Sambhaji (1680-1689)
Sambhaji Maharaj was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha empire. He was the eldest son of Shivaji Maharaj. He continued his father’s resistance against the Mughals.
Early Life
- 1657: Sambhaji was born on 14 May 1657 at Purandar fort.
- Another name of Sambhaji was Shambhuraje.
- His father was Shivaji Maharaj. His mother was Saibai.
- Sambhaji was the eldest son of Shivaji.
- His grandmother Jijabai took care of him from childhood as Saibai died when Sambhaji was 2 years old.
- 1665: He went to King Jai Singh I (as a political hostage) of Amber at the age of nine.
- 1665: Sambhaji became a Mughal mansabdar after the treaty of Purandar was signed by his father.
- 1666: He attended the Mughal court with his father on 12 May. There Aurangzeb arrested both of them at Agra.
- 1666: They escaped house arrest with Shivaji on 22 July.
- Sambhaji married Jivubai who was the daughter of Pilaji Shirke. Later Jivubai was renamed Yesubai.
Imprisonment by Shivaji
- 1678: Shivaji imprisoned Sambhaji (with his wife Jivubai) at Panhala Fort for his irresponsibility and addiction to sensual pleasures.
- 1678: Sambhaji escaped from Panhala Fort with his wife in December.
Defection to the Mughals
- After escaping, Sambhaji rejoined a Mughal commander – Diler Khan.
- Shivaji gave a second chance to Sambhaji to improve his behavior by keeping him at Sajjangad.
- Sambhaji finally betrayed his father and joined the Mughals.
- Diler Khan planned to arrest Sambhaji and send him to Delhi.
- Sambhaji became aware of this plan and returned home.
- After returning home, Sambhaji was placed under house arrest at Panhala.
Accession to the Throne
- 5 April 1680: His father Shivaji died on 5 April.
- Sambhaji was under surveillance at Panhala Fort when his father Shivaji died.
- Sambhaji’s stepmother (Soyrabai) made a conspiracy against Sambhaji to be the next king.
- 21 April 1680: Soyrabai set his son Rajaram as the next Maratha king on 21 April.
- 27 April 1680: Sambhaji escaped from the Panhala fort.
- 18 June 1680: Sambhaji took control & captured Raigad Fort.
- 20 July 1680: Sambhaji ascended the throne after imprisoning his brother Rajaram in a war of succession.
- He executed all the conspirators, Soyrabai’s kinsmen and ministers including Aurangzeb’s fourth son Prince Akbar.
- At this time he entrusted all the responsibilities to a Brahmin (poet) named Kavi Kalash.
Info: Sambhaji gave the title of ‘Chandogamatya‘ to Kavi Kalash.
Military Expeditions and Conflicts
- 1681: Sambhaji attacked Burhanpur and granted refuge to Prince Akbar.
- 1682: He successfully defended Ramsej Fort against Aurangzeb.
- 1684: Sambhaji badly defeated the Mughal army when Aurangzeb invaded Konkan region.
- 1682: Sambhaji fought against Siddi Muslims of Janjira (no outcome).
- 1681: Sambhaji’s first attempted to invade Mysore, but was repelled by Chikka Devaraja.
- 1686: He made a second attempt to invade Mysore.
- 1687: He faced Mughal efforts to bring Deshmukhs to Maratha side.
- 1682-1684: Sambhaji invaded Goa against Portuguese but did not have complete success. This is because the large Moghal army led by Bahadur Shah I was aligned with the Portuguese.
- 1681: He sheltered Aurangzeb’s rebellious son Akbar II.
Info: Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj fought around 175 battles during his 9-year tenure from 1680 to 1689.
Administration
- He continued his father Shivaji’s governance system.
- He implemented measures to tackle drought.
- He encouraged agricultural activities by ordering people to cultivate lands as much as possible.
- He always was a huge supporter of cultural and religious activities.
- He used many innovative technologies in his military such as leather jackets to protect body from arrows.
Extra Info: Sambhaji was crowned as Chhatrapati at the age of 23.
Other Contribution
- Sambhaji was educated by a Sanskrit scholar – Keshav Pandit
- Sambhaji composed many books such as “Budhbhushanam” in Sanskrit.
- Budhbhushanam was based on politics and military tactics.
- He also composed other three books – Nayikabhed, Saatsatak, and Nakhshikha (all in Hindustani).
- Many books were written during his time – Anupurana (Sanskrit biography by Govind Newaskar), Haihayendra Charitra and Shambu Vilasika (Sanskrit biography and commentary by Hari Kavi), Subhashitaharavalli (Sanskrit collection of proverbs).
Info: Sambhaji’s favorite horse was an Arab horse – Pavan.
Execution of Sambhaji
- 1687: In the Battle of Wai Sambhaji’s general Hambirrao was killed.
- February 1689: Sambhaji and his minister Kavi Kalash were captured by Mughal commander Mukarb Khan at Sangameshwar.
- February 1689: They were taken to Aurangzeb’s military camp at Bahadurgarh and tortured.
- 11 March 1689: Sambhaji and Kavi Kalash were put to death by Aurangzeb’s order.
Aurangzeb: “Are u afraid of me? ” Sambhaji: “I am not afraid of any person, people are afraid of me.”
After Sambhaji’s death
- 12 March 1689: Rajaram I became the king of the Maratha empire.
- Rajaram I shifted the capital to Jinji.
- Raigad Fort (capital of Sambhaji) fell to the Mughals.
- Sakvarbai -the wife of Shivaji, Yesubai – widow wife of Sambhaji, Shahu – the son of Sambhaji, they all were captured by Mughal forces.
- Shahu remained a prisoner for 18 years.
- Mughal king Muhammad Azam Shah released Sahu.