Baji Prabhu

Baji Prabhu is remembered as a hero of India, especially in Maharashtra. He was a sub-leader serving under the Mores of Javli, in Maharashtra, until Javli was annexed to Shivaji’s territories in 1656. At first it was impossible for Baji Prabhu to appreciate Shivaji, but he soon realised that Shivaji stood for a cause larger than that of his disposed leader. He became an enthusiastic supporter of the Maratha Hindu movement. From then on he was a staunch friend and supporter of Shivaji.

In 1660, Shivaji was locked up in a fort, under siege by a big army from Bijapur. He made his escape on the dark night of July 13th, with a contingent of about 1500 Maratha troops. Baji Prabhu was 2nd in command of the contingent. Baji Prabhu would have perhaps won no place in history and ended his life in relative obscurity if Shivaji and his party had reached their destination in safety. But Fazl Khan, the son of Afzal Khan (a general of Bijapur who Shivaji had slain) was a sworn enemy of Shivaji and gave hot pursuit, with an army of 12,000. By day break, it was clear that there was no way to shake of the enemy except by giving fight. Shivaji decided that this was inevitable. He ordered Baji Prabhu to face the troops of Bijapur, for which undertaking he was given half of the contingent. Shivaji said that Baji Prabhu would hear the cannon fire from Vishalgadh (the destination fort), as a signal of Shivaji’s safety.

Baji Prabhu occupied the narrow pass of Ghodkhind, blocking the path of the pursuers, and made a determined stand against them. He knew the great importance of his task - he had to protect the safety of a man of destiny. This resolved him to stand until the last man. Fazl Khan repeatedly tried to break through the defences of the pass, to get to Shivaji, but was constantly repulsed. The unequal battle raged for hours, with the valiant defenders clinging to their positions, rapidly depleting in numbers.

At last, 5 hours after the battle started, the cannon fire announcing Shivaji’s return to Vishalgadh was heard. Seven hundred valiant Marathas had by then laid down their lives. Each one was a martyr of a great cause. Baji Prabhu was badly hurt. The dying hero was however jubilant. He had done his duty and saved his king, and saved the realm from chaos. He showed spirit of sacrifice few today could match. He asked for no greater reward in life and died a happy man. If Shivaji had fallen, the history of the suffering of our ancestors under the Moghul yoke would have been longer and more gruesome.

"The defence...," says historian Dennis Kincaid, "has become legendary in Western India. The action is remarkable as an example of the spirit which Shivaji’s leadership infused into his followers." Shivaji’s mother, Jijabai, wept at the news of Baji Prabhu’s death. Ballads and poems have been composed in his memory, some of which are still sung today. Sri Aurobindo, the great yogi, mystic and revolutionary of the 20th century wrote a splendid poem dedicated to Baji Prabhu, which was used as a symbol to capture the spirit of sacrifice that was required of the young men in India's freedom struggle which was then under way. Baji Prabhu and his men will be remembered as long as good and brave deeds are considered worthy of commemoration.

Tanaji Malusare

Perhaps no episode in Maratha history has stirred the hearts of people as deeply as the death of Tanaji Malusare, the conqueror of Sinhagad (the Lion’s Fort), the tale of which is most popularly told by the Ballad of Sinhagad. The Treaty of Purandar (June 1665) had forced Shivaji to surrender 23 forts to the Moghuls, including Sinhagad. The treaty hurt the pride of the Marathas. None felt the sting more deeply than Jijabai, the mother of Shivaji, who was in a way the mother of the kingdom. Shivaji, however deeply he loved his mother, could not fulfill her wish, because the conquest was considered virtually impossible, with the fortifications and select Rajput, Arab and Pathan troops guarding it. Shivaji’s lieutenants shared this view.

But, Jijabai refused to share their hesitation. It is said that once determined, a woman’s strength of will and thirst of sacrifice are the most potent forces, and the example Shivaji’s mother Jijabai definately supported this view. One morning, says the ballad of Sinhagad, while she was looking out of the window of Pratapgad, she saw in the distance the Lion Fort. The thought that the fort was now under the control of Moghuls enraged her. She summoned a rider and ordered him to go in all haste to Shivaji, then resident at Rajgad, and tell him that she desired his immediate presence.

Shivaji promptly responded to his mother’s summons, without knowing the reasons for its urgency. His heart sank when he discovered what it was that Jijabai wanted of him. He tried to plead earnestly that the conquest would be likely to be in vain, despite even mammoth efforts. The lines of the ballad have Shivaji saying:

“To win it went forth many, but there came back never any: Oft planted was the mango seed, but nowhere grows the tree.”

However, eventually dreading his mother’s displeasure most of all, he thought of a suitable man to whom could be entrusted the perilous task. There was nobody else capable thought Shivaji other than Tanaji Malusare, his prized companion from early youth, and a man of iron will, who had accompanied Shivaji on all historic associations.

Tanaji was in the village of Umbrat, engaged in celebrating his son’s wedding, when the call came for him to meet with Shivaji at Rajgadh. He hastened to meet Shivaji, accompanied by his brother Suryaji and his uncle Shelarmama. Shivaji did not have the heart to tell his dear comrade that he had been summoned to such a mission, and directed Tanaji to Jijabai to hear from her the nature of his mission.

Undaunted by the terrifying nature of his mission, the lion-hearted Tanaji vowed either to accomplish it or die in the process. He set out at night and from the Konkan marched towards the fortress with his men, reaching it unnoticed on a cold, clear and moonless night - in February 1670. He had taken with him Shivaji’s favourite ghorpad or lizard to assist in scaling the fort wall (the lizard was regularly used to map a suitable route for climbing forts). The creature, to whose waist a cord was tied, refused to climb the fort, as if to warn Tanaji of the impending disaster. Tanaji expressed his rage, and the lizard got the message and terrified, scaled the hill top, which helped the Marathas to clamber the cliff.

Scarcely before 300 men had reached the top, their arrival was detected by the guards. The sentries were swiftly slain by the Marathas, but the clash of arms thoroughly roused the garrison. Tanaji was faced with a grave problem. With 700 of his troops still at the bottom of the fort, he had to challenge an enemy that greatly outnumbered his troops. His mind was already made up, and he ordered his troops to charge. The fight proceeded. Tanaji lost many men, but they inflicted heavy casualties on the Moghul forces. Tanaji repeatedly sang to keep the spirits of his soldoers high. After some hours, the Moghul commander Uday Bhan engaged in a fight with Tanaji. The odds were against the Maratha. The long night march, the anxiety of the mission, scaling the fort and the vigorous combat Tanaji had already been engaged in before Uday attacked him had drained him thoroughly, hence after a lengthy fight, Tanaji fell.

The death of their leader unnerved the Marathas, but Tanaji had kept the battle going just long enough so that the 700 troops who had been left at the bottom of the fort when the battle began had managed to breach the defence and force entry. They were led by Suryaji, Tanaji's brither. The timely arrival of Suryaji, Tanaji’s brother, who had entered the fort, and his exhortation to the Marathas to fight till the end saved the situation. In the fierce battle that continued, the Moghul commander was slain, and the entire garrison routed. Several hundred Moghuls in order to try and save themselves ventured over the rock and were slain in the attempt.

It was a great victory for the Marathas, but there was no elation in their camp. The news of the victory was conveyed to Shivaji, who rushed to the fort eager to congratulate Tanaji, but to his dismay he saw the brave man’s slain body. The Ballad of Sinhagad describes the grief as such:

Twelve days the king wept over him for the great love that he bore him.

The sorrow of Jijabai was also described:

The scarf removed, she saw his face, No worthier chief of the race, Twas thus she wailed and drew a sword, before the armies of his Lord:“Shivaji son and king today, Thy best limb has been chopped away” Nor less the monarch to his chief, The tribute paid of royal grief.

When Shivaji learned of his friend's death, he remarked "Gad ala pan Sinha gela", meaning "We have gained the fort, but lost a lion."