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Shivaji and His Times c8.s32: §7. Raid into Berar and Baglana

Shivaji and His Times c8.s32

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§7. Raid into Berar and Baglana

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We shall not deal in this chapter with Shivaji's activity at sea and in the western coast-strip in November and December 1670 after his return from Surat. Early in December a Maratha force under Shivaji himself made a raid into Khandesh, after capturing the forts of Ahivant, Markanda, Ravla, and Javla in Baglana, on the way. Advancing by rapid marches, he plundered Bahadurpura, a village two miles from Burhanpur (the capital of Khandesh), but did not come closer to that city, because of the warning of Jaswant Singh, who had been posted there since September last. Passing into Berar, he fell, when least expected, upon the rich and flourishing city of Karinja, and looted it completely. Four thousand oxen and donkeys were loaded with the booty—consisting of fine cloth, silver and gold, to the value of a *krore* of Rupees, captured here. All the rich men of the place were carried off for ransom. Only the most eminent one among them escaped in the disguise of a woman. The other towns also yielded vast sums of money. That rich province, with its accumulated wealth of more than half a century of peace and prosperity, afforded a virgin soil to the plunderers in this their first raid. A force, reported to be 20,000 strong, began to loot the country round Ausa and collect the revenue, but they rode away without attacking the fort. In the neighbourhood of Karinja and Nandurbar the Marathas took from the affrighted people written promises to pay them one-fourth of the revenue (*chauth*) in future.*

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∗ Battle of Dindori: entirely based upon Dilkasha, 1. 84-88, (Bhimsen was an eye-witness); with a few points from Sabh. 64-65. Date in Jedhe S. Dindori is 28 m. s. w. of Chandor and 15 m. n. of Nasik. Jedhe states that from Dindori Shivaji went to Kunjargarh and stayed there.

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No resistance was made by the Mughals. Khan-i-Zaman, the governor of Berar, moved too slowly to intercept the raiders, and he stopped on reaching Deogarh. Daud Khan, the governor of Khandesh, was absent campaigning near Ahmadnagar, while his son Ahmad Khan, who officiated as his deputy at Burhanpur, was at open war with Maharajah Jaswant Sigh, who was trying to raise money for the Prince’s expenses and had demanded five lakhs from the treasury of Khandesh. Daud Khan’s son replied that if the Maharajah could procure Aurangzib’s order, he would pay him even 20 lakhs, or else not a pice, at which message Jaswant threatened to sack the town. (F. R. Surat, 105, Bombay to Surat, 5 February, 1671.)

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∗ *Jedhe*; *Dil.* 98. *Akhbarat*, year 13-5, 10. F. R. Surat, 105, Letter of J. Trotter, 20 Dec. 1670; S. Master to President, 19 Dec. *Dil.* 64 (bare mention of Karinja.) Sabh. 71. Karinja is 77.30 E. 20.32, N.

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Daud Khan from his camp near Ankai Tankai hastened towards Burhanpur. Arriving near the pass of Fardapur he heard that the Marathas returning from Berar had turned aside from Burhanpur and taken the road to Baglana. The situation at the capital of Khandesh was also eased by the arrival there on 1st January 1671 of a new supreme commander, Mahabat Khan, who took Jaswant away with himself when leaving the town.

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From Fardapur, Daud Khan swerved to the west and entered Baglana on the heels of the Marathas. While Shivaji had been sacking Karinja in Berar, another Maratha band under Moro Trimbak Pingle had been looting West Khandesh and Baglana, and now these two divisions had united in the neighbourhood of Salhir. They had plundered the village under the hill-fort of Mulhir and laid siege to Salhir. Daud Khan arrived near Mulhir at about 8 P.M., but could advance no further as most of his camp and army were lagging behind.

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The Khan urged his troops to start next morning in order to raise the siege of Salhir. He himself set out before sunrise. But most of his men had not yet arrived, and the few that had come with him were scattered. They busied themselves in cooking food or taking rest in the camp, instead of resuming the march with their chief. Daud Khan heard on the way that Salhir had already been captured by the Marathas, and so he returned in disappointment to Mulhir, and after a short halt there fell back on his new base near Kanchana-Manchana in the Chandor range.

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Shivaji had invested Salhir with a force of 20,000 horse and foot, and one day finding the garrison off their guard he had scaled the wall by means of rope-ladders. The *qiladar* Fathullah Khan fell fighting, and his wife's brother then gave up the fort to the enemy. This happened about 5th January 1671. The success of the Marathas continued. They threatened other forts in the province, such as Mulhir, Chauragarh and Talulgarh(?). Their roving bands cut off the grain supply of Neknam Khan, the *faujdar* of Baglana (whose head-quarters were at Mulhir.) They also laid siege to Dhodap, the loftiest hill-fort in the Chandor range.∗

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∗ *Dil.* 98-100. *Akhbarat*, year 13-12, 15. T. S. 33a. K. K. ii. 247-249 (gives another story of the surrender of Salhir.)

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In the winter of 1670-71, Shivaji received a visit from Chhatra Sal, the son of Champat Rai Bundela, the late chieftain of Mahewa in eastern Bundelkhand. This young man had entered the imperial army at Jai Singh's recommendation, but he was discontented with what he considered the inadequate reward of his services in the Mughal invasion of the Gond country. So, one day he left the Mughal camp on the plea of hunting and made an adventurous journey with his wife to Maharashtra by obscure and roundabout paths. He offered to serve under Shiva against the Emperor. Shivaji received him with honour, praised his manly spirit, but sent him back with the advice to rise against Aurangzib in Bundelkhand, saying, "Illustrious chief! conquer and subdue your foes. Recover and rule your native land...It is expedient to commence hostilities in your own dominions, where your reputation will gain many adherents....Whenever the Mughals evince an intention of attacking you, I will distract their attention and subvert their plans, by active co-operation with you." The contemporary historian, Bhimsen, however, tells us that Chhatra Sal returned from Rajgarh in disappointment as he found the provincial spirit of the Deccani Court uncongenial to him and Shivaji never gave his trust or any high office to men from Northern India.*

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∗ Chhatraprakash, canto 11; tr. in Pogson's Boondelas, pp. 52-53; Dil. 132. For history of Chhatra Sal, see Aurangzib, v. ch. 61, and Irvine's Later Mughals, ii. ch. 9.

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