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Battle of Sinhagad

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Battle of Sinhagad (Kondhana)
Part of The Maratha rebellion

The Fort of Sinhagad
Date4 February 1670
Location
Fort Sinhagad, near Pune, India
Result Maratha victory[1]
Territorial
changes		 Fort Sinhagad (then, Kondhana fort) captured by Marathas
Belligerents
Maratha kingdom Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Tanaji Malusare † Udaybhan  †[2]
Strength
Unknown Unknown

The Battle of Sinhagad, also known as Battle of Kondhana, involved an attack by Marathas during the night of 4 February 1670 on the Mughal fort of Sinhagad (then Kondhana), near the city of Pune, Maharashtra. The Marathas captured the fort.

Background

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A 20th century depiction of Tanaji Malusare's famous vow during Kondana campaign by painter M.V. Dhurandhar

In the 1650s, Aurangzeb sent General Shaista Khan to subdue Shivaji. Khan captured Pune and took residence in the Lal Mahal, the childhood residence of Shivaji. In a surprise night attack by Shivaji, Shaista Khan was wounded and one of his sons was killed. However, Khan escaped. In retaliation, Khan looted Pune for 2 years and devastated the Deccan. Shivaji went on to loot and plunder the wealthy port city of Surat to make up for Shaista Khan's looting of Pune. Aurangzeb then sent Maharaja Jai Singh, one of his vassals, with a large army to subdue Shivaji. In his campaign, Jai Singh besieged Purandar fort. Meanwhile, Diler Khan, another Mughal General defeated the Maratha armies at Vajragad and near Purandar. Villages in the Maratha kingdom were also plundered by the Mughal forces. For the welfare of his subjects and to conserve his strength, Shivaji signed the Treaty of Purandar. According to the treaty, Shivaji was to give 23 forts to the Mughals while retaining control of 12, become a vassal of Aurangzeb.

Battle

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Sinhgad Fort is located on the southwest of Pune, Maharashtra, about 20 km, in a small hilly range at an elevation of 1,320 m above sea level and 700 m from nearby plains. The fort is surrounded by sharply sloping northern and southern hills, providing a defense in the form of a cave-like structure which has a natural rock wall more than 12 meters high. There were additional fortifications in the form of bastions raised on gentler slopes.

The fort is like an axe blade about 3 km long. Access was by one steep, tortuous path leading from the northeast side to Pune Gate, and from the southeast to Kalyan Gate. The western side has a gorge that is very open from the south side for easy access, which was later fortified to offer great strength.[3]

In 1670, a force of 500 Mavala soldiers under the command of Tanaji Malusare stormed the fort at dead of night with great surprise and against 1,200 Rajput soldiers led by Udaybhan Rathod. Mavalas climbed the front cliff of the fort with the aid of rope ladders. Very fierce fighting broke out and a duel ensued in which both Udaybhan and Tanaji were killed.[4] The brother of Tanaji, Suryaji, led the remainder of the Mavalas and finally won the fort. The signal flame was lit on top of the fort to inform Shivaji of the victory from Rajgad[5].

Aftermath

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When Shivaji was informed about the victory and the loss of Tanaji's life during the battle, he is said to have exclaimed "गड आला पण सिंह गेला" (IAST: Gaḍa ālā paṇa siṃha gela English: The fort has been captured but we lost the lion). A bust of Tanaji Malusare was installed at the fort in memory of his contribution and sacrifice.[6]

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References

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  1. ^ Sorokhaibam, Jeneet (2013). Chhatrapati Shivaji: The Maratha Warrior and His Campaign. Vij Books India Private Limited. pp. 185–187. ISBN 9789382573494.
  2. ^ Nadkarni, Rajaram (1966). The Rise And Fall Of The Maratha Empire. p. 67. Udai Bhan, tlie redoubtable Rajput commander of the fort, fell.
  3. ^ Mehendale, Gajanan Bhaskar (2011). Shivaji His Life and Times. Param Mitra Publications. p. 687. ISBN 978-93-80875-17-0.
  4. ^ Mehendale, Gajanan Bhaskar (2011). Shivaji His Life and Times. Param Mitra Publications. p. 687. ISBN 978-93-80875-17-0.
  5. ^ Gordon, Stewart (1993). The Marathas 1600-1818. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 79. ISBN 9780521033169. The first and most spectacular success was the capture of Sinhagad fort. It was taken by scaling very difficult walls by the means of rope ladders in a night raid which culminated in a hand to hand combat inside the fort. The raid was led by Tanhaji Malsure, who was killed in the battle.
  6. ^ Verma, Amrit (2003). Forts of India. New Delhi: The Director, Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. pp. 83–86. ISBN 81-230-1002-8.

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