New History of the Marathas v1.c17.29

v1.c17.29

1. Accession.—The great Shivaji had passed away without naming his successor. He left two sons behind : the elder Sambhājī, then twenty-two years old, though brave and intrepid, had misbehaved himself and was, therefore, not trusted by his father, but was kept confined in the fort of Panhālā. The younger Rājārām, then just ten years old, having been born on 24 February 1670, was at the end of the mourning period for his father, placed on the throne at Raigad, by his mother Soyarā Bai, a woman of vain ambition but wanting in statecraft. She was supported in her course by Shivaji's confidential secretary Bālāji Āvji, who wrote letters in his own hand to the Killedar of Panhālā, explaining the step that was taken, and calling upon him to keep a strict watch on Sambhājī. But the news of Shivaji's death could not be long concealed from Sambhājī, who killed the Killedar, took possession of Panhālā and prepared for a march on Raigad. Senapati Hambir Rao Mohite, who was near Karhād not far from Panhālā, and who had received no intimation of Soyara Bai's plans, went over to Sambhājī. In the mean time two of Shivaji's prominent ministers, Moropant Pingle and Ānnāji Datto, who had supported Soyarā Bai's plans, became confused by the alarming news of Sambhājī's proceedings, as they were moving towards Panhālā under orders to keep him from doing mischief. Sambhājī managed to capture and confine them both at Panhālā under a rigorous watch. Determined to put down Soyarā Bai and her supporters, Sambhājī marched on Raigad with a force of twenty thousand men and meeting with no resistance, got possession of the capital on 18 June and formally ascended the throne on 20 July, after putting Rājārām and Soyarā Bai in close confinement. In gratitude for this easy success, he immediately made a formal grant to his family goddess Bhavānī of ten thousand gold Hons a year.¹ Matters thus appeared to move smoothly. Moropant Pingle died in October, and Sambhājī appointed his son Nilopant to the Peshwāship. The formal ceremony of coronation was performed on 10 January 1681, Magh Shudh 7. The disturbed atmosphere of Mahārāshtra soon assumed its normal peaceful tenor.