Maharashtra elections Veergatha – The Forgotten Warriors

Veergatha – The Forgotten Warriors | Tanaji Malusare

The aged queen mother looked out of the window of her Mahal on Rajgad. Her white sari billowed in the wind, as she fixed her gaze at the Kondhana fort towering in the distance. Even at this distance, she could make out the faint outline of the green flag of the Mughals fluttering atop the fort.

Kondhana was a searing pain in Jijabai’s heart.

The saffron flag that had once fluttered atop the Kondhana had shone like the holy vermilion mark on the broad forehead of the Sahyadri mountain range, but now, Kondhana was no longer a part of the Swarajya. It had been ceded to the Mughals under the treaty of Purandar in 1665. Shivaji was forced to go to Agra where there had been a conspiracy to kill him by Aurangzeb.

Shivaji had managed to escape miraculously and had come back to Rajgad safe and sound. It has been a long and arduous battle since then to recover the lost forts from the Mughals. Kondhana, however, continued to elude the Marathas. The Mughals had stationed Udaybhan Rathod, a Rajput and one of their bravest commanders as the Killedar of Kondhana. Udaybhan controlled the fort with a company of almost 5000 men, many of them battle-hardened Rajputs. Jijabai knew that taking back Kondhana seemed more like an impossible dream under the circumstances. She sighed audibly.

Her son, who had walked into the room at that precise moment, followed her gaze and realised what was going on in her mind. As Shivaji Maharaj touched Jijabai’s feet, he said, ‘Masaheb, we know what ails you. The Mughali Nishan fluttering atop Kondhana troubles our heart too’.
‘Shivba, Kondhana is the pride of Swarajya. We have to wrest it back from the Mughals.’

Just then, Tanaji Malusare, Shivaji’s childhood friend and one of his most able commanders, who had accompanied Maharaj, touched Jijabai’s feet. She whispered her blessings. Tanaji was like a son to her.

‘Masaheb, give me Kondhana I will get it back in Swarajya’, Tanaji said, his rough, muscular hands touching Jijabai’s feet.

‘Tana, it is a tough mission child. I cannot let you go, not now. Not when your son Rayba is about to get married’, Jijabai replied.

‘No Masaheb, first, the marriage of Kondhana, the marriage of Rayba can wait’, Tanaji’s uncle Shelarmama said, his eyes shining with the light of battle.

Shivaji and Jijabai tried their best to dissuade Tanaji, but he was determined to wrest Kondhana back from the Mughals. His brother Suryaji and his uncle Shelarmama also backed him. Shivaji had no option but to hand Tanaji the auspicious veeda (betel leaf) for the mission.
He set off with an army of 500 Mavale soldiers at night and camped at the village of Donaje, at the base of Kondhana. Next day, in the evening, he sent scouts to find out about the fort. Kondhana was a strongly fortified, heavily guarded fort. The ramparts were regularly patrolled and each turret was guarded by a cannon. Only one side of the fort was left relatively unguarded. It bordered a sheer, smooth, vertical cliff called Donagiri. Only eagles dared to approach Donagiri.

Tanaji realised that his only hope to breach the fort was to climb the Donagiri cliff, but it was easier said than done. The cliff was a smooth rock-face and there were virtually no footholds for any man to climb, however able footed he may be.

Legend has it that Tanaji used his trained monitor lizard, Yashwanti to rope the cliff. A sturdy rope was coiled around Yashwanti’s waist and it was ordered to climb the cliff. Apparently, the creature refused to climb the cliff, not just once, but twice, probably sensing some impending disaster. Tanaji is said to have threatened to cut and eat the lizard, before it climbed up and held on to a rock with a deathly grip.

Tanaji then climbed up the cliff with a few chosen Mavala soldiers, each one of them carrying a coil of rope tied to their waist. They climbed up on a clear, dark, new moon night on the 2nd of February 1670. Once they reached the top, they fixed the ropes to the cliff so that the remaining soldiers could also climb up. Scarcely before 300 men had reached the top, their arrival was detected by the Mughal guards. The sentries were slain, but not before they had raised an alarm. Half of Tanaji’s men were still stranded at the base of the fort. The men who had reached the top were hopelessly outnumbered. But Tanaji had already made up his mind. He ordered his troops to charge. There was a deadly fight. The keeper of the fort, Udaybhan Rathod engaged Tanaji in a one-to-one combat. Both men were evenly matched in both physical prowess and sheer skill, but the odds were stacked heavily against Tanaji. The long march from Rajgad and the arduous climb to the fort had sapped Tanaji’s strength.

It was a long and fierce battle. Both men fought to kill. At one point, Tanaji lost his shield with a fierce blow of Udaybhan’s sword. His hand was injured. Undaunted, he tied his hand by unravelling his turban and continued to fight. Both men were drenched with blood, as they inflicted wounds on one another. Finally, both slashed each other with the sword, using all the strength they had. Both fell at the same time.

Seeing their commander fall, the Marathas lost heart, outnumbered as they were almost one to ten by the Mughals. Scared, they ran from the battle field towards the roped cliff. Tanaji’s brother realised that. He outran the retreating Marathas to the cliff and with one swift stroke of his sword, cut off all the ropes.

‘Where are you running, you cowards?’ He roared. ‘Your father is lying dead there. I have cut off all the ropes. Fight or perish.’ Suryaji thundered, even as tears streamed from his eyes at the sight of the fallen Tanaji.

The retreating Marathas turned and fought with fresh vigour, led by Suryaji and Shelarmama. It was now a do or die battle for them. In the fierce battle that ensued, the entire Mughal garrison was routed. Several Mughal soldiers flung themselves over the cliff in order to escape the Marathas. Kondhana was won just as dawn was breaking.

It was a magnificent victory for the Marathas. They had won against great odds, but there was no joy in the camp. The victory had come at too heavy a price. Suryaji’s men lit fire to a giant stack of hay, a signal to Shivaji Maharaj and Jijabai, who had lain awake the whole night at Rajgad awaiting the signal.

Shivaji Maharaj rode to Kondhana immediately. He carried the sacred saffron flag, the symbol of Swarajya. ‘Tanaji will hoist this flag on Kondhana, Masaheb’, Shivaji had said before he set off.

However, when Shivaji Maharaj reached Kondhana, he was greeted with the tragic sight of a fallen Tanaji and a weeping Suryaji. Shivaji Maharaj uncovered Tanaji’s face with trembling hands, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.

‘Tana, what have you done, my dearest friend?’ cried the noble king, ‘Gad ala pan majha Sinha gela’, he remarked, shaking his head in despair. (‘We have won the fort, I have lost my lion’)

Tanaji Malusare belonged to a small village called Paar near Mahabaleshwar. He was one of Shivaji Maharaj’s oldest companions. He had led several successful campaigns for Shivaji Maharaj before the battle of Sinhagad.

Kondhana was renamed Sinhagad in the memory of the brave Tanaji Malusare. Sinhagad continues to dominate the cityscape of Pune even today, a silent witness to the unmatched valour and loyalty of Subhedar Tanaji Malusare.

Even today, Tanaji’s story continues the stir the hearts and minds of the people of India.