New History of the Marathas v1.c8.75

v1.c8.75

Supā was another important post not far from Poona, which was held by a rather uncongenial neighbour, Sambhājī Mohite, a staunch loyalist of Bijapur and in addition an unfriendly relation of Shivaji, as his sister Tuka Bai was the second wife of Shahji. Sambhājī Mohite, a hereditary noble of Bijapur, would not be persuaded to join Shivaji's movement nor enter his service. On the other hand, as he was likely to prove an obnoxious spy on Shivaji's activities, it was not possible for Shivaji to tolerate him in his immediate vicinity. Sambhājī possessed an armed force of some three hundred troops. One dark night Shivaji with a band of brave followers made a sudden raid upon Supā, surprized Sambhājī and his guards, plundered all his belongings, and took possession of Supā himself. Shivaji tried to explain his plan to Sambhājī and persuade him to join his movement, but as the proud man would not yield, Shivaji sent him under proper escort to his father at Bangalore and reported to him the measures he had taken. It is unfortunate that we have no record as to when exactly this affair took place. We can duly surmise that it must have been between 1649 and 1652.¹⁴