Draft:Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was the oldest son of the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and the second Chhatrapati of the Marathas.

Sambhaji was born on 14th May 1657 to Shivaji and Saibai, who died when he was only 2 years old. As a result, he was raised by his grandmother, Shivaji's mother Jijabai. Jijabai instilled all the values that she gave Shivaji to Sambhaji, making him into the ideal human being and later making him a very just and successful king, fully devoted to serving Hindavi Swaraj.

Marriage

Sambhaji married Jivubai Shirke, later known as Yesubai Bhonsle, in 1665.

Treaty of Purandar

In order to save the Marathas from total loss, in 1665. This was a result of Aurangzeb sending a huge army to surround several Maratha forts, including Purandar and Kondhana (now Singhad). According to the treaty, the Mughals would seize 23 if the 40 Maratha forts, and they would take both Shivaji and Sambhaji (Age 8) as political prisoners.

He attended Aurangzeb's court on 12th May 1666 without the accompaniment of his father. Both father and son were sentenced to house arrest, but they cleverly escaped on 22nd July 1666.

Childhood

Sambhaji was then groomed into Shivaji's successor. He learned war skills both from his own father Shivaji, and his uncle (brother of step mother Soyrabai) Sarlashkar Hambirao Mohite. He learned 13 languages and wielded a sword of mass 60kg.

Leadership

After Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's death in 1680, Sambhaji, Yuvraj (crown prince) at the time, didn't waste any time. When Aurangzeb was celebrating Shivaji's death, he laid siege on Burhanpur, one of the Mughal's biggest economic pillars. He successfully conquered the city, giving Aurangzeb a major setback, making him eager to fight back. He was crowned Chhatrapati in 1681.

Companionship of Akbar ||

Akbar ||, Aurangzeb's son, wanted the Mughal throne for himself and was announced a traitor by Aurangzeb. He fled Delhi in 1682 and arrived in Raigad to seek an alliance with Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. During their meeting, he uncovered a conspiracy of Soyrabai to kill Sambhaji. This made Sambhaji Raje to reverse his original decision of not helping Akbar, to instead offering him refuge on Maratha soil, while still refusing to fight for him. This also led to him executing many of Soyrabai's ministers.

Battles from 1681 to 1689

During this time, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj fought 120 battles against the Mughals and lost none of them. Hugely outnumbered 32 to 1 (The Mughal army was of 800,000, while the Maratha army was only 25,000), Sambhaji, employed tactics of guerrilla warfare to successfully decimate Aurangzeb's army. But Aurangzeb used influential methods, tempting many Maratha Subedars with monetary gain and peace between the region that they control and the Mughals, to pull them towards his side.

To counter this betrayal, Sambhaji Maharaj hosted a meeting of all Maratha leaders in Sangameshwar in 1689, where he gave a very influential speech, citing that they would march North to fight and finally capture Aurangzeb on the dawn of the following morning. He was, however, betrayed by his own men, namely Kanoji and Ganoji, the two brothers of Yesubai, leading to his capture.

Torture and Death

Sambhaji Maharaj was tortured in the most gruesome way for 40 days. He had his fingernails pulled out, eyes gouged out and tongue pulled out. Among these tortures, he was constantly asked to side with the Mughals and change his religion to Islam, but he refused every time. By the time of his death on March 11th 1689, he had sufficiently frustrated Aurangzeb by being seemingly unaffected by all the tortures. He is considered a martyr for his bravery. He is also known as Dharmveer for his refusal to be converted to another religion and his continuous devotion towards Hindavi Swaraj.