A Short Note On Sambhaji

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was a Maratha military king and the child of Shivaji Maharaj, another legendary monarch. The Maratha Empire was founded from the ground up by children of Indian soil who wanted to defeat rulers that swore allegiance to the heirs of Turkish, Persian, and Mongol attackers. Sambhaji Maharaj reigned for just 9-10 years until succumbing to Aurangzeb, yet the Maratha people never forgot his heroism. Sambhaji Maharaj, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s son, had a great task: defending the Maratha empire against the strength of the Mughal emperors in Delhi, who were subsequently subjugated and devastated by the Maratha troops, as well as carrying on Shivaji Maharaj’s mission and ideas.

Shivaji Maharaj Empire

The Shivaji Maharaj Empire was a Hindu warrior clan in the western section of India’s Deccan plateau, at which plateau joins the Eastern Ghats hills. They repelled Muslim Mughal assaults in northern India and liberated themselves from princes in Bijapur inside the southeast. In 1674, Shivaji Maharaj declared himself Emperor and assumed the title (Chhatrapati). He felt influenced by the mighty Vijayanagara Empire, which served as a bastion to Muslim invasions in South India, and Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar, ruler of Mysore.

Following Shivaji Maharaj’s demise, Sambhaji Maharaj replaced him

Sambhaji Maharaj has seen the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb go to extinguish any opposition to the Mughal power. By treason and extreme violence, Aurangzeb had ascended to the throne of his father, Shah Jahan. Upon assassinating his siblings and locking up his parent, the Taj Mahal’s architect, he is supposed to have murdered his brother Dara Shikoh’s two kids and compelled his widows to remarry him. He began pushing native Indians to convert to Islam and levying the Jizya fee on non-Muslims.

Following Shivaji Maharaj’s demise, Sambhaji faced several obstacles, including the Mughals in the northwest and other surrounding powers like the Siddis, Mysore, and the Portuguese at Goa.

Rebel of Akbar against Aurangzeb

In 1681, Aurangzeb’s son, Akbar, arrived in Deccan to try to unite troops against his father’s authority in Delhi.

Aurangzeb marched from Delhi to Khirki, today’s Aurangabad near Maharashtra, with a force of 4-5 lakh men to put down the uprising and end the Maratha kingdom.

Aurangzeb attempted to invade the Maratha Kingdom from all sides in 1682. He planned to take advantage of the Mughals’ numerical advantages. Sambhaji had been well equipped for the assaults, and the Maratha forces quickly fought the vastly outnumbered Mughal army in a series of local encounters utilising guerilla warfare techniques.

Aurangzeb’s son, Akbar, had sought assistance from Sambhaji Raje. Shambhu Raje had sworn to aid him in his struggle against Aurangzeb.

However, Sambhaji Maharaj fought with his commanders in all of the engagements and wars he was involved in. In 1666, when the fiery Shambhu Raje accompanied his heroic father towards the Royal courts in Agra, Aurangzeb saw Sambahji Raje.

The popularity of Sambhaji Maharaj

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj‘s devotion has won him a place of honour in everyone’s hearts. On February 1, 1689, Aurangzeb captured him by deception. On March 11, 1689, Sambhaji Maharaj was harassed for days before being executed in the most horrible manner possible. He showed incredible bravery in confronting death to defend three of his most prized possessions: Deva, Desh, and Dharma.  He is adored throughout Maharashtra as a result of this. People recognize and respect his refusal to succumb to Aurangzeb’s methods, preferring to die instead of compromising the cause he believed in.

Death of Sambhaji Maharaj

Sambhaji, along with 25 of his counsellors, was captured at Sangameshwar in February 1689. His close friend Kavi Kalash was also captured. Mughals took Sambhaji and Kalash to Bahadurgad in Ahmednagar District. They were both horribly humiliated and tortured before being executed. Sambhaji was executed on March 11, 1689, at Tulapur.

Conclusion

Sambhaji Bhosale was indeed the Maratha Empire’s second Chhatrapati. He was Shivaji’s oldest child and the Maratha Empire’s creator. The continuing conflicts between the Maratha Empire and the Mughals and other surrounding kingdoms like the Siddis, Mysore, and the Portuguese in Goa moulded Sambhaji’s leadership. Rajaram I, Sambhaji’s brother, was the next Chhatrapati following his assassination. Sambhaji and Kavi Kalash were seized by the Mughals and taken to Bahadurgad, where Aurangzeb tortured them by displaying them in clown costumes and subjecting them to taunts from Mughal soldiers.