Shivaji

by Ranjit Desai

  Raje knew the palace well. The room they had entered was once his bedroom. There were curtains all over and many small corners had been created for Khan’s wives. Khan’s begums and their handmaidens were asleep while a lamp burnt brightly. A few women had woken up hearing the noise and were stunned to see strangers brandishing swords in the room. The men were taken by surprise by the half-naked women who were staring at them.

  Suddenly, one of the women screamed, her voice piercing the stillness of the night as it reverberated across the palace rooms. The scream was cut short as a sword sliced her neck. One of the maids showed the presence of her mind and rushed to snuff out the lamp and more screams erupted as soon as the lamp was shut. Raje’s men struggled to stifle the noise. Raje did not waste time and moved ahead, slicing through the curtains in search of Khan.

  Khan woke up to the sounds of the screaming and picked up the gun on a table nearby. One of Raje’s soldiers collapsed as Khan opened fire. Khan was about to jump out of the window when his begum snuffed out the lamp. There was noise of screaming and screeching in the darkness. Shivaji’s men tried to stop the screams and went on tearing the curtains in search of Shaista Khan. The watchmen and the guards who came their way were slaughtered. Raje saw Khan near the window and attacked him with his sword but was not sure if his blow had been fatal. He heard Khan shriek and then disappear in the darkness.

  The entire palace was in chaos. Khan’s son, Abdul Fateh, rushed to save his father and was killed instantly. Shivaji signalled his men and the trumpeters at the door began to sound their trumpets. Raje’s men reached the town square and announced their victory.

  Ibrahim’s men were waiting for the signal and Shivaji’s men guarding the palace attacked the guards posted there and killed them quickly. Shivaji stepped out of the palace and mounted a waiting horse, to gallop as fast as possible out of the city.

  Ibrahim, fooling Khan’s men, shouted out orders, ‘Khan saheb is dead. The enemy has run away. Chase them. Catch them!’

  The men galloped in the direction Ibrahim pointed. Ibrahim, along with his men, galloped shouting, ‘Catch them. The enemy has escaped.’ The cantonment was in an uproar. Raje’s men too followed the troops in the front shouting, ‘Catch them. Kill them!’

  Raje’s men blew the trumpet the moment they came out of the city. The trumpets in the forests reciprocated the signal.

  At one of the gates, the guard was asked by Khan’s sardar, ‘Did the enemy escape from here?’

  ‘No, Huzoor!’

  Khan’s sardar was confused. At that moment, one of the men pointed in the direction of the forest saying, ‘Huzoor, look!’

  The sardar looked in the indicated direction to see flaming torches moving in the forest. His anger boiled over and he unsheathed his sword and screamed, ‘Traitor!’

  The sardar ordered his men to chase the torches and Raje’s men followed the sardar for a while, who simply assumed that they must be his own men. At a turn in the forest, Raje’s men moved towards Kondana while the sardar and his own men continued to chase the burning torches deeper into forest, eager to capture the enemy. To their surprise, when they finally overtook the burning torches, they realized they had been fooled. They had been chasing the bullocks with torches tied to their horns while they had assumed all the while for them to be Maratha soldiers. He knew he had been outwitted.

  Dawn was breaking over the eastern sky on the day of Ram Navami as Shivaji reached Kondana. He folded his hands in obeisance at the rising sun.

  #

  The Lal Mahal Palace, once a place of pride for Khan, was in ruins. The begums sat beating their chests around Abdul Fateh’s dead body. The bodies of the dead begums, maids and other guards were lined up covered with cloth. Shaista Khan was wounded in the attack and three of the fingers on his right hand had been cut. He looked at the hand as it was being bandaged by the royal hakim. The sudden attack in the dead of the night had shaken him deeply.

  The cantonment had not recovered from the attack either. No one could believe that Shivaji had had the temerity to attack Lal Mahal. Khan called for an urgent meeting of his sardars, and blamed their lackadaisical attitude for the attack. Shaista Khan was a worried man; he did not know how he would face the emperor now. He was related to Aurangzeb and he knew that the emperor would find Shivaji’s audacity an affront to the Mughal throne itself. Without wasting time, Khan decided to attack Kondana.

  Shivaji, anticipating such a move, had ordered the gates of the fort to be left open. No one, and not even the Maratha flag, was seen on the ramparts when Khan’s troops reached the fort. Seeing the open doors and an apparently unprotected fort, Khan’s men decided to enter without fear. They assumed Shivaji and his men had run away in fear of Khan’s retribution. The Mughal troops reached the fort led by an elephant carrying the Mughal flag.

  As they began the steep climb, they were suddenly surprised by shouts of ‘Har Har Mahadev!’ echoing all around. They could not believe their eyes when a saffron flag all at once fluttered from the fort. Soon, the cannons erupted. Scared of the booming cannons, the elephant leading the troops, tried to turn back. Shivaji surveyed the battle below as he stood on the ramparts with a smile on his face.

  Shaista Khan heard of the fate his men met at Kondana. Unable to believe that they had been deceived, he now viewed each one of them with suspicion. He screamed at the assembly of his sardars and said, ‘I cannot believe Shivaji could come walking into my palace without the involvement of my own men. He’s had the guts to come straight into my bedroom and attack me! The next time, he will simply cut my throat! I am done with this city—I am leaving Pune!’

  Khan began preparations to move to Aurangabad, and within three days he had left Pune, ordering Jaswant Singh to stay behind.

  After taking care of the men wounded in the attack on Lal Mahal, Shivaji left for Rajgad. He was disappointed to hear that the attack on Shaista Khan had not been completely successful and had left Khan merely wounded. Jijabai, however, was very happy to see Shivaji return safely.

  #

  Within eight days of attacking Shaista Khan, Raje marched towards Konkan and captured Rajapur, Kudal, Vengurla and other territories, finally reaching the sea. The rains had begun and there was news of the Mughal forces having reached Mahad. Raje decided to turn back. There was not much to gain monetarily in this campaign but Raje had managed to increase his influence in the Konkan region and establish his superiority over the Kudal Sawants. He returned to Rajgad in the rains.

  Shaista Khan’s three-year reign in Pune had destroyed the Pune province. The villages were deserted as the farmers and peasants had moved to the Konkan region. Jaswant Singh continued to hold on to Pune while Raje was unable to collect the kind of revenue he wanted from the Konkan region. His finances were stretched with the burden of an ever-expanding cavalry and army of foot soldiers. It was necessary to find ways to increase revenues and a campaign was the dire need of the hour. The only question was—where should they attack?

  One of the sardars suggested, ‘How about Karnatak?’

  Raje shook his head and said, ‘We don’t want to upset Adil Shah. Shaista Khan will attack us again someday for revenge, and we cannot afford to have Adil Shah against us at that time.’

  ‘Then what should we do?’ Jijabai asked.

  ‘Jagdamba will show us the way,’ Shivaji sighed.

  That evening, Bahirji came to see Raje, who told him, ‘Bahirji, I have some work for you. I want the Mughals to compensate the monetary loss they have caused us.’ The next day, Raje spent a long time with Bahirji who left the fort late in the afternoon.

  #

  It had been four months since Bahirji’s departure when one afternoon Yesaji, Tanaji and Netaji came to Rajgad. Netaji said, ‘Tanaji, Raje seems to be making a big plan.’

  Tanaji replied, ‘I think so. Raje has summoned the troops and there have been messages going all around. He inspected the cantonment personally last evening.’

  ‘But I am unable
to understand what the plan is,’ Netaji commented.

  Raje was waiting in the office. He had with him Prataprao Sarnobat, Anandrao, Moropant, Nilopant, Annajipant and others.

  Raje said, as soon as everyone was seated, ‘Netaji, we are leaving tomorrow.’

  ‘Where are we going, Maharaj?’ Netaji asked.

  ‘We have an opportunity to make peace with the Mughals. We can help Aurangzeb by supporting Mahabat Khan at Patan. It is a good opportunity to keep Aurangzeb at bay for a while.’

  It was disappointing news for those who had assembled. They were unable to understand Raje’s urgency in helping the Badshah. Shivaji did not elaborate further and left the room.

  That evening, as Raje entered Jijabai’s quarters, she asked, ‘Raje, I am told that you are going to help Mahabat Khan.’

  Asking Mahadev to stand guard outside, Shivaji entered Jijabai’s quarters and said, ‘Maa saheb, I cannot afford to bear the strain of the expenses anymore. Shaista Khan drove our people out of their homes. I need enormous amounts of money to get them back.’

  ‘But where do you plan to get the money from?’

  ‘I have found a source—it has an unlimited supply of wealth. I am going to slake my thirst from this spring.’

  ‘Don’t speak in riddles!’

  ‘Maa saheb, I am going to attack Surat.’

  ‘Surat?’

  ‘You heard me right! Surat is a cash cow for the Mughals. Their revenue is in lakhs just on account of taxes. It is the main port from where the Haj pilgrims leave for Mecca. I have decided to loot Surat and reduce our debts.’

  ‘Raje, isn’t that Mughal territory? And also, Surat is so far away!’

  ‘For the past four months, my spies have been sending me information. Surat is safely ensconced in Mughal territory, but with no forts and soldiers guarding it. Surat is like a Mughal queen roaming freely in the royal gardens without any fear. They would never dream of an attack there.’

  ‘Do you expect any trouble on the way?’

  ‘I don’t think so. Shahzada Muazzam is preparing to face me in Aurangabad as per the information his spies have given him as I have deliberately created that impression. The Portuguese at Goa fear an attack from us at any moment and are scared to death. The Adil Shahi troops are constantly alert.’

  ‘You have managed this well! Your own Senapati is not aware of your plans. Don’t you trust him?’

  ‘Don’t mistake me, Maa saheb. This is not a lack of trust—I am just being very cautious. Our spies are aware of my plans. They are, as we speak, spread across Surat, waiting for us. Our ships are moving into position around Surat and we have no time to lose now. I know the burden of managing a campaign all alone, and of a thousand men willing to lay down their lives at my command.’

  Jijabai said, as she stood up, ‘Raje, take care and come back victorious. We will be waiting for you.’

  ‘Maa saheb, I will win this battle in a manner that will be unsurpassed. I am going to recover all our past losses. The wealth we capture will blind your eyes with its shine and our strength will multiply manifold. I can just imagine the smile on your face when I return.’

  They came out of the palace and Mahadev stood guard at the door.

  Jijabai asked, ‘Is Mahadev accompanying you?’

  ‘Yes, of course! He has become my shadow—how can I go without him?’

  The next morning, the fort woke to the sound of trumpets blaring. The bugles and horns followed as Raje left Rajgad. It was a cold winter morning as they descended from the fort, and a contingent of eight thousand foot soldiers began their march towards Surat. Raje reached Trimbakeshwar and moved further after darshan at the temple. They would halt in the jungles during the day and march at night. The Maratha troops made remarkable progress without a word to the outside world.

  #

  The lovely fort at Surat sat perched on the banks of the Tapti River. It was a small but strong fort and the town of Surat, fanned out behind the fort, was on flat land. There was no boundary wall encircling the town, which spread over a mile both in length and breadth. There were a few moats around the fort, dug long ago, but they had not been used for ages now. Surat was flanked by the ocean on one side and the mighty Mughal empire on other. There was no need for any other protection.

  Aurangzeb received an annual tax revenue of ten lakhs from Surat each year as Surat was the business centre of the country. Englishmen, Turks and many other foreigners had set up their trade in Surat. The Mughal sardar Inayat Khan ruled over Surat without a care in the world. The Englishman James Oxenden had a camp set up on the other side of the river, and he had an office near the mouth of the river. The smaller boats would bring in goods from the larger ships on the river. Similarly, goods from India would leave by the same route. And so, all the rich traders had huge homes along the riverside.

  The watchman in the watchtower was basking in the warm morning sun, and there was a nip in the air. The harbour was silent as there was not much traffic that morning. The harbour was closely guarded by the Mughal troops who collected taxes for all goods entering and leaving the port.

  A casual labourer, called a Momin colloquially, stood near the octroi post stood when a guard asked, ‘Momin, why are you standing here?’

  The Momin replied, ‘I wonder if there will be much work.’

  ‘There isn’t much work expected today. You may as well take a break.’

  ‘I took leave yesterday too—not a ship in sight. I don’t think I will make any money today.’

  The guards laughed and the worker walked away slowly, smiling to himself.

  In the meanwhile, Babul stood outside Oxenden’s house, adjusting the saddle on a horse. He had come to Surat five months ago in search of work. The English saheb was happy with him and had given him work near the harbour. While Babul was busy shoeing the horse, a stable hand and two other servants came and stood near him. Hearing a noise, Babul stood up to see Oxenden saheb leaving for office. He saluted smartly.

  ‘Babul, finish your work fast. The poor animal is waiting for the other shoe to be fixed.’

  The stable hand suddenly asked, ‘Babul, there used to be a beggar here. I don’t see him anymore’

  Babul was taken aback for a moment and asked, ‘Which beggar?’

  ‘The one who used to sit there under that tree,’ he said pointing in the same direction.’

  Babul said, as if he was trying to remember, ‘Oh, that fellow? I shooed him away. I allowed him to sit there out of sympathy, but he was trying to steal from the stables.’

  The stable hand laughed. The beggar had become friends with everyone in the last four months, and would be seen in each corner of the city. But he had now vanished.

  Babul finished fixing the shoe and got up, admiring the horse, and asked casually, ‘Looks like there are no ships in the port today.’

  ‘What have you got to do with it?’

  ‘We have to take care of our families. We need money. If there is no cargo to unload, we do not earn our day’s wages. We cannot manage a living by hammering horse shoes alone.’

  The stable hand smiled and said, ‘You are right, brother. But I went to the wharf this morning and there aren’t going to be any ships today or for the next two days. Anyway, I will see you later.’

  ‘And what about my money?’

  A few days later, Babul stood at a crossroad in town when a shadow fell on him. He lifted his head to see Ramsharan standing there. He seemed tired.

  ‘What happened, Ramsharan?’

  ‘I am tired of working at the oil extraction plant.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘My head reels seeing the bullock go round and round. I am going round in circles even in my sleep.’ He looked around and continued, ‘Virji Hora’s goods are expected to arrive in a few days hopefully. Anyway, I will go home now.’

  #

  It was late afternoon when two riders were seen galloping towards the Subedar’s house.

  Subedar Inayat Khan was enjo
ying a lovely siesta when he was woken up. An irritated Inayat Khan waited for the spies to present themselves. He rested his head against the large cushions and stifling a yawn, asked, ‘What is it?’

  ‘Huzoor, Shivaji has reached Gandevi. He has a huge army with him.’

  Inayat Khan was wide awake. Shivaji? In Gandevi? That was just a few miles away. Impossible! Inayat smiled, ‘You fool! How can you imagine that Shivaji would care to come into Mughal territory? Have you seen with your own eyes?’

  ‘No, Huzoor. But I saw the way people were running about and the kind of confusion created in Gandevi. I came to inform you immediately.’

  ‘Idiots! Shivaji could not have come this far through Mughal territory without being questioned or stopped earlier. Henceforth, don’t come to me with such baseless news.’

  The spies left but the news of Shivaji’s arrival spread among the townsfolk. By evening, there was more news—Shivaji was a mere mile away from Surat. Inayat Khan was worried now and another rider brought still more news, ‘Huzoor, one of our sardars has left for Ahmedabad to get help from the Mughal forces.’

  Inayat Khan was happy with this piece of news but the city was tense. People gathered at various places and whispered among themselves. The English and other representatives of the traders and merchants came to Inayat Khan’s place for a meeting and requested permission to move away from the city.

  Inayat Khan said, ‘You are here for the benefits of trade and when we are faced with impending danger, you want to run away, is it? If you desert the city, what would be our fate? You cannot leave and I too am going to stay right here.’

  ‘But ….’

  ‘I don’t want to hear anything. Shivaji has not arrived and I am told that one sardar has already left for Ahmedabad to get help. There is no need to worry.’

  The English and the Dutch officials had a tête-à-tête among themselves and decided to move their women and children to safety. They had heard of the way Shivaji had captured Rajapur. But soon, a messenger arrived to Inayat Khan’s house and his man announced, ‘Huzoor, Shivaji’s messenger has come with a message.’