Sambhaji Bhosale (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the
eldest son of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire, and his
first wife Saibai. He was successor of the realm after his father’s death.
Sambhaji’s rule was largely shaped by the ongoing wars between the Maratha
kingdom and the Mughal Empire, as well as other neighbouring powers such as the
Siddis, Mysore and the Portuguese in Goa. Sambhaji was captured, tortured, and
executed by the Mughals, and succeeded by his brother Rajaram.
Sambhaji was born at Purandar fort to Saibai, Shivaji’s
first and favourite wife. His mother died when he was two and he was raised by
his paternal grandmother Jijabai. At the age of nine, Sambhaji was sent to live
with Raja Jai Singh of Amber, as a political hostage to ensure compliance of
the Treaty of Purandar that Shivaji had signed with the Mughals on 11 June
1665.
As a result of the treaty, Sambhaji become a Mughal sardar
and served the Mughal court of Aurangzeb and the father and son duo fought
along the Mughals against Bijapur. He and his father Shivaji presented
themselves at Aurangzeb’s court at Agra on 12 May 1666. Aurangzeb put both of
them under house arrest but they escaped on 22 July 1666.
Sambhaji was married to Jivubai in a marriage of political
alliance, and 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 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. Sambhaji escaped from the fort with his
wife and defected to the Mughals for a year but then returned home unrepentant,
and was again confined to Panhala.
When Shivaji died in the first week of April 1680, Sambhaji
was still held captive in Panhala fort. Shivaji’s widow and Sambhaji’s
stepmother, Soyarabai, started making plans with various ministers to crown her
sonRajaram as the heir to the Maratha kingdom and the ten-year-old Rajaram was
installed on the throne on 21 April 1680. Upon hearing this news, Sambhaji
plotted his escape and took possession of the Panhala fort on 27 April after
killing the commander. On 18 June, he acquired control of Raigad fort. Sambhaji
formally ascended the throne on 20 July 1680. Rajaram, his wife Janki Bai, and
mother Soyarabai were imprisoned. Soyarabai was executed in October 1680 on
charges of conspiracy.
Bahadurkhan Kokaltash, a relative of Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb was in charge of Burhanpur, a Mughal stronghold. He left Burhanpur
with a portion of his army to attend a wedding, giving the charge of the city
toKakarkhan. Sambhaji tricked Mughals into thinking that Marathas were going to
attack Surat that had been plundered twice by Shivaji, but Hambirrao Mohite,
the commander of the Maratha army, surrounded Burhanpur.[citation needed]
Sambhaji then plundered and ravaged the city in 1680,[when?] his forces
completely routed the Mughal garrison and punitively executed captives. The
Marathas then looted the city and set its ports ablaze. In contrast to his
father’s tactics, Sambhaji permitted torture and violence by his forces.
Sambhaji then withdrew into Baglana, evading the forces of Mughal commander
Khan Jahan Bahadur.
War against the Mughal empire
Sambhaji gave shelter to Sultan Muhammad Akbar
the fourth son of Aurangzeb, who sought Sambhaji’s aid in winning the Mughal
throne from his emperor father. Upon the death of Shivaji, Aurangzeb came to
Deccan in 1680 CE with about half a million troops and 400,000 animals.He
defeated the Adilshahi (Sultanate of Bijapur)
and Qutubshahi (Sultanate of Golconda)
empires, acquiring two generals, Mukarrabkhan and Sarjakhan, from Qutubshahi
and Adilshahi empires respectively. He then turned his attention to the Maratha
kingdom, engaging Sambaji’s armies.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.
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. Sambaji’s positions were
spied upon by Shirke clan Marathas 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
the 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.[3] Maratha accounts instead state that he
was ordered to bow before Auguranzeb and convert to Islam, and it was his
refusal to do so that led to his death, lending a religious martyrdom to the
narrative By doing so he earned the title of Dharmaveer dharma
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 11
March 1689, 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”.
Some accounts state that Sambhaji’s
body was cut into pieces and thrown into the river, or that the body or
portions were recaptured and cremated at the confluence of rivers at Tulapur.Other
accounts state that Sambhaji’s remains were fed to the dogs
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