Shivaji and His Times

by Jadunath Sarkar

SHIVAJI

SHIVAJI AND HIS TIMES

JADUNATH SARKAR, m.a.,
Indian Educational Service (Bihar),

SECOND EDITION
Revised and enlarged.

LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.
39 Paternoster Row, London
FOURTH AVENUE AND 30TH STREET, NEW YORK
1920

WORKS BY PROF. JADUNATH SARKAR.

History of Aurangzib, based on original sources.

Vol. I. Reign of Shah Jahan.
Vol.„ II. War of Succession.
Vol.„ III. Northern India, 1658-1681.
Vol.„ IV. Southern India, 1645-1689.

Shivaji and His Times, an original life based on an exhaustive study of Persian, Marathi and Hindi sources, and English Dutch and Portuguese Records. 2nd edition, revised and enlarged.

Studies in Mughal India, 22 historical essays.

Economics of British India, 4th edition, brought up to 1917.

Anecdotes of Aurangzib, (Persian text of Ahkam-i-Alamgiri with English trans., notes, and a life of Aurangzib.)

Mughal Administration, a study of its machinery, official duties, policy, procedure, achievements and failure.

Chaitanya's Life and Teachings, translated from the saint's 16th century Bengali biography.

PREFACE.

First Edition, ( April, 1919.)

A new and critical study of Shivaji's life and character has long been due, as the last scholarly work on the subject was composed, by Captain James Grant Duff, a century ago, and a vast mass of original material unknown to him has become accessible to the student since then. To put the case briefly, the present work differs from his eminently readable and still valuable History of the Mahrattas, (3 Vols., 1826), in the rigid preference of contemporary records to later compilations, and the exhaustive and minute use of the available sources, both printed and MS.—in Persian, English, Marathi and Hindi, as well as the Dutch Records in the India Office, London.

The present work marks an advance on Grant Duff's History in three points in particular:

First, among Persian materials his only authorities were Khafi Khan, who wrote 108 years after the birth of Shivaji and is admittedly unreliable where he does not borrow faithfully from earlier writers, and Bhimsen, an incorrect and brief translation of whose Journal (by Jonathan Scott, 1794) alone was then available. I have, on the other hand, relied on the absolutely contemporary official histories of Shah Jahan and Aurangzib, Muhammad and Ali Adil Shah, many historical letters in Persian, the entire letter-books of Jai Singh and Aurangzib, daily bulletins of Aurangzib's Court, and the full text of Bhimsen as well as another contemporary Hindu historian in Persian, viz., Ishwardas Nagar,—all of which were unknown to Grant Duff.

Secondly, he relied too much on the uncritical and often deliberately false Chitnis Bakhar, written 183 years after Shivaji's birth, while I have preferred the work of Shivaji's courtier, Sabhasad, and also incorporated whatever is valuable and above suspicion in the mass of Marathi materials published by a band of devoted Indian workers at Puna and Satara during the last 40 years. Grant Duff, moreover, worked on single manuscripts of the Marathi chronicles ; but we live in a happier age when these sources have been carefully edited with variations of reading and notes.

Thirdly, the English and Dutch Factory Records have been more minutely searched by me and every useful information has been extracted from them.

Two minor improvements which, I hope, will be appreciated by the reader, are the exact positions of all the places mentioned, traced with the help of the extremely accurate Government Survey maps, and the chronology, which is the most detailed possible in the existing state of our knowledge and corrects Grant Duff's numerous inaccuracies in this respect....... From the purely literary point of view, the book would have gained much by being made shorter. But so many false legends about Shivaji are current in our country and the Shivaji myth is developing so fast (attended at times with the fabrication of documents), that I have considered it necessary in the interests of historical truth to give every fact, however small, about him that has been ascertained on unimpeachable evidence and to discuss the probabilities of the others.

The Marathas were only one among the many threads in the tangled web of Deccan history in the Seventeenth century. Therefore, to understand the true causes and full consequences of Shivaji's own acts and policy, it is necessary to have a detailed knowledge of the internal affairs of the Mughal empire, Bijapur and Golkonda also. The present work is more than a mere biography of Shiva ; it frequently deals with the contemporary history of these three Muslim States, though an exhaustive treatment of the subject belongs to my History of Aurangzib, Vol. IV.....

Second Edition, (June, 1920.)

In the second edition, occasion has been taken to enlarge the book and subject it to a minute revision and correction,—the most noticeable example of the last-mentioned being the position of Ponda in Ch. X. Among the more important additions are a critical examination of the evidence for the Javli and Afzal Khan affairs, a full discussion of the real nature of the Marathi sources and a comparative estimate of the evidential value of the English, Persian and Marathi records, an account of the very first battle between the English and the Marathas (here published for the first time), Shivaji's letter of protest against the jaziya, and a long note on his personal appearance and extant portraits. I have also inserted at the proper places notes on the extent of his dominion in 1648, 1655, 1660, and 1674-5, which together with their extent at his death (previously given) will enable the reader to remember the broad outlines of his territorial expansion and thus take a bird's-eye view of the growth of his power in successive ages. His most authentic portrait has, also, been reproduced in this edition.

Jadunath Sarkar.

CONTENTS.

Preface ... ... ... v

Chapter I. The Land and the People 1—18

Population speaking Marathi, 1—boundaries of Maharashtra, 2—rainfall and crops, 3—isolated valleys of the western belt, 5—hill-forts, 6—all people work hard, 7—character: lack of elegance and taste, 9—pride, courage and hardiness, 9—social equality, 10—religious reformers, 11—literature and language, 12—minstrels, 14—Marathas a nation, 15—defects of character, 17.

Chapter II. Boyhood and Youth ... 19—54

Birth of Shivaji, 19—neglected by father, 21—lonely boyhood, 21—miserable condition of Puna, 23—Dadaji Kond-dev's improvements, 24—love of justice, 25—Shivaji's education, 25—the Mavals described, 27—subdued by Dadaji, 28—Shivaji's Hindu spirit, 29—love of independence, 30—decline of Bijapur, 32—Shiva captures Torna, 32—seizes Puna district, 33—gains forts, 34—invades N. Konkan, 35—Shahji imprisoned, 37—Shiva appeals to Murad, 40—Shahji released, why? 41—Baji Shyamraje's expedition, 42—Mores of Javli, 43—Mores murdered, 45—criticism of Shiva's conduct, 46—gains from the conquest of Javli, 47—early officers, 48—extent of territory, 49—Appendix I. Murder of the Mores, evidence discussed, 50.

Chapter III. First Wars with Mughals and Bijapur ... ... 55—81

Shiva's early negotiations with Aurangzib, 55—raids Junnar and Ahmadnagar, 56—Mughal defensive measures, 57—Nasiri Khan defeats Shiva, 58— Aurangzib guards frontier, 59—Shiva makes peace, 61—Aurangzib's distrust of him, 62—Bijapur Government sends Afzal Khan against Shiva, 63—his sacrileges, 65—Afzal's doings at Wai, 66—Shiva's perplexity, 67—envoy from Afzal, 68—Afzal reaches place of meeting, 71—the affray, 72—Afzal's army attacked, 74—local legends about Afzal, 76—the "Afzal Khan ballad," 77—Maratha view of the affair, 78—Appendix II. Affair of Afzal Khan, evidence discussed, 79.

Chapter IV. Strenuous Warfare ... 82—110

Shaista Khan viceroy of Deccan, 82—Siddi Jauhar besieges Shiva in Panhala, 83—Shiva's escape, gallantry of Baji Prabhu, 84—Shaista Khan's march on Puna, 85—siege of Chakan, 87—Firangji Narsala, 89—Mughals in N. Konkan, 91—Netaji's disastrous retreat, 91—night-attack on Shaista Khan, 93—Surat described, 98—panic and neglect of defence, 99—heroic action of English factors, 101—Shivaji's first sack of Surat, 103—attempt on his life, 106—Jaswant's siege of Kondana, 109—Shiva's movements in 1664, 109.

Chapter V. Shivaji and Jai Singh ... 111—151

Jai Singh sent to Deccan, 111—his character, 112—his plan of war, 115—unites all the enemies of Shiva, 115—theatre of war described, 118—Mughal outposts, 120—march on Purandar, 121—Purandar hill described, 124—Mughal siege-positions, 125—Vajragarh stormed, 126—Daud Khan's faithless conduct, 127—Shiva's villages ravaged, 128—Marathas make diversions, 130—outer towers of Purandar stormed, 132—Murar Baji's death, 135—Shiva opens negotiations, 136—visits Jai Singh, 137—treaty of Purandar: its terms, 139—Shiva visits Dilir, 141—forts delivered, 142—Jai Singh invades Bijapur, 145—Shiva captures forts for Mughals, 145 and fights Bijapuri army, 146—retreat from Bijapur, 147—Shiva sent against Panhala, why? 148—fails to storm it, 150—Netaji deserts to Bijapur, 150.

Chapter VI. Visit to Aurangzib ... 152—179

Shiva's reluctance to go to Aurangzib's Court, 152—hopes held out to him, 153—his arrangements for home defence during his absence, 155—asserts his dignity at Aurangabad, 156—his audience with Aurangzib, 157—is placed under guard, 161—appeals to prime-minister, 162—Aurangzib's changes of policy to Shiva, 163—Jai Singh's advice, 163—Shiva escapes from Agra by stratagem, 166—hue and cry, 168—Shiva at Mathura, 169—adventures during flight, 171—returns home, 173—Shambhuji's return, 174—Jai Singh's anxieties during Shiva's flight, 175—renewed Maratha hostilities, 176—Jai Singh's plot to catch Shivaji, 178.

Chapter VII. 1667—1670 ... 180—212

Death of Jai Singh, 180—disunion in Mughal viceroy's camp, 181—Shiva makes peace with Emperor again, 183—Shambhu sent to Aurangabad, 185—causes of Shiva's rupture with Mughals, 186—captures Kondana, named Singh-garh, 188—sieges of Mahuli, 189—Daud Khan's vigorous campaign, 190—Dilir disobeys Prince Muazzam, 192—investigation by Iftikhar Khan, 193—Dilir pursued by Muazzam, 195—second loot of Surat, 198—refugees at Swally, 201—frequent panic and ruin of commerce at Surat, 203—Shivaji gains battle of Vani, 205—sack of Karinja, 208—Shiva captures Salhir, 211—Chhatra Sal Bundela visits Shiva, 211.

Chapter VIII. Struggle with the Mughals, 1670—1674 ... 213—237

Large armies sent against Shiva, 213—Daud Khan's campaign in the Chandor range, 214— Mahabat invades Maharashtra, massacre of Puna, 216—defeat of Ikhlas Khan near Salhir, 217—Mughals expelled from Puna, 217—Marathas conquer Jawhar and Ramnagar, 218—chauth demanded from Surat, 219—Koli Rajahs, 221—Mughal officers desert to Shiva, 222—raid into Berar, 223—successful pursuit by Mughals, 223—Pedgaon, Mughal base, 225—Shiva fails at Shivner, 226—gains Satara and Panhala, 227—raids Bijapuri Kanara, 228—battle of Umrani, 230—defeat and death of Pratap Rao, 231—Hambir Rao's raids, 232—Bahlols victory, 234—Dilir defeated by Shiva, 234—Mughal power weakened, 235—extent of Shiva's territory, 236.

Chapter IX. Coronation of Shivaji ... 238—259

Why Shiva wanted to be crowned, 238—Gaga Bhatta declares him a Kshatriya, 241—preparations for coronation, 241—religious ceremonies, 242—Shiva performs penance and is "made a Kshatriya," but is denied Vedic mantras, 244—lavish gifts, 245—bath on coronation day, 247—coronation hall described, 247—enthronement, 249—Oxinden presented, 250—street procession at Raigarh, 250—cost of coronation, 252—loot of Mughal camp, 253—raid into Baglana and Khandesh, 254—into Kolhapur, 255—Bahadur Khan deceived by pretended negotiations, 255—Maratha activities, 257—Shiva's illness, 258—Mughals invade Bijapur, 259.

Chapter X. South Konkan & Kanara 260—292

Kanara uplands and coast, 260—trade and ports, 261—Rustam-i-Zaman's concert with Shiva, 262—English collision with Shiva at Rajapur, 264—English brokers and Mr. Gyffard imprisoned by Marathas, 264—released, 265—Englishmen fight against Shiva at Panhala, 266—Rajapur factors seized, 266—Adil Shah invades Bednur, 268—Shiva in S. Konkan coast, 269—disorders in the coast, 270—Shiva's doings in Kanara, 272—loot of Barcelore and blackmailing of Karvvar, 274—Bijapuris recover and lose S. Konkan, 277—siege of Ponda raised, 280—plot to capture Goa by stratagem, detected, 281—rebellion of Rustam-i-Zaman, 282—sack of Hubli, 283—Bahlol expels Marathas from Karwar district, 284—Shiva's grand raid into Kanara fails, 285—Mian Sahib's rebellion in Bijapuri Kanara, 286—Shiva captures Ponda, 288—and other forts, 290—Maratha failure in Sunda and success in Bednur, 291.

Chapter XI. Naval Enterprises ... 293—321

The Siddis of Janjira, 293—Shiva's early conflicts with Siddis, 295—Shiva captures Danda, 296—Vyankoji Datto viceroy, 297—Shiva's navy described, 298—his sailors, 299—his mercantile marine, 299—doings of Maratha fleet, 300—revolution at Janjira: Siddis enter Mughal service, 302—Portuguese defeat Maratha fleet, 304—Siddis recover Danda, 305—Shiva's efforts fail, 307—naval war 1672-75, 308—battle of Satavli, 310—grand assault on Janjira by Marathas, 311—naval war 1676-80, 312—Marathas fortify Khanderi, 315—naval battles with the English, 316—English make peace, 319—Siddis fortify Underi and bombard Khanderi, 320.

Chapter XII. Invasion of the Karnatak 322—352

Shiva's need of money, 322—Karnatak: its wealth, 323—Vyankoji and his minister quarrel, 325—Bijapur in disorder, 327—Shiva secures Mughal neutrality, 328—and alliance with Golkonda, 329—strict discipline in Shiva's army, 330—his grand entry into Haidarabad, 331—audience with Qutb Shah, 334—treaty with Golkonda, 335—feasts and reviews, 336—pilgrimage to Shri Shaila, 338—religious frenzy, 339—marches by Madras city, 339—Jinji fort captured, 340—siege of Tiruvadi, 341—siege of Vellore, 342—defeat of Sher Khan, 342—presents from Madras factors, 340 and 343—blackmail from Nayak of Madura, 344—Shiva invites Vyankoji to interview, 344—flight of Vyankoji, 345—Shiva at Vriddhachalam, 347—asks for siege-engineers from Madras, 347—enters Mysore plateau, 348—Vellore capitulates, 349—value of Shiva's conquests in Karnatak, 349—Vyankoji attacks Shiva's agent Shantaji, 350—peace, Madras plains restored to Vyankoji, 352.

Chapter XIII. His Last Years ... 353—383

Route of return from Karnatak, 353—fight with Savitri Bai, 354—attempt to gain Bijapur fort by bribery, 355—Shambhuji attacks Goa territory, 356—Peshwa plunders Trimbak-Nasik, 357—the Mianas of Kopal district, 357—annexations beyond Tunga-bhadra, 358—second failure at Shivner, 359—disorder in Bijapur and weakness of Masaud, 361—Shambhuji deserts to Dilir, 362—Maratha stratagem to seize Bijapur fort, detected, 363—Mughals and Bijapuris against Shiva, 364—Dilir captures Bhupalgarh, 364—Marathas fight Ikhlas Khan, 365—and capture a Mughal convoy at Karkamb, 366—Shivaji's letter to Aurangzib against the jaziya, 366—Dilir invades Bijapur, 371—Shiva arrives near Bijapur to help, 372—Dilir ravages environs of Bijapur, 373—sacks Athni, 374—Shambhuji returns to father, 375—Shivaji defeated by Dilir, 376—fortifies Panhala as a refuge, 376—raids Khandesh, 377—sack of Jalna, 377—curse of saint, 378—Shiva defeated by Ranmast Khan, 378—escapes with heavy loss, 379—anxiety about succession, 380—lectures to Shambhu, 380—intrigues among Shiva's wives, 382—death of Shivaji, 382—was he poisoned? 383.

Chapter XIV. Shivaji and the English merchants of the West Coast ... 384—404

Rajapur factors kept in prison, 384—their wrangle with Surat Council, 386—English think of naval reprisal, 386—prisoners released, 387—English negotiate for compensation for Rajapur factory, 389—the secret aims of the two parties, 389—delicate position of the English, 391—Ram Shenvi's report, 391—Maratha envoy at Bombay, 392—mission of Lt. Ustick, 393—embassy of Niccolls, 395—Shiva's letter to Bombay, 396—his evasiveness, 397—embassy of Oxinden, 398—its result, 399—Rajapur factors interview Shiva, 400—Austen's embassy, 401—indemnity in kind, 403—Rajapur indemnity how far paid, 404.

Chapter XV. Government, Institutions, and policy ... ... 405—426

Extent of his kingdom, 405—three provinces, 405—belt of territory subject to chauth, 407—nature of chauth, 407—his annual revenue, 408—hoarded treasure, 408—strength of his army, 409—elephants and artillery, 410—early administrative officers, 410—ashta-pradhans: their powers, 411—their titles and duties, 412—Kayastha clerks, 413—Army: organisation of forts, 414—cavalry, 415—infantry, 416—salaries of officers, 416—how his army subsisted, 417—Revenue system, 418—no farming of revenue, no military fiefs, 419—district administration, 420—religious policy, 421—Ramdas, 421—practical effect of Shivaji's regulations, 423—spirit of brigandage, 423—Aurangzib's despair of subduing Shivaji, 424—anecdotes, 424—Shiva's personal appearance, 425—his portraits, 426.

Chapter XVI. Shivaji's achievement, character and place in History ... 427-449

Shivaji's foreign policy like that of Muslim kings, 427—mulk-giri, 428—causes of his failure to build an enduring State, 429—revival of Hindu orthodoxy, 429—caste quarrels and divisions, 430—no elevation of people, 432—evils of autocracy, 433—neglect of the economic factor, 433—necessity of raids and their ruinous effect, 434—excess of trickery and intrigue, 435—failure against Wellesley, 436—character of Shivaji, 436—his political ideal, 438—natural insecurity of kingdom, 439—readiness for war a condition of his existence, 439—his relations with Bijapur, 440—his true greatness, 440—the last constructive genius among Hindus, 441—his influence on the Hindu spirit, 443.

Appendix III. Character of Marathi records about Shivaji, 445.

Bibliography ... ... ... 449-459

Abbreviations ... ... ... 459

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