Shahaji: Difference between revisions

{{use Indian English|date=February 2016}}{{copyediting|date=February 2022}}

| name         = Shahaji Bhonsale

| title       =  

| image       = Shahaji, the King-Maker.jpg

| caption     = A painting of Shahaji

| succession   = [[Jagirdar]] of [[Pune]] in [[Bijapur Sultanate]]

| reign       =  

| predecessor = [[Maloji]]

| successor   = [[Shivaji]]

| succession1 = [[Jagirdar]] of [[Bangalore]] in [[Bijapur Sultanate]]

| reign1       =  

| predecessor1 = Position Created

| successor1   = [[Ekoji]]

| birth_date   = 1594

| death_date   = {{death date and age|1664|||1594|||df=yes}}

| death_place = [[Davanagere district|Hodigere]], [[Bijapur Sultanate]]<br/>(present-day [[Karnataka]], India)<ref>{{cite book |author=A. R. Kulkarni |title=Marathas and the Marathas Country: The Marathas |year=1996 |isbn=9788185016504 |page=15 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marathas_and_the_Marathas_Country_The_Ma/kyBuAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

| spouse       = [[Jijabai]] <br>Tukabai Mohite<br> Narsabai{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

| issue       = [[Sambhaji Shahaji Bhosale|Sambhaji]] (Shambhuji)<br> [[Shivaji]] <br> [[Ekoji]] <br> Koyaji <br> Santaji{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

| house       = [[Bhonsle]]

| father       = [[Maloji]]

| occupation   = Military leader

| religion     = [[Hinduism]]

'''Shahaji Bhonsale''' (Pronunciation: [[Help:IPA/Marathi|[ʃəɦad͡ʒiː]]]; c. 1594 – 1664) was a military leader of India in the 17th century, who served the [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate]], the [[Bijapur Sultanate]], and the [[Mughal Empire]] at various points in his career. As a member of the [[Bhonsle]] clan, Shahaji inherited the [[Pune]] and [[Supa, Parner|Supe]] [[jagir]]s (fiefs) from his father [[Maloji Bhosale|Maloji]], who served Ahmadnagar. During the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] invasion of [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], he joined the Mughal forces and served Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] for a brief period. After being deprived of his [[Jagir|jagirs]], he defected to the [[Bijapur Sultanate]] in 1632 and regained control over [[Pune]] and Supe. In 1638, he also received the jagir of [[Bangalore]], after Bijapur's invasion of Kempe Gowda III's territories. He eventually became the chief general of Bijapur and oversaw its expansion.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxhAtCflwOMC&pg=PA315 |author=Farooqui Salma Ahmed |publisher=Pearson |year=2011 |isbn=9788131732021 |page=315 }}</ref>

An early exponent of [[guerrilla warfare]], he brought the house of Bhosale into prominence. He was the father of [[Shivaji]], the founder of the [[Maratha Empire]]. The [[princely state]]s of [[Thanjavur Maratha kingdom|Tanjore]], [[Kolhapur State|Kolhapur]], and [[Satara district|Satara]] were ruled by Shahaji's descendants.

Shahaji was the son of [[Maloji Bhosale]], a soldier who eventually became Sar Giroh and was awarded the [[jagir|jagirs]] of [[Pune]] and [[Supa, Parner|Supe]] districts in the court of [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate|Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar]].  

[[File:Hazrat Shah Sharif Dargah हजरत शाह शरीफ दर्गा अहमदनगर.jpg|thumb|Hazrat Shah Sharif Dargah where maloji asked for his two sons to the Muslim saint]]

Maloji was childless for a long time. With the blessings of a [[Sufi]] [[pir (Sufism)|Muslim pir]] called Shah Sharif, two sons were born to him. Maloji named his sons Shahaji and Sharifji in honour of the pir.<ref>The Islamic path: sufism, society, and politics in India, Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri, Helmut Reifeld - 2006</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Kosambi|editor-first1=Meera |last=Laine|first=James W.|title=Intersections : socio-cultural trends in Maharashtra|date= 2000|publisher= Sangam|location=London|isbn=9780863118241|page=62|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XU8dmAiaZSgC&q=maloji&pg=PA59|access-date=28 July 2017}}</ref> Shahaji married [[Jijabai]], the daughter of [[Lakhuji Jadhav]], another Maratha general in the service of Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar when both of them were children.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bhave|first1=Y.G.|title=From the death of Shivaji to the death of Aurangzeb : the critical years|date=2000|publisher=Northern Book Centre|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788172111007|page=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5kVk6msxUcC&q=shahaji+maloji+&pg=PR7}}</ref>

Like his father Maloji, Shahaji served in the army of [[Malik Ambar]] of [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate]]. At the time of Maloji's death in 1622, 26-year old Shahaji was a minor commander in Malik Ambar's army.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=44}} By 1625, he held the high military position of ''Sar Lashkar'', as suggested by a letter sent from Pune on 28 July.{{sfn|R. V. Oturkar|1956|p=272}}

Ahmadnagar was involved in conflicts against the northern [[Mughal Empire]] and other [[Deccan Sultanates]], and Shahaji kept shifting his loyalty between these states. For example, sometime before the [[Battle of Bhatvadi]] (1624), Shahaji and some other Maratha leaders defected to the Mughals, but shortly before the battle they returned to Ahmadnagar. Malik Ambar's army defeated a combined Mughal-[[Bijapur Sultanate|Bijapur]] army in the battle.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=44}} Subsequently, a quarrel arose between Shahaji and his cousin Kheloji Bhonsle, and in 1625 Shahaji shifted his allegiance to Bijapur,{{sfn|R. V. Oturkar|1956|p=273}} probably because he was dissatisfied with Ahmadnagar rewarding his relatives more than him. He retained his [[jagir]] in the [[Pune district|Pune]] region, which was disputed between Ahmadnagar and Bijapur.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=45}} A letter dated 10 January 1626 indicates that he still held the position of ''Sar Lashkar''.{{sfn|R. V. Oturkar|1956|p=273}}

Shahaji's patron in Bijapur - [[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]] - died in September 1627.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=45}} Ibrahim Adil Shah II, a Muslim, was tolerant towards Hindus like Shahaji and saw Ahmadnagar as a buffer state between his kingdom and the Mughal Empire. After his death, an orthodox Muslim faction that advocated an alliance with the Mughals against Ahmadnagar grew stronger in Bijapur.{{sfn|R. V. Oturkar|1956|p=273}} Amid these circumstances, Shahaji returned to Ahmadnagar in early 1628,{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=45}} under the patronage of Malik Ambar's son Fatah Khan.{{sfn|R. V. Oturkar|1956|p=273}} The power of Ahmadnagar had been declining after Malik Ambar's death in 1626, but Shahaji held a higher position there than the one he held in Bijapur. Meanwhile, the newly-crowned Mughal Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] launched a fresh campaign against Ahmadnagar. In 1629, Shahaji led a 6,000-strong cavalry against the Mughals in the [[Khandesh]] region but was defeated.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=45}}

In 1630, Shahaji's in-laws and patrons were murdered as a result of factional politics in the Ahmadnagar court.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=45}} Therefore, Shahaji defected to the Mughals, with a 2,000-man cavalry.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|pp=45-46}} The Mughals sent him to occupy [[Junnar]] and [[Sangamner]] and gave these districts to him as jagir.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=46}}

In 1632, Malik Ambar's son Fatah Khan placed a puppet ruler on the Ahmadnagar throne and allied with the Mughals. As a reward, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan granted him the ''jagir'' that had been earlier allotted to Shahaji.{{sfn|Satish Chandra|2005|p=204}} Shahji then left the Mughal service and started plundering the region around [[Pune district|Pune]]. When the Mughals sent an army against him, he took shelter with the governor of [[Junnar]], and subsequently returned to Bijapur service.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=46}}

From 1630 to 1632, northern Maharashtra suffered from a severe famine, called the Mahadurga famine. Bijapur sent an army to assist Ahmadnagar against the Mughals, who had besieged the [[Daulatabad Fort|Daulatabad fort]]. The Mughals emerged victorious and captured [[Daulatabad Fort|Daultabad]], the capital of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Shahaji retreated and took control of an area in the southern part of the Ahmadngar Sultanate. This area included lands in the triangle formed by the [[Nashik]], [[Pune]], and [[Ahmadnagar]] cities.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=46}} Unlike southern Maharashtra, which was directly administered by the Bijapur government, this region was politically unstable because of constant warfare between Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, and the Mughals. The political control of this region had changed at least ten times from 1600 to 1635 with the government infrastructure in the area largely destroyed.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|pp=51-52}} Shahaji's control over this area was very weak, but he maintained an army of 2,000-10,000 men and provided service to the Ahmadnagar troops fleeing their state after the Mughal conquest.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=46}}

Meanwhile, in Daulatabad, the Mughals imprisoned the nominal king of Ahamadnagar.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=46}} Shahaji installed 10-year old Murtaza of the Ahamadnagar royal family as the titular puppet ruler{{sfn|Abraham Eraly|2000|p=437}} and appointed himself chief minister.{{sfn|Sumit Guha|2011|p=56}} Within a year, Shahaji's army captured Junnar and a large part of the northern [[Konkan]] region. Shahaji resided in Junnar and raised an army, which at its height included 12,000 soldiers. The strength of his army kept changing because of the changing loyalty of the various subordinate chiefs, including Ghatge, Kate, Gaikwad, Kank, Chavan, Mohite, Mahadik, Pandhre, Wagh, and Ghorpade.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=46}} He set up his capital at Shahabad and gained control of several large forts. A contemporary [[Brahmin]] newsletter of Bijapur states that the area controlled by him, not including his jagir of Pune and [[Indapur]], yielded 7.5 million rupees in revenue. This estimate was based on the ''potential'' rather than the ''actual'' revenue: the area had been devastated by war and famine, and the actual revenue collected was probably far smaller.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=47}}  The warring armies had destroyed several villages in the area to deny their enemies revenue, and most of the remaining villages yielded revenue only when forced to do so.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=52}} According to the newsletter, his forces included a 3,000-man cavalry, plus an additional 2,000-man contingent from Bijapur.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=47}}

By 1634, Shahaji had started raiding the area near the Mughal-controlled Daultabad, prompting the Mughals to initiate a major campaign against him.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=46}} In the ensuing battle of Parenda (1634), in which Maratha soldiers fought on both sides, the Mughals defeated the Bijapur army led by Shahaji. In early 1635, the Mughal army forced Shahaji to retreat from the Daulatabad area, capturing his [[train (military)|supply train]] and 3,000 of his soldiers. Subsequently, the Mughal emperor [[Shah Jahan]] personally arrived in Deccan with a large army, compelling Shahaji to leave northern Maharashtra. Shahaji lost control of several cities, including Junar and Nashik, and retreated to Konkan.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=47}}

Bijapur had two political factions: the first, including Shahaji, favoured resisting Mughal influence in Deccan. The second favoured establishing peace with the Mughals by recognizing their control over parts of the former Ahmadnagar territory. In 1636, the second faction emerged more powerful, and a peace treaty was signed between Bijapur and the Mughal Empire.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=47}} As part of this treaty, Bijapur agreed to help the Mughals subjugate Shahaji, or depute him away from the Mughal frontier if he chose to serve Bijapur.{{sfn|Satish Chandra|2005|p=205}} The Mughals then besieged the [[Mahuli]] fort where Shahaji and Murtaza, the pretender to the Ahmadnagar throne, were residing. In October 1636, Shahaji surrendered Mahuli and Junnar to the Mughals and returned to the Bijapur service.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=47}} As a result, the Mughals now controlled a major part of present-day Maharashtra, including Pune and Indapur.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=47-49}}

Shahaji was allowed to retain his [[jagir]] in the Pune region but was barred from living in that area as part of the Mughal-Bijapur treaty. Therefore, the jagir was placed under the nominal administration of his son Shivaji, with his subordinate [[Dadoji Kondadev]] as its manager. Shahaji was transferred to the southern part of the Bijapur Sultanate.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=55}} Shahaji spent the last 20 years of his life in the south, where the Bijapur and the [[Golconda Sultanate|Golconda]] Sultanates were trying to capture territories from the declining Vijayanagara Empire.{{sfn|Sumit Guha|2011|p=57}}

The Bijapur ruler exercised little control over the Bangalore region, and Shahaji ruled the area almost independently. The ruler of Bijapur trusted him and called him the pillar of the state in a letter.{{sfn|B. Muddachari|1966|p=177}} However, in 1639, Shahaji appears to have been involved in a conflict against the Bijapur government. Records show that the Bijapur ruler Muhammad Adil Shah ordered the ''[[Deshmukh]]'' of [[Lakshmeshwara]] to support commander Sidi Mooflah in arresting the "relations, dependents, servants and horses" of Shahaji. However, no further details are available about this episode.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=55}}

Shahaji's relations with the Bijapur ruler improved in the subsequent years, and in 1641, he supported the Bijapur government in suppressing a revolt by the Hindu chiefs. He was part of an army led by the Bijapur general [[Afzal Khan (general)|Afzal Khan]] that captured the fort of Basavapatna from Keng Nayak. The Bijapur army captured several other forts, including [[Vellore Fort|Vellore]], during this campaign.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=55}} A letter from Bijapur, dated 30 January 1642, expressed appreciation for Shahaji's services in the Karnataka region.{{sfn|B. Muddachari|1966|p=178}}

Not much is known about Shahaji's activities during 1642-1645: he probably mainly stayed at his jagir in [[Bangalore]] or may have been involved in Bijapur's recapture of the [[Ikkeri]] fort in 1644. Sometime between 1642 and 1644, Shahaji's wife [[Jijabai]] and his son [[Shivaji]], visited him in Bangalore.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=56}} During this period, Shahaji arranged Shivaji's marriage to [[Sai Bhosale|Saibai]] of the Nimbalkar family and held a grand wedding ceremony in Bangalore.{{sfn|B. Muddachari|1966|p=179}} He also presented his entire family, including his two sons by his second wife, at the Bijapur court. Jijabai and Shivaji returned to Pune shortly after.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=56}} Shahaji's elder son  Shambuji (also called Sambhaji) and another son [[Venkoji]] from his other wife Tukabai, stayed with him in Bangalore.

Shahaji beautified Bangalore by commissioning several gardens and also built a palace called Gowri Mahal, which according to popular tradition, was located in the present-day [[Basavanagudi]] extension. Besides, he also stayed at Kolar and Doddaballapura and spent summers at [[Nandi Hills, India|Nandi]].{{sfn|B. Muddachari|1966|p=178}}

Shahaji appointed several [[Brahmin]]s from the Pune region to the Bangalore administration. Meanwhile, Dadoji Kondadev revived the revenue system in Pune, and remitted surplus revenue to Shahaji's treasury in Bangalore.{{sfn|B. Muddachari|1966|p=178}}

Amid the rise of Muslim orthodoxy in Bijapur,{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=57}} the relationship of Shahaji - a Hindu - with the Bijapur government kept changing. In 1644, the Bijapur government labelled him a rebel and sent a force to subjugate his agent Dadoji Kondadev. An August 1644 letter from the government asks Kanoji Nayak Jedhe, the ''Deshmukh'' of [[Bhor]] near Pune, to assist the government representatives in defeating Dadoji Kondadev, who was campaigning in the [[Kondana]] area.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=56}} The government also instructed another ''Deshmukh'' - Khopde - to seize Shahaji's estates, but these orders were apparently withdrawn before implementation.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=60}} A similar situation arose in 1646.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=56}}

In 1648, during a Bijapur campaign to support the rebellion of [[Nayaka dynasties|Nayakas]] against the [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagara]] king [[Sriranga III]], Shahaji was arrested for acting against the interests of Bijapur. The forces of Bijapur and [[Golconda Sultanate|Golconda]] had besieged the [[Gingee Fort|Jinjee]] fort. Shahaji started acting independently of the Bijapur commander Mustafa Khan and started negotiating with the Nayakas of Jinjee, [[Madurai]], and [[Tiruchirapalli]]. He even sought service with the Golconda government.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|pp=56-57}} Shahaji was brought to the capital [[Bijapur]] in chains and forced to surrender the forts of Kondana and Bangalore.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=57}} According to the texts written under the Maratha patronage - such as ''Shiva-Bharat'', Shahaji was arrested because of a rebellion by his son Shivaji, but the Bijapur records do not support this claim. Whatever the case, Shahaji was pardoned within a year.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=57}}

Little information is available about Shahaji's life from 1648 to 1660. He appears to have moved out of Bangalore, where his son [[Ekoji I|Ekoji]] was stationed. Shahaji himself was stationed at [[Kanakagiri]], and his son [[Sambhaji Shahaji Bhosale|Sambhaji]] was killed during a revolt by the chief (''Rajah'') of Kanakagiri in 1654. During this period, Shahaji participated in Bijapur's war against Golconda.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=57}}

Meanwhile, Shahaji's son [[Shivaji]], who administered his jagir in the Pune region, started acting independently of the Bijapur government and started capturing territories of Bijapur vassals around Pune. Shivaji claimed to be a servant of the Bijapur government, and justified his actions, arguing that he was governing these territories better than the deposed rulers did. However, the ruler of Bijapur doubted his loyalty, and Shahaji distanced himself from his son's actions.{{sfn|James W. Laine|2003|p=21}} A letter from Bijapur, dated 26 May 1658, gives back Shahaji the control of his former jagir of Bangalore and assures him that he will not be punished for the rebellion of his son. Some writers have speculated that Shahaji and Shivaji collaborated to establish an independent kingdom, but no contemporary sources support this theory. The majority of historians believe that Shahaji did not support his son's rebellion.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=58}} In 1659, the Bijapur government sent a 12,000-strong army led by [[Afzal Khan (general)|Afzal Khan]] against Shivaji, but Shivaji emerged victorious in the conflict.{{sfn|James W. Laine|2003|pp=21-23}} Between the years 1659 and 1662, Shahaji travelled to Pune as a mediator between Shivaji and Bijapur, meeting his son for the first time in 12 years. This was also Shahaji's last meeting with Shivaji, as Shahaji died in early 1664, in a hunting accident.{{sfn|Stewart Gordon|1993|p=58}}

Shahaji Samadhi is at Hodigere near [[Channagiri]] in Karnataka.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/101217/sunday-story-in-davangere-rests-a-great-maratha-warrior-the-pride-of-kannadigas.html|title=Sunday Story: In Davangere rests a great Maratha warrior, the pride of Kannadigas|date=10 December 2017|work=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|access-date=23 January 2018}}</ref>{{Further explanation needed|reason=More info about Shahaji samadhi.|date=February 2022}}

 

 

* In [[Raja Shivchatrapati]] (2008),  a Marathi historical TV serial of [[Star Pravah]] Avinash Narakar played the role of Shahaji Raje.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Popular historical show ‘Raja Shivchatrapati’ to return on the audience’s demand - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/marathi/popular-historical-show-raja-shivchatrapati-to-return-on-the-audiences-demand/articleshow/74935697.cms|access-date=2022-02-01|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref>

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