Shivaji

by Ranjit Desai

  ‘We have a peace treaty with Qutb Shah now. And we are keen that the Maratha people should come together to remove the Pathans at Bijapur. I know it is difficult for you to sever relations and come to Bhaganagar, but I promise you that my only intention is to see the Marathas prosper. I have resolved to unite the Marathas for the sake of their welfare. What more can I say?’

  The messenger left the next morning. At the crack of dawn, as the Maratha troops moved out of the camp, they were accompanied by Qutb Shah’s sardar Mirza Muhammad Amin with his four thousand foot soldiers, a thousand cavalrymen and his artillery.

  #

  Raje and his troops moved towards Karnatak and reached Kurnool, a few miles from the confluence of the rivers Bhima and Krishna, called Nivritti Sangam. After a dip in the holy waters, Raje donated money to the Brahmins and then camped at Atmakur after crossing the Krishna. Raje was also keen to visit Srisailam.

  Within a few days he left with a few horsemen for company. It was the end of winter and the fertile black soil with mango, tamarind and other trees was a pleasant sight. They would spot a herd of deer, which would vanish the very next moment, leaping over the grass. After a few hours of riding, they could see the distant thin bluish line of the mountains of the Nallamala ranges.

  Soon, as the forest cover thickened, the topography changed. Tired of seeing the flat plains in Karnatak, the hilly forests were a soothing sight. Raje was reminded of Raigad, nestled in the Sahyadris. By evening, they had climbed the range. The teak, silk-cotton and sandal trees provided a dense cover. The spring, almost upon them, could be seen in the various flowers all around.

  As the night fell, the men and horses rested, and multiple fires were lit. Cries of wild animals and birds were heard through the night. They woke up to a glorious sunrise as they started their march again. Soon, the River Krishna was in sight as it meandered through the forests, and dilapidated bastions and remnants of forts dotted the landscape. As they crossed the river, they could see the shrine of Srisailam on top of the mountain.

  Raghunathpant said, pointing to the shrine, ‘Raje, this place is called Neelganga. From here to Patalaganga, the Krishna flows north.’

  The men were surprised as Raje dived into the river and enjoyed a brisk swim against the currents. Spotting a fort in the distance, he asked, ‘What is that? Looks like the ruins of a fort?’

  ‘It is, Maharaj. This and a few others were built during Chandragupta’s time.’

  ‘What a pity! The Gupta empire was a glorious one.’ Raje was in a philosophical mood as he said, much to himself, ‘Everything we build is perishable. That is the very rule of nature, isn’t it? Yet, we do not change and continue to build forts, hoping they will last forever. We strive hard to protect each man and woman in our kingdom. But what a sacrifice we make for it! I wish our future generations can preserve what we build.’

  He paused and, without waiting for a response, said, ‘I wish man did not have the faculty to dream! He would not be tortured unnecessarily.’

  Pant said, breaking his chain of thoughts, ‘Maharaj, the temple, a Jyotirlinga, is a couple of kilometres away on a steep slope. Shall I get a palanquin ready?’

  ‘Why? I will walk the distance.’

  They walked from Neelganga to Patalaganga. Raje gasped for breath after walking half the distance. He was out of breath when Pant asked anxiously, ‘Raje, are you all right? Shall I order a palanquin?’

  Waving his hand to decline the offer, Raje said, as he wiped the sweat off his face, ‘I have spent all my life ascending and descending forts. But today, I feel spent.’

  ‘Maharaj, you are not even fifty years old. Why do you say that?’

  ‘Stamina has nothing to do with age. My childhood passed by so quickly that I don’t even remember it. I was busy pursuing the Hindavi Swaraj, and I never had the time to enjoy childhood.’

  The slope had almost ended and Pant said, trying to encourage Raje to carry on walking, ‘We are almost there!’

  #

  In the light of the evening sun, the magnificent temple looked imposing as it stood on the flat top of the hill. The arch was an imposing affair. A tent had been pitched near the temple by the advance party. Mahadev came in and saluted, and Raje was happy to see the arrangements. He said, ‘We can rest later; I am eager to have darshan now.’

  As he entered the courtyard, Raje was surprised to see the size of the temple which included apartments for pilgrims on the side. A life-sized statue of the Nandi bull stood in the middle. There were beautiful sculptures carved in stone everywhere. As he reached the sanctum sanctorum, he could see the imposing Shiva linga with a five-hooded serpent spread out over the idol. Holy water dripped from a jar hanging above. The horizontal marks of ash across the linga overwhelmed Raje as he fell prostrate, tears falling down his cheeks.

  It was nightfall by the time they finished their darshan, and the moon shone in the sky. Raje was so taken by the place that he decided to stay in the pilgrims’ apartments. Pant said, ‘Maharaj, the tents have been readied for you. In a few days, since it is the month of Chaitra, the place will be full on the full moon day.’

  ‘It does not matter, Pant. I don’t want to leave this place.’

  Yesaji, Balaji, Pant and the others looked at each other helplessly. They knew Raje had made up his mind. As they brought out refreshments, Raje said, his eyes half-closed, ‘I don’t want anything. I am fine.’

  The men were perplexed. Raje’s behaviour had changed dramatically. He was silent, hardly speaking. He said, looking at Balaji, ‘Will you fulfil a request for me?’

  ‘Please command me, Maharaj.’

  ‘Ever since I have come here, I feel truly satisfied. I have been giving it serious thought. My work for the Swaraj has yielded results, thanks to Jagdamba. But the credit really goes to all of you. The kingdom is safe in your hands. I want you to go back and crown Sambhaji and Rajaram as your kings.’

  Yesaji, shocked to hear Raje, could not say anything except exclaim, ‘Maharaj!’

  Pointing towards the temple, Raje said, ‘He is the real Maharaj, not me! I am no longer your king. I want to spend the rest of my life here, at the feet of God. You have to fulfil my request now.’

  The men could not hold their tears. Yesaji touched Raje’s feet and said, ‘If you leave us, where do we go? We too will follow you. We are happy to stay here with you.’

  Raje said, as he pulled Yesaji up, ‘Do you realize how easy and tempting it is to speak like this? It is late now. Let us sleep.’

  The men heaved sighs of relief as Raje fell asleep shortly thereafter. It was sometime around midnight when Raje woke up to find Mahadev, standing guard nearby, a naked sword in hand.

  ‘Mahadev, you too should sleep. We are in the temple of Srisailam Mallikarjuna, our protector. Don’t insult him by standing guard here. Go to sleep!’

  As Mahadev left, the campus was silent now. After a while, Raje got up and, taking the sword lying next to him, walked towards the temple. Raghunathpant, Balaji, Yesaji and others slept soundly.

  Mahadev had left but was not asleep. He was watching wide-eyed. He hurried to wake up Raghunathpant, placing his finger on his lips to indicate silence. Soon, others had woken up and they watched Raje enter the main gate. The silver door to the sanctum sanctorum was closed. Raje knelt and, bending his head, raised his right hand. Scarcely had he placed the edge of the sword on his neck when a firm grip held his hand.

  ‘Maharaj, what is this?’

  Raje looked up to see Raghunathpant holding his wrist. Others stood by mutely. Raje said, his voice sounding unnaturally loud, ‘Let me be free! If I cannot stay here, I want to at least offer my head at his feet.’

  Raghunathpant trembled. He said, ‘Maharaj, committing suicide is a sin!’

  An infuriated Raje shouted, ‘Who is committing suicide here? I am surrendering myself to the Lord.’

  ‘It is only for the mind to surrender!’ Raghunathpant said, his voice calm and steady.

  Raje�
�s grip on the sword loosened as it fell with a loud clang on the floor. Yesaji quickly stepped forward to pick it up. They all sat silently. Raje was shivering as he looked at the closed door.

  #

  When will these doors open? If one door opens, I see another closing. When will all the doors open? Maybe when the last door is opened, I can go in.

  Unaware of those around him, his soliloquy continued. Why is this mind despondent? Why, despite all the pleasures at Qutb Shah’s palace, was I feeling uneasy? I established the kingdom as per the Lord’s wishes. Is it the future that worries me? Am I worried that it will not last long? Gyaneshwar did not bother whether his Gyaneshwari would be read by others. He surrendered to God and left the world. But these men are gods themselves! They are not mere mortals like me.’

  Maa saheb’s only desire was to see me build my own kingdom. Her desire was fulfilled when she saw me crowned as a sovereign king. But I seem to be infatuated with my success. My father was as strong as a rock but I could never take shelter under him. My mother gave me all the affection she could but I never asked her for anything. Sai left me before I could even start enjoying my life with her.’

  Men are willing to lay down their lives for me but I could not shape my son into someone I could admire! Perhaps I am not capable of winning his confidence. People who were supposed to give me nectar have tried to poison me. I wonder what the meaning of life is—is it conquering lands, invading regions and living a life of constant struggle? We live for perhaps between sixty and a hundred years. I have hardly enjoyed my childhood or my adulthood or even the days of position and authority.

  What would it be like if I were to live my life over again? Is this attachment—pining for what is lost and being unable to enjoy the moment? I could have been just a Jagirdar like my father and enjoyed life. But I did not do that. Is ending one’s life a selfish act? Do I have a right to end what has been given by the Lord? Would that not be an insult to Him? I must endure whatever comes my way, in whichever form …

  After a while, he was out of his trance. It was morning and the front door was open. Seeing the lovely and unobstructed view of the Shiva linga, Raje’s tears flowed unabashedly. He stood up and rang the bell with joy, which spread to all those present. They knew they had their Raje back!

  #

  After spending a few days in Srisailam, he ordered a flight of stairs to be built and had the arch at the temple renovated. Raje asked Raghunathpant, as they performed the puja on the full moon day, ‘Pant, why were you worried when I said I wanted to stay back here?’

  ‘Maharaj, you would not have lost anything but we would have been orphaned! We would have had no choice but to kill ourselves. The philosopher’s stone has no worries, Raje. It is the ordinary metal which worries if it does not turn to gold.’

  ‘If only I could turn everything I touch into gold!’

  ‘You already have, Maharaj! Look at our army of nearly fifty thousand men, and there are lakhs of people waiting for your orders. This is only your magic!’

  ‘No, these are Jagdamba’s blessings. Let us light one lakh earthen lamps today. Can you procure them?’

  ‘Yes, we can!’

  That night, there was a cloudless sky with a full moon, blazing in its glory. The lamps had been lit everywhere—on walls, on the temple tower and the lamp tower in the temple courtyard. The pilgrims did not know whether to look at the idol or gaze at Shivaji.

  After staying a few more days, Raje decided to move on. He stopped for a while at River Krishna to take a final look at the temple. Letting out a sigh, he said, ‘Well, we must move now. Such moments are but fleeting. I have seen the Krishna originating in Mahabaleshwar as a thin stream. After cascading over hills, valleys, rocks and being joined by other streams, it becomes what we see here. Thousands wash themselves in it, and yet, I wonder how it remains so pure!’

  He continued, before waiting for Pant to respond, ‘You know, it remains pure because it is constantly moving towards the sea. The current of human emotions often gets dirtied by desire and lust but the essence of life is pure. Krishna represents the core of human essence. I salute her!’

  Folding his hands in a namaskar, he mounted his horse. As Raje crossed the river, the horse hooves splashed through the waters and it appeared that, for a brief moment, the flowing stream had been interrupted.

  #

  At Atmakur, Raje’s other troops joined him and they moved southwards. Crossing Nandiyal and Kadappa, they reached Tirupati. After a darshan of Lord Venkateswara, they reached Kanchipuram. After a darshan of the temple, they camped a few miles from the Madras harbour.

  The Karnatak campaign was to begin from here. What was once Vijayanagara empire was now under the control of the Adil Shahis. Raje’s plan was to bring the region under his control. He was particularly interested in the fort of Jinji, one of the strongest forts under Adil Shahi control but Raje was confident of capturing it.

  Nasir Muhammad, the fort-keeper at Jinji, was Khavas Khan’s brother, the Wazir of Bijapur who was murdered when the Pathans took over. Sher Khan, the Pathan chief in the Deccan, had his eye on the fort but he backed off when he heard that Raje was marching towards it. Raje sent a thousand of his men to Jinji with a message to Nasir Muhammad that he was arriving soon. Nasir thought it was better to hand over the fort to Raje than let the Pathan get hold of it. He agreed to a treaty. Raje, on hearing the news, marched towards Jinji. Nasir Muhammad was given a jagir of fifty thousand in return, and the Maratha flag fluttered atop the Jinji Fort.

  The fort was an imposing structure, and the moat around the fort was nearly thirty feet wide and deep. Two perennial streams provided drinking water. The fort, once the pride of Vijayanagara kingdom, was now under Raje’s command. After giving orders for the repair and renovation of the fort and appointing Ravaji Nalage as the fort-keeper, Raje decided to move on. He had been at the fort for nearly a week.

  In the meanwhile, he received news from Vellore that Qutb Shah’s artillery chief, Mirza Muhammad Amin, had left for Golconda. Qutb Shah had assumed that Raje would take over the fort and then, after hoisting the Qutb Shahi flag, merge it into former’s jurisdiction. But Raje had no such plans. Muhammad Amin had stopped paying the daily tribute of three thousand hons to take care of his daily expenses.

  Marching urgently towards Vellore, Raje reorganized his forces to ensure a siege on the fort there. It was a well-protected fort, with multiple moats, some of which had crocodiles in them. It was crucial for Raje to annex the fort to his kingdom but he knew it was not an easy task.

  Nasir, acting on behalf of Raje, tried convincing Abdul Khan, the fort-keeper, to surrender but not wanting to be seen as a coward, he decided to fight. Leaving his troops to continue the siege, Raje returned to Gingee, a distance of nearly eighty miles. Raje’s capture of Gingee had shaken up the Dutch, the English and the Portuguese and they started negotiations for reconciliation.

  Raje asked the English for antidotes for poison and asked how much they wanted for these. However, the English sent the antidotes without asking for any money. While at Gingee, Raje made plans to target Sher Khan, the Adil Shahi Subedar in the Deccan.

  #

  Sher Khan Lodhi’s headquarters were at Waligandapuram, near Tiruchirapalli, north of the River Kaveri. He could keep a watch on the Nayaks of Thanjavur and Madurai. He decided to set up an ambush for Shivaji and his forces in Tiruwadi, a few miles from the Kadalur harbour.

  The monsoon was about to begin and Raje was keen that he subdue Sher Khan before the rains arrived in full force. Camping within sight of Sher Khan’s camp, Raje decided to play a waiting game. He knew that Sher Khan’s spies were entering his camp in the guise of fakirs but he did not act, confusing Sher Khan. As expected, Sher Khan’s soldiers, seeing the enemy stationed at the door, started losing their morale. Stricken by fear, Sher Khan ordered his forces to retreat.

  The moment the news reached Raje, he ordered his men to attack. The Pathans, seeing the Marathas chasing them, fle
d in fear. Soon, they were surrounded. The air was split with the sounds of horns and Raje’s cavalry, who with glinting swords and spears in their hands chased the Pathans. The battlefield resounded with shouts of ‘Har Har Mahadev!’ Five hundred Pathans were massacred. Sher Khan and his son took shelter in the nearby fort of Bhuvanagiri. But Raje was determined to prevail and soon, a worried Sher Khan sent feelers to negotiate a treaty. He was forced to pay a ransom of twenty thousand hons, while leaving his son Ibrahim Khan as hostage with Raje as he vacated the territory.

  The hostilities of Adil Shahi troops in the Deccan stopped with the defeat of Sher Khan. Raje was now free to move around without any hindrance. He was now eager to meet his stepbrother Ekoji Raje and moved southwards.

  #

  They camped at Tiruvannamalai. The scenic beauty impressed Raje, and he said, ‘What a beautiful village!’ looking at Hambirrao.

  ‘Earlier, there were some beautiful temples of Shiva and Samotti Perumal. But after the destruction of the Vijaynagara kingdom, the Muslims built mosques over them,’ Hambirrao said.

  As they reached the outskirts of the village, the white domes of the mosques, freshly painted with lime, came into view. The destruction was evident even after so many years. A broken idol of Nandi the bull lay in a pit of dust, and a broken Shiva linga lay in the mud. It was a heart-rending sight, and brought tears to Raje’s eyes. He said, ‘What is the use of building a mosque after destroying a temple? How dare they?’