Shivaji and His Times c13.s12: §13. Shivaji on the Kolerun river
Shivaji and His Times c13.s12
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§13. Shivaji on the Kolerun river
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His victory over Sher Khan being now complete, Shivaji at the end of the first week of July left the vicinity of Cuddalore, marched south across the Vellar river, and cantoned his army for the rainy season at Tirumala-vadi, on the north bank of the Kolerun river, 10 miles due north of Tanjore, (arriving there about 12th July.) Here an envoy from Chokka-nath ('Socca Linga' in Jesuit letter), the ruler of Madura, waited upon Shivaji, who demanded from him one krore of Rupees "for the present, for his expenses," arguing that the Nayak bore the sign of being worth nine krores. The envoy "answered that part of his master's country the Nayak of Mysore had taken and part Vyankoji, and that if he (Shiva) would restore him the said country, the Nayak of Madura would give him seven lakhs. The Nayak sent all his family away from Chartanapalli (Trichinopoly), where they were before, to Madura [for safety]; and while the river Kolerun remained full he feared nothing [from the Marathas.]" But shortly afterwards Raghunath Pant came from Maharashtra and was cordially welcomed by Shivaji, who then sent him to Madura with the Nayak's envoy to settle the amount of the blackmail by negotiation. The Nayak agreed to pay six lakhs of hun, out of which 1½ lakhs were delivered immediately, and Shivaji promised to retire with his army. (Nellor Ramana's letter to Governor of Madras, 16 July, 1677.)
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§14. Interview between Shivaji and Vyankoji.
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In the meantime, messages had been passing between Shivaji and his half-brother Vyankoji for a meeting.* At Shivaji's request, the Rajah of Tanjore had sent his ministers for a preliminary discussion. They returned to their master with three of Shivaji's ministers carrying a letter of invitation from him. Reassured by their report and Shiva's solemn promises of safety, Vyankoji arrived at Tirumala-vadi about the middle of July, with an escort of 2,000 horse. Shiva advanced to Tirumanur (6 m. n. e.) to welcome him on the way. The brothers spent some days together exchanging gifts and feasting each other. Then Shivaji opened his business. He demanded three-fourths of whatever Shahji had left at his death,—money, horses, jewels, and territory,—offering to let Vyankoji enjoy the remaining quarter. The latter declined, at which Shivaji burst into anger and rebuked him. Vyankoji was watched and feared that he would not be allowed to return to freedom, unless he yielded to his brother's demand. So, one night soon afterwards, he approached the bank of the Kolerun under the pretext of necessity, jumped on a raft which had been kept ready for him, and crossed over to his own territory, on the opposite bank, with only five attendants, (about 23rd July.)
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∗ Meeting between Shivaji and Vyankoji: F.R. Fort St. George, Vol. 27, Letter from Nellor Ramana, 27 July, 1677; Martin, f. 285; Mission du Madure, iii. 269; Dil. i. 113. The Marathi accounts are later and much less reliable.
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Shivaji learnt of his brother's flight next morning and, ascribing it to the advice of the Tanjore ministers,—Jagannath Pant (the *diwan*), Konher Mahadev and Shivaji Shankar (two *majmuadars*) and Niloji Nayak (a merchant), he placed them under arrest and threatened to send Janardan Narayan Hanumante to take possession of the kingdom of Tanjore. He was highly indignant at his brother's conduct, as implying a distrust of his solemn pledge of safety, and cried out in open Court, "Was I going to imprison him? My fame has spread over the sea-girt earth. I asked for my father's property, only because one should keep his heritage. If he does not wish to part with it, he is under no compulsion to give it. Why did he flee for nothing? He is very young and has acted like a child." (Sabhasad, 90.) Shivaji sent some of his officers to Tanjore to recall Vyankoji, but they returned unsuccessful.
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After a time the captive ministers of Vyankoji were set free, and sent back to Tanjore with presents and robes of honour. Thus Shivaji cleared himself in the eyes of the public. But though he gave up the idea of invading the Tanjore territory south of the Kolerun, he seized the whole Karnatak north of that river, both the jagirs of Vyankoji and those of Sher Khan, Vellore and Arni alone still holding out.*
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The French envoy M. Germain, who spent three days in Shivaji's camp on the Kolerun, gives a graphic account of the Maratha king's Spartan simplicity and efficient arrangements:—"His camp is without any pomp and unembarrassed by baggage or women. There are only two tents in it, but of a thick simple stuff and very small,—one for himself and the other for his minister. The horsemen of Shivaji ordinarily receive two pagodas per month as pay. All the horses belong to him and he entertains grooms for them...... Ordinarily there are three horses for every two men, which contributes to the speed which he usually makes. This chief pays his spies liberally, which has greatly helped his conquests by the correct information which they give."
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§15. Shivaji's return northwards.
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His hope of recalling Vyankoji being futile, Shivaji broke up his camp on the Kolerun about 27th July. Thence after a short halt at Wali-ganda-puram (28 m. north), he crossed the Vellar river (10 m. n.) and stopped at Tundumgurti for a day or two. Here he received a visit from the Dutch Chief of Tevenapatam bearing many presents (about 31st July), and from this place sent his army on to Elavanasur (22 miles further north) to take that fort from Vyankoji's men, while he himself, with Simaji Nayak and others of his great men, turned 16 miles north-east to worship at the great Shiva temple of Vriddhachalam, (1-3 August.)
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∗ F. R. Fort St. George, Vol. 18, Madras to James and Chamberlaine, 24 Aug., 1677. Letter of Nellor Ramana, 2 Aug., (Vol. 27), says that Shivaji kept the three Tanjore ministers with him for some time after leaving Tirumalvadi, and that Jagannath induced the garrison of Elavanasur to give it up to him. Jedhe S. records that Shivaji next captured Chidambaram, Vriddhachalam and Jagdevgad (=Kaveripatan) and laid siege to Kolhar.
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On 22nd September Shivaji was at Vanikamvadi, (40 miles s. w. of Vellore) and wrote to the English governor of Madras: "In the Karnat country......I intend to build new works in several forts and castles. You may likely have with you such men as know how to make great carriages for guns and how to contrive mines. We have need of such men at present, especially those that know how to make mines and to blow up stone-walls. If there be any such men with you that know how to make mines, you would be pleased to send some 20 or 25, or at least 10 or 5 such men, for I shall pay them very well and shall entertain them in several of my forts." (F. R. Fort St. George, Vol. 27.) The English politely declined the request, saying that, being merchants, it was their duty to maintain strict neutrality. On 3rd October, Shivaji was within two days' march of Madras. (Love, i. 371.) Shortly before, he had pillaged Porto Novo, and made himself master of the South Arcot district. (Love, i. 357.) In October Arni surrendered to him, and so also did some other forts in the North Arcot district.
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§16. Shivaji's return through Mysore and conquests.
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Shivaji had been now absent from his own realm for ten months and the administration there was suffering from the lack of the master's control. At a grand council of his officers which he held in September it was decided to return to Maharashtra. [Martin.] This resolution was strengthened by the news that Aurangzib had ordered his governor of the Deccan to punish Qutb Shah for having joined and assisted the arch-rebel Shivaji, and a combined Bijapuri and Mughal army had invaded Golkonda territory near Malkhed.* (September 1677.) Therefore at the beginning of November 1677, Shivaji himself with 4,000 cavalry marched away from the Karnatak plains, leaving the bulk of his army in occupation of his new conquest and "promising to return quickly." (F. R. Surat, Vol. 107, Madras letter of 20 Nov. 1677.) Ascending the Eastern Ghats into the tableland, he took easy possession of his father's jagir districts,—Kolar, Uskota, Bangalore, Balapur and Sera, in the eastern and central parts of the present kingdom of Mysore, repressed the turbulent poligars of that No Man's Land, and then returned home through the Bellary and Dharwar districts, reaching Panhala early in April, 1678. (Sabh. 91.)
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About 21st August 1678, the fort of Vellore surrendered to Shivaji's forces after a siege of 14 months, "Abdullah Khan, the Captain, that held it out all this time, having behaved himself very resolutely therein. But his men from 1,800 foot and 500 horse, being by the extremity of the siege and sickness reduced to 200 foot and 100 horse, and no supplies sent from Bijapur,......... he could not hold it longer, and therefore delivered it upon condition to have 30,000 pagodas in money, a small fort and country worth 30,000 pagodas per annum." (Madras Diary and Consult. 1678-79, p. 105; B. S. 476.)
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The territory annexed by Shivaji in the Karnatak was estimated to yield 20 lakhs of hun a year and included a hundred forts, taken or built by him. (Sabh. 90.) In August 1678, the Madras factors write, "Shivaji by his deputies has a full and quiet possession of all these countries about those two strong castles of Jinji and Vellore, which are worth 22 lakh of pardoes or 550 thousand pounds sterling per annum, at five shillings the pardoe, in which he has a considerable force of men and horse, 72 strong hills and 14 forts [in the plain],—being 60 leagues long and 40 broad." (Diary and Consult. 1678-79, pp. 105-106.) But gold, and not land, was his chief object. The whole of the Karnatak was "peeled to the bones" by his system of "organized plunder" and exaction, which is graphically described by the Madras President as well as by Francois Martin. The booty carried off in this expedition* was so vast as to stagger the imagination of the Maratha chroniclers, and they made no attempt to compute its value.
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∗ History of Aurangzib, iv. ch. 42, §7-8.
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Over the Karnatak plains thus conquered, he at first placed Shantaji, a natural son of Shahji, as viceroy with Jinji for his head-quarters, assisted by Raghunath Narayan Hanumanté as diplomatic adviser and auditor (majmuadar), and Hambir Rao as commander of the army of occupation. The tableland of Mysore was placed under Rango Narayan as viceroy, but subject to the higher jurisdiction of Jinji. [Sabh. 91; Madras to Surat, 20 Nov. 1677; Mission, iii. 269.]