Tanaji Malusare- The Sinha (Lion)
The Sinha of Maratha army. One man who won many wars for Maratha Empire and martyred for the love of the motherland Maratha . He played a very important role in Maratha army. This is the story of Veer Tanaji Malusare. A well known brave warrior. He has left his imprint on the Maratha Kingdom. One name who played a crucial role in the formation of Swarajya with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was a lifetime companion and close good friend of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was known as Sinha (lion) of Maratha. The name was given to him by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Childhood of Tanaji Malusare-
Tanaji Malusare was born in Godoli, Satara, Maharashtra, India in the year 1600 in a Koli family. His father's name was Sardar Kaloji. And his mother's name was Parvati bai. He had a brother whose name was Sardar Suryaji. Their mother, Parvati bai played an important role in shaping life of both the brothers. One more person influenced the life of both the brothers was their maternal uncle, Kondaji Shelar. Parvati bai and Shelar mama both had taken decision that Tanaji and Suryaji should be soldiers of Maratha army and both should have knowledge of arms and strategies.
Friendship with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj-
Tanaji was the most trusted ally of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and played a very important role in the formation of Swarajya. They used to make strategies to capture forts. One of the reasons behind their friendship was, Tanaji and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had similar thinking. Both loved their motherland and both wanted to establish a free and independent Maratha empire. Gradually their friendship strengthened and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj started visiting Tanaji's house. And Suryaji also became good friends of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Their friendship extended to families and Jijabai was also impressed by Tanaji. Later he was one of the strong pillars in the formation of Maratha army.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj succeeded his father and decided to form his army.
"Tanaji, we are friends and we both have similar thinking about our motherland. I want you to be Chieftain of my army."
After hearing this, Tanaji was very happy to play an important role in Maratha army.
"Raje, I am glad that you have considered me for this important duty. I will never let you down. I will always be honest to my duties and be a part in devote my life toward formation of Hindavi Swarajya."
And finally Tanaji started his work as Subhedar in Maratha army. He was a brave and courageous. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj won many battles with Tanaji and other Maratha warriors. After this, establishment of Hindu Kingdom was started. After winning Rajgad fort the Marathas were known as brave warriors.
After Rajgad, Maratha's attacked Chakan fort and won the fort. And supremacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was established. Now there was no looking back for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. And he added 20 more forts to his Maratha Kingdom. Now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj became ruler of a massive Maratha samrajya. His next plan was to enter in Konkan and accordingly he started his game plan. He marched towards it and won 9 more forts.
After this Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj attacked on Janjira fort and he started to rule on south Konkan. In all this Tanaji was the most important commander.
Tanaji's marriage-
Tanaji got married to Savitri bai Malusare. Savitri bai stood like a rock behind Tanaji. They both had a son whose name was Rayba Malusare.
Purandar pact-
Rajput Mirza Raje Jai Singh wanted to defeat Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at any cost. Rajput Mirza Raje Jai Singh attacked Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with full force. This time the war was face to face. And Rajput Mirza Raje Jai Singh, who was commander of Mughal army, was fully prepared to attack fort Purandar. The war was fierce. And it was difficult for Maratha's to defend the fort. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was losing the ground. And the situation was worrisome. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj met Tanaji,
"Tanaji, I am worried now. Is our army in a condition to fight with Jai Singh's army?"
"Raje, we are Marathas and we will not accept defeat. We will fight till our last breath. But Jai Singh has taken help from Mughals to prove his superiority. We are fighting but can't be sure about the win..."
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj realised that war with the Mughal Empire would only cause damage to the Maratha Empire and that his men would suffer heavy losses. So he chose to make a treaty instead of leaving his men under the Mughals. He came to a conclusion that this war would create huge losses so he decided to save lives of Maratha's and make a pact instead. He asked Tanaji to give this proposal to Mirza Raja Jai Singh.
" Mirza Raja Jai Singh, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj doesn't want to continue the war. And he wants to make a pact with you. If you want to discuss about this, we can talk."
Mirza Raje Jai Singh was very happy to hear this. He was very clever and asked for 23 forts to handover to his army. Aurangzeb was very happy to hear the news and due to this pact, Kondhana fort which was won by Tanaji was surrendered to Jai Singh and his supporters Mughals. The Treaty of Purandar was signed between the Rajput Mirza Raje Jai Singh on June 11, 1665 . Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had to give away his 23 forts. This treaty had shaken self respect of the Marathas.
In these forts, Kondhana fort had it's unique identity. The fort was visible from Jijabai's room. Kondhana was very essential fort for Marathas. So Jijabai wanted Kondhana fort back in Maratha Empire. She wanted to see saffron flag fluttering on Kondhana fort. So she started talking to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,
"Shivba, Kondhana is one of the important forts in Maratha Kingdom and you should get it back."
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj could understand urge of Jijabai but he was aware that it would not be easy to win the fort back.
"Aau saheb. I can understand your concern. But it is really difficult to win Kondhana fort. Many people tried winning the fort but no one returned."
After hearing to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Jijabai was not so happy. And Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj didn't want his mother to be sad. So he started making plans of adding Kondhana in Marathi Empire. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj started thinking that to whom the responsibility could be given. The only name which was flashing in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's mind was of Tanaji Malusare. Tanaji was very brave and he supported Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in all his wars. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj decided to give responsibility to Tanaji Malusare. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj knew that he is very strong. And Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was aware that Tanaji would fulfil his duty.
But at the same time Tanaji's son, Rayba's marriage preparations were on the peak. The marriage date was near and Tanaji thought of inviting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Jijabai for Rayba's marriage. So he and Shelar mama went to invite Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
"Shiva, I have come to invite you and Jijabai for my Son, Rayba's marriage." Tanaji said delightfully. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was very happy to hear the news. But he told Tanaji,
"Tanaji, it is good news. You enjoy Rayba's marriage but I won't be able to attend the marriage as I will have to go to fight back Kondhana fort." Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj said this..
Tanaji heard what Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj said. Tanaji's first commitment was towards motherland so without wasting any time Tanaji told Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj “Aadhi lagin kondhanyache mag mazya Raybache” (means first I will win kondhana then my Rayaba will get married).
Tanaji's battle of Kondhana-
Tanaji started marching towards Kondhana. The mission was impossible but Tanaji was very firm. In Kondhana fort, Mirza Raje Jai Singh had appointed Raja Udaybhan Rathod as the chief of fort. Udaybhan had entered in Mughal army to fulfil his selfish motives. The security on Kondhana was very tight. And it was an impossible mission to win this fort. The fort of Kondhana is situated at a very important location and it was very important for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to capture this fort. But the fort was well guarded by 5000 Mughal soldiers led by Udaybhan. The only unguarded portion was on top of an overhanging cliff. Tanaji decided to climb the steep cliff. Tanaji had a pet Ghorpad. Ghorpad is a lizard having a very strong grip. It could bear the weight of a person. The name of his pet Ghorpad was Yashawanti. Yashwanti had saved Tanaji from many problems. Yashwanti had never disappointed Tanaji. So Tanaji was having trust in Yashwanti. Tanaji threw Yashwanti above the fort but she could not make the grip on the cliff and fell down. Tanaji tried this quite a few times. But Yashwanti could not maintain the grip. Suryaji and Shelar mama thought it is a bad omen and asked Tanaji to return back. But Tanaji was firm on his decision. The only thing in his mind was to take back Kondhana fort. Tanaji once again tried and threw Yashwanti on the cliff. This time Yashwanti did not disappoint and Yashwanti could hold the grip on the cliff. Yashwanti's grip was very tight. Then Tanaji climbed up and in his manner the Maratha soldiers climbed the fort. 300 soldiers climbed up the cliff. But his 700 soldiers were standing down and he had to fight with 5000 soldiers. It was a big challenge. Maratha soldiers killed many Mughals but at the same time Tanaji's people were also killed. The battle was a fierce battle.
Finally the Mughal chief Udaybhan came to fight with Tanaji. Tanaji was a warrior and lion of Maratha Empire, so he fought with Udyabhan fearlessly, after a long battle Tanaji’s energy was exhausted as he was fighting for long. After a huge resistance to attacks towards him, he fell unconscious on the ground. He had many wounds on his body and finally thirsty, hungry and tired Tanaji given up against the life and death, he lost his life like a warrior . When Maratha soldiers knew about Tanaji's death, they were in deep shock and saddened due to this major loss of Maratha army. There was a lot of frustration in Maratha army but Suryaji encouraged the soldiers to fight.
"Our Sinha fought for his life and now you are running from here instead of fighting? This is the time to take revenge of Tanaji's death...We should fight and win this fort.."
These words reignited the energy in a soldier's mind and body. Shelar mama and Suryaji made the soldiers understand that Tanaji had been very brave. Tanaji fought till his last breath and this inspired the Maratha army. Maratha army decided to continue the war. After this encouragement Maratha army attacked Mughals with great aggression and Maratha army had knocked down the big Mughal army. Mughal chief was killed and security of the fort was destroyed. The Marathas had a huge victory and green flag was taken down. Now saffron flag was hoisted.
Gad ala, pan Sinha gela-
The Kondhna was won but Tanaji had sacrificed his life. Maratha army lost a great warrior. So there was no trace of happiness in the Maratha army. Before going for the Kondhana war, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had told Tanaji to give signal after the fort is won. According to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's orders the signal was given by the soldiers. Jijabai was waiting to get the signal from Kondhana. When Jijabai saw the signal, she was very delighted.
When Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was given the news of victory he rushed towards Kondhana fort. He wanted to personally meet and congratulate Tanaji. When he reached Kondhana fort, he saw Shelar mama, Suryaji and other soldiers but he could not see Tanaji.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj inquired about Tanaji, "Where is my brave Sinha? I want to congratulate him.." But he didn't get any answer and he got to know Tanaji lost his life while fighting..
And he became very sad and he said, "Gad ala, pan Sinha gela"- (The fort has been won by my lion has gone..)"
When Jijabai also heard this news, she too became very sad. After Tanaji's death Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was in a deep grief and he was unable to forget the memories. After that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj decided to rename the fort. And the name was changed to Sinhagad in memory of Tanaji Malusare. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had given name Sinha to Tanaji and the fort was won by this Sinha so Sinhagad was re-named.
After this, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took back all the 23 forts. And proof of his bravery was given. He established Maratha Kingdom and became king and he was called Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Tanaji Malusare was always with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the most difficult situations. He was the hero in Maratha army and he will always be remembered for his bravery. The Sinha of Maratha army- Tanaji Malusare.
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Kindly note- This information is gathered from online resources. And the information is converted in a story format. If any mistakes in this story, kindly accept my apologies. There are no intentions of hurting anyone's emotions.
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Anuja Kulkarni.
