Shivaji and His Times c13.s11: §12. Struggle with Sher Khan Lodi
Shivaji and His Times c13.s11
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§12. Struggle with Sher Khan Lodi
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The southern half of the Bijapuri Karnatak plains was ruled over by Sher Khan Lodi, a Pathan noble, with his seat of government at Wali-ganda-puram.[*] By nature he was more fitted for civil government than for war. He was entirely guided by his Brahman advisers, who had foolishly taught him to underrate Shivaji's strength, and this delusion was also shared by his son Ibrahim Khan, in disregard of the warnings of Francois Martin.
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With a force of 4,000 cavalry and three or four thousand second-rate infantry (of the militia type), "whom the mere name of Shivaji caused to tremble," Sher Khan arrived at Tiruvadi, 13 miles west of Cuddalore, on 10th June, to wait for the Marathas. Shivaji reached the neighbourhood with 6,000 cavalry, on 26th June. At the sight of him Sher Khan immediately put his men in battle order and advanced to the attack. The Marathas calmly waited for the onset. Their attitude made Sher Khan realize that he had taken a false step and he ordered a retreat! Then Shivaji charged the confused and wavering ranks of the enemy and turned the retreat into a rout.
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∗ Now an obscure village in the Perambalur taluq of the Trichinopoly district, but in the 17th and 18th centuries one of the most important posts on the main road from Madras to Trichinopoly. (Orme's *Indostan*, 4th ed., i, 172.) The fort is at Ranjangudi, 3 m. n. of the village W. My account of this contest is based upon Martin's *Memoire* (see my trans. in *Modern Review*, Feb. 1924) and *Madras Factory Records*, vol. 27, "Letters from our Brahmans Wardapa from Shivaji Raja's camp, 27 June, and Nellor Ramana 16th July, 1677." Jedhe S. has misread *Bairagi* for Lodi.
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Sher Khan flung himself with the remnant of his army into the fort of Tiruvadi in his rear. At night he tried to escape from it to Tevenapatam, a suburb of Cuddalore. The Maratha horse, noticing the movement, gave chase and drove him into Akala Nayak's wood, which lay in the way. Five hundred of the Khan's horsemen offered battle and held up the pursuers for two hours. Then the moon set and Sher Khan ran away with some of his cavalry and elephants southwards out of the wood. Shivaji's men continued the chase. Sher Khan fled before them at full gallop and had just time to throw himself the next day (27th June) with a hundred horsemen, into the poor fort of Bonagir-patam, (or Bowanigiri) on the Vellar river, 22 miles south of Tiruvadi, where he was immediately blockaded by the Marathas. In this encounter Shivaji's men captured 500 horses, two elephants, twenty camels and many oxen tents and war drums from the Khan.
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The fort of Tiruvadi held out for some time under Sher Khan's father-in-law. Leaving Babo Sahib with some horse to invest the place, and quartering his main army three miles south of Tevenapatam, Shivaji himself appeared before Bonagir-patam. On 30th June, Valdaur, Tevenapatam and several other forts of the Khan fell to the Marathas, their garrisons having vacated them in terror. Soon afterwards, Sher Khan gave up the struggle. On 5th July he made terms with Shivaji, giving up all his territories and promising a ransom of 20,000 hun in cash, for which he left his eldest son as a hostage, while Shivaji agreed to give him a free exit from the fort and the delivery of his property in Gondelur.
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We may conveniently bring the story of Sher Khan to its close here. After leaving Bonagir-patam and visiting Shivaji, he sought asylum in the forest of Ariyalur, a village 15 m. s. e. of Wali-ganda-puram. The chieftain of this place (a Kallar by caste) received him most hospitably and gave him two villages yielding Rs. 1,500 a year for his support. The Khan professed to be too poor to pay his promised ransom, and in consequence his hostage Ibrahim Khan was harassed by the Marathas for the money. At last in February 1678, the Hindu princes of those parts, among whom the Khan was popular and highly respected, subscribed the amount and secured his son's release. In April Sher Khan retired to the Court of the Nayak of Madura. [Kaep.]