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Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj

Early life

Sambhaji was born at Purandar fort to Saibai, Shivaji's first wife. His mother died when he was two years old and he was raised by his paternal grandmother Jijabai. At the age of nine, Sambhaji was sent to live with Raja Jai Singh I of Amber as a political hostage to ensure compliance of the Treaty of Purandar that Shivaji had signed with the Mughals on June 11, 1665. As a result of the treaty, Sambhaji became a Mughal sardar and served the Mughal court of Aurangzeb, and the father and son duo fought alongside the Mughals against the Sultanate of Bijapur. He and his father Shivaji presented themselves at Aurangzeb's court at Agra on May 12, 1666. Aurangzeb put both of them under house arrest but they escaped on July 22, 1666

Marriage

Sambhaji was married to Rajau in a marriage of political alliance; per Maratha custom she took the name Yesubai. Jivabai was the daughter of Pilajirao Shirke, who had entered Shivaji's service following the defeat of a powerful deshmukh Rao Rana Suryajirao Surve who was his previous patron. This marriage thus gave Shivaji access to the Konkan coastal belt. Sambhaji's behaviour, including alleged irresponsibility and addiction to sensual pleasures led Shivaji to imprison his son at Panhala fort in 1678 to curb his behaviour.^[3][4]Sambhaji escaped from the fort with his wife and defected to the Mughals in December 1678 for a year but then returned home when he learnt of a plan by Dilir Khan, the Mughal viceroy of Deccan to arrest him and send him to Delhi.^[5] Upon returning home, Sambhaji was unrepentant and was again confined to Panhala.

Accession

When Shivaji died in the first week of April 1680, Sambhaji was still held captive at Panhala fort. Shivaji's widow and Sambhaji's stepmother, Soyrabai after her husband's death installed the couple's son, Rajaram on the throne on April 21, 1680.^[7] Upon hearing this news, Sambhaji plotted his escape and took possession of the Panhala fort on April 27 after killing the fort commander. On June 18, he acquired control of Raigad fort. Sambhaji formally ascended the throne on July 20, 1680. Rajaram, his wife Janki Bai and mother Soyarabai were imprisoned. Soon afterwards, Soyarabai, her kinsman from the Shirke family and some of Shivaji's ministers such as Annaji Datto were executed on charges of conspiracy.

Military expeditions and conflicts

Shortly following Sambhaji's accession, he began his military campaigns against neighboring states. Historians have been quick to note the distinction between the more tolerant and chivalrous practices of his father Shivaji, and the more pragmatic and brutal practices of Sambhaji. In contrast to his father's tactics, Sambhaji permitted torture, rape and violence by his forces against civilian populations.^[9] A modern historian described the situation as "barely functioning anarchy

Attack on Burhanpur

Sambhaji plundered and ravaged Burhanpur in 1680. His forces completely routed the Mughal garrison and punitively executed captives. The Marathas then looted the city and set its ports ablaze. Sambhaji then withdrew into Baglana, evading the forces of Mughal commander Khan Jahan Bahadur.^[11] During the attack on Burhanpur, among his 20,000 troops, many of them perpetrated atrocities against Muslims, including plunder, killing, and torture

Mughal Empire

Statue of Sambhaji at Tulapur

In 1682, the Mughals laid siege to the Maratha fort of Ramsej, but after five months of failed attempts, including planting explosive mines and building wooden towers to gain the walls, the Mughal siege failed.

Siddis of Janjira

Entering the 1680s, the Marathas came into conflict^[why?] with the Siddis, Muslims of African descent settled in India who held the fortified island of Janjira. At the start of 1682, a Maratha army later joined by Sambhaji personally, attacked the island for thirty days, doing heavy damage but failing to breach its defenses. Sambhaji then attempted a ruse, sending a party of his people to the Siddis, claiming to be defectors. They were allowed into the fort and planned to detonate the gunpowder magazine during a coming Maratha attack. However, one of the female defectors became involved with a Siddi man and he uncovered the plot, and the infiltrators were executed. The Maratha then attempted to build a stone causeway from the shore to the island, but were interrupted halfway through when the Mughal army moved to menace Raigad. Sambhaji returned to counter them and his remaining troops were unable to overcome the Janjira garrison and the Siddi fleet protecting it.

Portuguese and English

Having failed to take Janjira in 1682, Sambhaji sent a commander to seize the coastal fort of Anjadiva instead. The Marathas seized the fort, seeking to turn it into a naval base, but in April 1682 were ejected from the fort by a detachment of 200 Portuguese. This incident led to a larger conflict between the two regional powers. The Portuguese colony of Goa at that time provided supplies to the Mughals, allowed them to use the Portuguese ports in India and pass through their territory. In order to deny this support to the Mughals, Sambhaji undertook a campaign against Portuguese Goa in late 1683, storming the colony and taking its forts.^[15] The situation for the colonists became so dire that the Portuguese viceroy, Francisco de Távora, conde de Alvor went with his remaining supporters to the cathedral where the crypt of Saint Francis Xavier was kept, where they prayed for deliverance. The viceroy had the casket opened and gave the saint's body his baton, royal credentials and a letter asking the saint's support. Sambhaji's Goa campaign was checked by the arrival of the Mughal army and navy in January 1684, forcing him to withdrawMeanwhile, in 1684 Sambhaji signed a defensive treaty with the English at Bombay, realising his need for English arms and gunpowder, particularly as their lack of artillery and explosives impeded the Maratha's ability to lay siege to fortifications. Thus reinforced, Sambhaji proceeded to take Pratapgad and a series of forts along the Ghats.

Mysore

Much like his father Shivaji's Karnataka campaign, Sambhaji attempted in 1681 to invade Mysore, then a southern principality ruled by Wodeyar Chikkadevaraja. Sambhaji's large army was repelled,^[17]:91 as had happened to Shivaji in 1675.^[18] The Chikkadevraja later made treaties and rendered tribute to the Maratha kingdom during the conflicts of 1682–1686. The Chikkadevraja however began to draw close to the Mughal empire and ceased to follow his treaties with the Marathas. In response, Sambhaji invaded Mysore in 1686, accompanied by his Brahmin friend and poet Kavi Kalash

Capture and execution

Stone arch at Tulapur confluence where Sambhaji was executed

The 1687 Battle of Wai saw the Maratha forces badly weakened by the Mughals. The key Maratha commander Hambirao Mohite was killed and troops began to desert the Maratha armies. Sambhaji's positions were spied upon by his own relations, the Shirke family, who had defected to the Mughals. Sambhaji and 25 of his advisors were captured by the Mughal forces of Muqarrab Khan in a skirmish at Sangameshwar in February 1689 . Accounts of Sambhaji's confrontation with the Mughal ruler and following torture, execution and disposal of his body, vary widely depending on the source, though generally all agree that he was tortured and executed on the emperor's orders

The captured Sambhaji and Kavi Kalash were taken to Bahadurgad, where Aurangzeb humiliated them by parading them wearing clown's clothes and they were subjected to insults by Mughal soldiers. Accounts vary as to the reasons for what came next: Mughal accounts state that Sambhaji was asked to surrender his forts, treasures and names of Mughal collaborators with the Marathas and that he sealed his fate by insulting both the emperor and the Islamic prophet Muhammad during interrogation and was executed for having killed Muslims.^[21] The ulema of the Mughal Empire sentenced Sambhaji to death for the atrocities his troops perpetrated against Muslims in Burhanpur, including plunder, killing, rape, and tortureMaratha accounts instead state that he was ordered to bow before Auguranzeb and convert to Islam and it was his refusal to do so, by saying that he would accept Islam on the day the emperor presented him his daughter's hand, that led to his death.^[22] By doing so he earned the title of Dharmaveer ("protector of dharma").^[23] Aurangzeb ordered Sambhaji and Kavi Kalash to be tortured to death; the process took over a fortnight and included plucking out their eyes and tongue, pulling out their nails and removing their skin. Sambhaji was finally killed on March 11, 1689,^[24] reportedly by tearing him apart from the front and back with wagh nakhe (metal "tiger claws") and beheading with an axe at Tulapur on the banks of the Bhima river near Pune. Other accounts state that Sambhaji challenged Aurangzeb in open court and refused to convert to Islam. Dennis Kincaid writes, "He (Sambhaji) was ordered by the Emperor to embrace Islam. He refused and was made to run the gauntlet of the whole Imperial army. Tattered and bleeding he was brought before the Emperor and repeated his refusal. His tongue was torn and again the question was put. He called for writing material and wrote 'Not even if the emperor bribed me with his daughter!' So then he was put to death by torture".