jenardin Punt, having effected his escape from prison at Ginjee in a very dexterous manner, rejoined Raja Ram, by whom, in consequence of his family pretensions and supposed talents, he was raised to the rank of Pritee Needhee.
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Seedojee Goojur, who died about this period, had been engaged in constant warfare with the Seedee, and with various success; but, by the activity of Kanhojee Angria, the Mahratta fleet had made many valuable prizes. Vessels of all nations were attacked; repeated descents were made along the coast, and few of the defenceless mercantile towns, from Travancore to Bombay, escaped a visit from these depredators. The Mahrattas continued in possession of most of their forts on the coast; they had maritime depôts at Severndroog and Viziadroog, but the principal rendezvous of their fleet continued, as in the time of Sivajee, at Kolabah.¹ The Sawunts, Deshmookhs of Waree, when their districts were not overrun by the Moghuls, adhered to Raja Ram, but the Dessaye of Carwar continued independent, and, as usual under such circumstances, assumed the title of Raja.
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¹ Mahratta MSS. Bombay Records.
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Suntajee Ghorepuray, whom we left pursued by parties of his enemies, was hunted from place to place, and had hitherto foiled them all; but Nagojee Manay, Deshmookh of Muswar, stimulated by private revenge, continued the pursuit with unrelenting perseverance; until, having overtaken Suntajee in the act of bathing in a small rivulet to refresh himself, at a moment when he thought his enemies far behind, though alone, tired and defenceless, the assassin rushed down and slew him on the spot. Having severed the head from the body he brought it to the skirts of the imperial camp and sent it to Aurungzebe. Nagojee shortly after sent a petition for re-admission into the imperial service, which he had entered and quitted in the same manner as all the hereditary officers and Mankurees were in the habit of doing at this period. A free pardon, high encomium, and additional honours were readily bestowed, which proves the acceptable service he had rendered by this murder. Suntajee Ghorepuray was one of the best officers of whom the Mahratta annals can boast, and his eulogy is best recorded, when we say he was the terror of the Moghul detachments for seven years.
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The death of Suntajee and the atrocity of the deed brought back many of his followers to a sense of their own ingratitude. His sons Ranoojee and Peerajee, and his nephew Seedojee, who had fled from the army in dread of Dhunnajee, were soon rejoined by a number of Suntajee's followers, on which they erected their family standard and began to plunder the Moghul territory on their own account.¹
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¹ Mahratta MSS., and an account of the Ghorepuray family, received from the late Jeswunt Rao Ghorepuray, Umeer Ool Oomrah, which was originally compiled for the late Sir Barry Close. I likewise received a history of the Ghorepuray family from the late Mr. Thackeray, which I lodged with the Literary Society of Bombay. [The Literary Society was founded by Sir James Mackintosh, Recorder of Bombay, in 1804, and in 1829 was affiliated to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland under the title of the Bombay Branch R.A.S. In 1873 the Bombay Geographical Society, founded in 1831, was amalgamated with it. The Society, which still flourishes, possesses a fine library and collection of Indian coins. Ranade (254–5) states that he had a careful search made for the documents which Grant Duff handed over to the Literary Society, but failed to recover any trace of them. An impression was prevalent that they had been burnt, but in all probability they were lost or misappropriated. Some of these documents, notably one headed Jabita Svarājya (i.e. statement of Svarāj), were subsequently traced by Rāo Bahādur D. B. Parasnis. Their discovery is referred to by Mr. P. V. Mavji of Bombay, in a paper on Shivaji's Svarājya, at pp. 30–42, vol. xxii of J.B.B.R.A.S., at the conclusion of which he expressed his intention of depositing with the B.B.R.A.S. ‘photographs and copies of the original papers and writings from which Grant Duff constructed his work. . .’ Mr. Mavji's article is dated December 18, 1903. See also article on Maratha Historical Literature, by D. B. Parasnis, at pp. 168–78, vol. xxii of J.B.B.R.A.S., read before the Society on January 19, 1905.]
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A.D. 1699.—Raja Ram, after he had remained a short time at Satara, proceeded with his army to the northward, where he was joined by Pursajee Bhonslay, Hybut Rao Nimbalkur, Neemajee Sindia, Atowlay Shumsher Buhadur, and other commanders who had for some time been plundering in Candeish, Gungthuree, and Berar. The combined armies, which now formed a greater force than Sivajee had ever commanded, proceeded under Raja Ram, who entered Gungthuree, claiming as his established right the Chouth and Surdeshmookhee. All who submitted to the payment of these demands were protected, and the Moghul garrisons that remained passive spectators were not molested, but such as made unsuccessful opposition were put to the sword. On this occasion the Mahrattas were more systematic in their exactions than they before had been; where they could not obtain ready money they took promissory notes from the Patells, according to the practice first introduced by Sivajee, and in this manner went on through Nandere, Berar, and Candeish.
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When he had nearly completed his tour, Raja Ram left Khundee Rao Dhabaray in Buglana, Neemajee Sindia in Candeish, Pursajee Bhonslay in Berar, and Hybut Rao Nimbalkur in Gungthuree, to collect what they termed the outstanding balances due to the Raja.
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Pursajee Bhonslay, when appointed to this duty in Berar, got the title of Sena Sahib Soobeh, and Hybut Rao Nimbalkur was styled Sur Lushkur; both these officers received the Juree Putka, or Golden Pennon, on this occasion.¹ Raja Ram, on his return, attacked Jaulna, which he was plundering when the Moghul army came suddenly upon him; they attacked and pursued his troops with a vigour and perseverance to which they had of late seldom been unaccustomed²; but to account for their activity on this occasion, we must revert to the proceedings of Zoolfikar Khan and Aurungzebe.
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¹ [The Jari Patka was always carried before the Bhoslēs of Nāgpur in later days, and was regularly sent to every occupant of the Nāgpur throne after accession. It also appears as a mint-mark on their rupees. (J. and Proc. A.S. Bengal, vol. xiv, p. 343.)]
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² Mahratta MSS., and original papers, both in Persian and Mahratta.
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In the Carnatic, affairs under Dhunnajee Jadow had not been prosperous. Zoolfikar Khan, although a corrupt, ambitious man, was an active commander, and now the only Moghul officer of whom the Mahrattas stood in any awe. He had repeatedly defeated Dhunnajee, when the Emperor, hearing of the march of Raja Ram, sent express orders for Zoolfikar Khan to repair to the cantonment at Brimhapooree. It was then determined, in consultation with Assud Khan and several of the principal officers, to adopt a new plan of operations, by which, whilst one army attacked the Mahrattas in the field, another was destined for the reduction of their forts. This last the Emperor reserved for himself, giving the command of the pursuing army to the Prince Bedar Bukht, the son of Azim Shah, with Zoolfikar Khan as his lieutenant, whose first effort was the attack and pursuit of Raja Ram’s army, to which we have just alluded.
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The Emperor’s preparations being completed, the cantonment at Brimhapooree was evacuated, much to the regret of the indolent Moghul officers, many of whom had built excellent houses at that station. A depôt was formed under the protection of the Gurhee of Machnoor, which was within the line of the cantonment, and a strong guard was left for its protection. Aurungzebe’s march was nearly due west, and he encamped under the fort of Wussuntgurh, on the twentieth day after quitting the Beema. Batteries were erected, and in three days the garrison surrendered. The Emperor named the fort Kuleed-i-futih, or the key of victory, and was much pleased by the event. As Panalla had been unsuccessfully attacked by Moiz-ud-deen, the son of Sultan Mauzum, some years before, the Mahrattas were impressed with an idea of its being about to be besieged, and directed all their preparations towards its defence. But Aurungzebe marched for Satara, a movement wholly unexpected, as the fort was not provisioned for above two months. This neglect was considered a great misfortune, and gave rise to a suspicion that Ramchunder had purposely left it unprovided; of this suspicion Aurungzebe afterwards took advantage; and when Ramchundur, during the siege, was called away to Singurh in consequence of the illness of Raja Ram, Aurungzebe wrote a letter¹ which fell into the hands of Pureshram Trimbuck, and widened a breach that had for some time existed between him and Ramchundur Punt.²
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¹ Copy of the original in possession of the Raja of Kolapoor.
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² Mahratta MSS.
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Aurungzebe, on his arrival before Satara, pitched his own tents on the north side of the fort on the site of the present village of Kurinja. Azim Shah was stationed at a village on the west side, which has since retained the name of Shapoor. Shirzee Khan invested the south side, and Turbeeut Khan occupied the eastern quarter; chains of posts between the different camps effectually secured the blockade. The fort of Satara occupies the summit of a hill of moderate height, but very steep; its defences consist of a scarp of upwards of forty feet in perpendicular black rock, on the top of which there is a stone wall. It was defended by Pryagjee Purvoe, Havildar, who had been reared in the service of Sivajee. He vigorously opposed the Moghuls, and disputed every foot of ground as they pushed forward their advanced posts. As soon as they began to gain any part of the hill he withdrew his troops into the fort, and rolled down huge stones from the rock above, which did great execution, and until they could throw up cover, were as destructive as artillery. The blockade, however, was complete, no communication could be held with the country, and as the small stock of grain in the garrison was soon exhausted, the besieged must have been compelled to surrender; but Pureshram Trimbuck, who had thrown himself into the fort of Purlee, purchased the connivance of Azim Shah and conveyed provisions to the besieged.¹
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