Bharatpedia

Draft:Night Attack on Shaista Khan

Night attack on Shaista Khan
Shaistekhan Surprised.jpg
Shaista Khan attacked by Shivaji.
DateApril,1663
Location
Lal Mahal, Pune
Result Maratha victory
Belligerents
Flag of the Mughal Empire.png Mughal Empire Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Maratha Empire
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the Mughal Empire.pngShaista Khan(Wounded)[1]
Flag of the Mughal Empire.png Abul Fath †[1]
Flag of the Mughal Empire.png Jaswant Singh
(Refrained)		 Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Shivaji
Strength
10,000 Cavalry under Jaswant Singh
(Refrained)[1]		 400[2]
Casualties and losses
40 to 50 dead[1] 6 dead
40 wounded[1]

The Raid on Shaista Khan, orchestrated by the Maratha leader Shivaji and his forces during the night of 5/6 April 1663, targeted the headquarters of Shaista Khan, who was occupying Shivaji's palace, Lal Mahal, in Pune. Despite stringent security measures implemented by Shaista Khan, including restricting access to the town and prohibiting Marathas from joining his service as horsemen, Shivaji led a daring operation with a select force of 400 soldiers. They infiltrated the town under the cover of darkness, strategically dismounting near the Mula river and breaching the small door of the palace's kitchen to gain entry.

In the ensuing confrontation, Shaista Khan lost some of his fingers while defending himself, and casualties included his eldest son, son-in-law, and several men and women from his entourage. Shivaji's forces suffered six fatalities and 40 wounded during the raid. After the assault, Shivaji's party swiftly departed the palace through a wicket gate in the backyard, regrouping with a cavalry detachment left across the river before heading towards safety at Sinhgad.

BackgroundEdit

The Raid on Shaista Khan was an operation conducted by Shivaji and his forces on the night of 5/6 April 1663, targeting the headquarters of Shaista Khan, who was occupying Shivaji's palace, Lal Mahal, in Pune. Shaista Khan, a prominent Mughal official, had taken hard security measures to safeguard his position, including restricting access to the town and prohibiting Marathas from entering his service as horsemen.[3][1][4]

 
Portrait of Shaista Khan.

Despite these precautions, Shivaji led a select force of 400 personally, arriving in Pune on horseback with the aim of infiltrating the town under the cover of darkness. They strategically dismounted near the Mula river, leaving their horses with a cavalry detachment led by Sarjerao Jedhe, before stealthily entering the town. The exact method of infiltration remains uncertain, but a hypothetical account provided by Khafi Khan suggests that Maratha infantry soldiers posing as part of a wedding party and as captors of Maratha prisoners managed to bypass security checkpoints. Once inside the town, the groups rendezvoused and armed themselves for the raid.[1][2][5]

From place to place in the camp of the Mughal army the Rajah was asked: ‘Whose men are you? Who are you? Where had you been?’ Babaji Bapuji and Chimnaji Bapuji who were at the head of the party kept replying: ‘We belong to the army. We had been on outpost duties.

— Sabhasad, [1]

RaidEdit

The kitchen of the palace had a small door, which had been closed up with bricks and mud. Shivaji and his soldiers breached this door to gain entry. It was the month of Ramazan, and some cooks had awoken to prepare the pre-dawn meal. They were quickly dispatched. However, hearing the commotion, some maid servants rushed to alert Shaista Khan, who was in his bedchamber. In the ensuing scuffle, Shaista Khan lost some of his fingers and narrowly escaped with his life.[6][7][8][9][10] His eldest son Abul Fath,[3] his son-in-law, along with approximately 40 to 50 men and several women, were killed. Additionally, two other sons of Shaista Khan and several women were wounded. In contrast, Shivaji's forces had six fatalities and 40 wounded.[3][1][2][11][9]

After the raid, Shivaji's party exited the palace through a wicket gate in the backyard, reuniting with the cavalry detachment left across the river. They proceeded towards Karyat Maval, gathering other cavalry detachments along the way, and safely reached Sinhgad the following day.[9] It was rumored that Jaswant Singh, who was encamped near Pune with his 10,000 contingent, had aided in the raid.[2][5][7][9] Following the daring attempt on his life, Shaista Khan, frightened and humiliated, relinquished command of the army to Jaswant Singh and retreated to Aurangabad. Subsequently, in May 1663, he was dismissed from his position as subadar of the Deccan and replaced by Prince Muhammad Muazzam under the guardianship of Wazir Khan.[1][7][11]

The raid done by Shivaji on Shaista Khan's headquarters reverberated throughout India, significantly enhancing Shivaji's prestige and fame. The Emperor Aurangzeb received news of the raid while en route from Lahore to Kashmir in April 1663. Unfortunately, the Alamgir Nama, the official history of Aurangzeb’s reign, briefly mentions the incident between the entries for May 1st and May 5th, 1663.[1][5][7][9]

Amir-ul Umara [Shaista Khan], Raja Jaswant Singh and others had been appointed to extirpate the accursed Shivaji. Now he, with audacity and malignity, made a night attack on the Amir-ul Umara’s camp. As this incident occurred due to the negligence of that grandee, it became the cause of the Emperor’s displeasure and he decided to dismiss Amir-ul Umara from the subadari of the Deccan.

— Alamgir Nama[1]

Philip Giffard's letter dated April 12, 1663, sent from Rajapur to Surat, provides one of the most concise and contemporary descriptions of this event.

Raoji Pandit is returned. Presently upon his arrival he desired me to write to your Worship to send somebody to make an end of the business; he declared a great desire thereto. Yesterday arrived a letter from the Raja Shivaji written himself to Raoji, giving him an account how that he himself with 400 choice men went to Shaista Khan’s camp. There, upon some pretence (which he did not insert in his letter) he got into his tent to Salam,1551 and presently slew all the watch, killed Shaista Khan’s eldest son, his son in law, 12 of his chief women, 40 great persons attending him, their General Shaista Khan, wounded Shaista Khan with his own hand (and he thought to death, but since hears he lives), wounded 6 more of his wives, 2 more of his sons, and after all this he returns, losing but 6 men and 40 wounded, 10,000 horse under Raja Jaswant Singh standing still and never offered to pursue him, so it is generally believed it was done with his consent though Shivaji tells his men his Shivaji’s permisera bid him do it. This is all at present.”

— Philip Giffard’s letter, [1]

AftermathEdit

In early December 1663, the Emperor, who was in Punjab at the time, instructed Shaista Khan to assume the role of subadar of Bengal and to proceed there directly without visiting the imperial court.[1][2][12][11]

Shivaji’s Letter to Aurangzeb’s OfficersEdit

The Persian letter attributed to Shivaji, found in the Persian letter books Durj-ul Gawahir and Khutut-i Shivaji, is believed to have been drafted by Nil Prabhu Munshi. Addressed to Emperor Alamgir's officers, it expresses Shivaji's defiance against the Mughal Empire's attempts to conquer his territory.[1][3]

Let it not be concealed from the minds of prudent and thoughtful men that for a period of three years powerful and renowned noblemen of the Mughal Emperor are coming to these parts. The Emperor orders them to conquer my country and forts. They write in reply that these will be conquered soon. They do not know that it is hopeless to gallop the steed of infinite imagination in this intractable land and to conquer it is difficult. It is surprising that they do not expect at all the fruit of shame by writing such falsehoods and cast away truthfulness which is the cause of salvation.My homeland, unlike the forts of Kalyani and Bidar is not situated in wide plains where trenches might be run to launch an assault. It has lofty hill ranges 200 leagues long and 40 leagues broad; everywhere there are streams difficult to cross. Sixty strong forts have been built and some are situated on the sea coast also. Afzal Khan, an officer of the Adalat Panah i.e. the Adilshah, came with a large army to Jawali and perished hopelessly. Why don’t you report to the Emperor truthfully what has occurred so that the same fate may not befall you? After the late Khan, the Amir-ul Umara [i.e. Shaista Khan, who was appointed to campaign in these sky touching mountains and abysmal valleys, laboured hard for three years and submitted reports that I was completely defeated and my country would be conquered in a few days. At last in consequence of these falsehoods he encountered such calamity and went away in such disgrace, that it is clearer than the sun.

Verse: It is not everywhere that the charger can gallop; there are places where one has to throw away the shield i.e., run away. Attributed to Shaikh Saadi. It is my duty to guard my land. Although to save their reputation they have written to the Emperor the opposite of the true state of affairs, yet, by the grace of sublime god, the rose bud of desire of no invader of the beloved country of this recluse has blossomed forth.

Verse: The wise should beware of this river of blood, from which no man has ever carried out his boat to safety

— Written i.e. drafted by Nil Prabhu Munshi.1558 From Maharaja Shivaji to Emperor Alamgir, [13][1]

Despite ongoing Mughal pressure, Shivaji launched an attack on Surat shortly after the night raid on Shaista Khan. The sack of Surat, while less violent than many, was cut short when news of an approaching Mughal army reached the city, prompting Shivaji to flee with valuable loot. These twin events, the defeat of Shaista Khan and the sack of Surat, elevated Shivaji from a minor regional nuisance to a significant threat to the Mughal Empire.[3][5][11][8][10]

ReferencesEdit

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale (2011). Shivaji His Life and Times. pp. 491–497.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Richards, John F. (1993). The Mughal Empire. Cambridge University Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-521-56603-2.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Gordon, Stewart (2007-02-01). The Marathas 1600-1818. Cambridge University Press. pp. 70–71. ISBN 978-0-521-03316-9.
  4. ↑ Jasper, Daniel (2006). "Celebrating a Region through Historical Commemoration". In Vora, Rajendra; Feldhaus, Anne (eds.). Region, Culture, and Politics in India. Manohar. p. 239. ISBN 978-81-7304-664-3.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Sardesai, Govind Sakharam (1946). New History Of The Marathas Vol.1. pp. 149–151.
  6. ↑ Truschke, Audrey (2017). Aurungzeb The man and the myth. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-143-44271-4.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 KINCAID, DENNIS (1955). THE HISTORY OF SHIVAJI THE GRAND REBEL. KARAN PUBLICATION, DELHI. pp. 149–159.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Maratha Generals and Personalities: A gist of great personalities of Marathas. Pratik gupta. 2014-08-01. p. 127.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Kulkarni V. B. (1963). Shivaji The Portrait Of A Patriot. pp. 79 to 81.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Jaques, Tony (2006-11-30). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-first Century [3 Volumes]. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 809. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Majumdar, R. C. (1974). History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume 07, The Mughul Empire. Public Resource. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. pp. 259–260.
  12. ↑ Chandra, Satish. (2007). History of medieval India : 800-1700. Hyderabad, India: Orient Longman. ISBN 978-81-250-3226-7. OCLC 191849214.
  13. ↑ Gordon, Stewart (2007-02-01). The Marathas 1600-1818. Cambridge University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-521-03316-9.
This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.
Categories:
Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Night_Attack_on_Shaista_Khan&oldid=444870"