Rise of the Maratha Power

42 f MR i se o the ha r a' t ’ P ower . a Nira, fell t o the share of the Bij apur kings. The M oghuls now turned their arms against the A dilshéhi rulers o f Bij apur who had helped them in the destruction of Ahmed rnaga . The first formal treaty between the t wo powers was formed i n 1 60 1 , and t he friendship was cemented ' marriage by a alliance. These were only te mporary obsta cles in the w ya . Ibrahim A dilshah, the greatest of the Bijzi pur monarchs, died in 1 62 6 and his successor M ah me d A dilshah , had to defend his city against the armies of the M oghuls, who laid seige in 1 6 3 1 , g iand a a n in 1 6 36, till at last he had t o make peace with the Moghuls. He agreed t o pay twenty lacs as tribute t o the Delhi Emperor and to give up Shahéji, who was still supporting the desperate cause o f the N iz émshahi Kings. S hahaj i soon rafte en t ered the Bijépur service and was sent t o the Karnétik , where he made important conquests and carved out a kingdom i n the Kévéri valley for o ne of his sons. The Mahomedan principalities o f Bérér and Bedar had already been dismembered and their territor1es absorbed in the kingdoms of Bijé pur and Ahmednagar. Golconda alone re ima ned nomi lna ly independent, but it saved itself this time by consenting t o pay tribute to S h ahajah an The M oghuls levied a heavy .

H ow the seed was sown. 43 war t- ribute which the ruler was wholly unable t o pay, but he had t o submit to Hyderabad; had been it as his capital, , yb Shahajahan's son, taken by surprise Aurangzeb, and he was shut up in t he o tf r of Golco ndé . The Portuguese power also, which was so formidable in the sixteenth century, had spent its e l f and was no w acting on t he , , defensive on' the coast line o f the Konkan, while the English Company had just esta blished a fact ory at Surat and commanded no political importance. The predominant factor in the political situation abo ut the time that Shivaji was born and during t he pe riod of his boyhood was thus the advance of the M oghul arms in the South. The Deccan powers had been unable ' t o make head against this over whelming force which came with all the prestige which had helped the Emperors to cement together a vast empire spreading fr om Kabul . to the Bay of Bengal and the hills o f Kamun to the heart of the De ccan. The conditions of di sA la-ud- n’ in vasion of 1 2 1 6 were thus repe ating them selves after three hundred years with a moment um which made resistance hopeless.

4 4 s e of the M ar dthd P owe r . The Hindus had then yielded t o the ava lanch e which swept over the l dan They . had, however, l rea ned w isdom d run e t he dhar discipline o f subjection t o their foreign A fghzm' and Turkish mast e rs They had . been able to turn aside the edge o f foreign conquest and had even succeeded in taming t he violence of the or if e gners. Their o wn vernacular had become the language of the C ourt and the D bar ’ ar . The revenue management of the country was entirely in their dsown han . Their Military Commanders had distinguished them selves o n the battle-fields, and their Minis ters in the Council Chambers Muraréo and . S habi j i Bhonslé had ‘ become the chi ef sup ports of the authority of the Bij apur rulers. d dit p o rMa an Pan Go lc nd ’ was in we at o . zr The western g hdts and hill-forts and the Mévals were in the hands of their great nobles. Chandraréo M oré was in charge o f the Ghétmét hé from the sources of the the ereKrishné t o W arné . The Sévant s w in charge o f S outher n Konk an, t he N im b élk ars were i n power in F altan and the D aflés and M énés i n th e Eastern Sét éré regions. The Bho nslés were in charge o f oo theirt he P na M évals and ja hdg ’ ex zr e ded stt n as far e a as Bér é mat i and I ndépur .

H ow the seed was s ow n 45 . theThe Gho rpadés and Ghadgés, M ahédi k s, t he Mohit és, and M amulk ars were similarly i n t he command of considerable horse and otfo . The most reliable, i f not the chief fi ghting men, in the Golcondé, Bij apur and Ahmednagar armies had been men of the M arath a race who had measured strength with the heavily armed soldiers of the North, and had realized their strength and e k sw a nes . Under these circumstances when the new Moghul . invasion threatened t he land, it was but natural that new thoughts should surge up in the minds of yman t he , like of which had not troubled their ances tors three centuries before . Those three centuries had left lasting memories of past h orrors, and justified apprehensions of the renewal fo. the fanatical intolerance and cruelty w hich the Mahomedan conquerors , left to themselves, were so prone to exhibit in their dealings with the people of the country. Those three centuries had also witnessed a revival o f t he religious spirit among the Hindu population Colonel . Wilkes in his History o f Mysore speaks of a prophesy which he found recorded in a Hindu manuscript o f 1 646 in the Macken zie c o l l e cti o n in which t he prophet afte r , describing the ruin o f all V irtue and re li gi o n and the humiliation iwh ch t he ,

4 6 R i se of the MI ar dtha' P ower . noblest in t he land had been made to fisu ’ concludes with a hope that t he er, t ime for deliverance will come at last, and the virgins will announce i t with songs o f j oy, and the skies will shower their flo wers. This prophecy was written in Southern India ti e he ejat a m w n Shi v é i ’ nam was not s known beyond his jahég i r in Po o na but , C olonel W ilkes t esti fies that the application of it was by uni versal agreement made to t he deli verance whi ch Rajé Shivéji was the instrument o f effe cting by his ge nius and his arms before the century had far ad v auce d . While the Musalman chroniclers denounced S hivaji as a g ali m or free b- o oter, t he writers o f nat ive Bak har s or chronicles, true to the anc i e nt P ur d m' i deal , ascribe d this e d eliverance t o the Earth in form of a cow supplicating help from above, and the god of gods promising to eco m t o t he relief of his oppressed w orshippers i n t he shape of a new i ncarnation. I t is in t he spirit of t he same fond superstition that native hist orians t cra e for Shivaji a fabled descent from t he royal h ouse o f Udepur. Shivaji was neither a ro b ber i r ionor an did he derive his nc a nat n nor , strength from his surpos-d Rajput descent. ob yH e was n l born in being S jhahé ’ and s



4 8 R i se of the M aratha P ower . e i iagr e i n descr b ng Shivéji from his early y ut g y o io h as bein i ntensel f nd of hear ng the old e pics o f R amayan and Mahd bhdrat. He would walk many miles to attend a K athé or i lrec ta of them by specially dnote preachers. iShivéji's m nd cwas ast i n an intensely religious mould, and he continued t o be , above all, religious throughout his chequered rca eer. This re e li g othervi ved f e n o f confidence in possi bi lities than t hose which his prudent teacher and his near relation realized for him sprung from this religious source. Shivéji felt i n hi m what religious enthusiasm alone can inspire, the feeling that he had a com mission which required him to think little , o f his own interests and advancement. O f course, he did not himself realize the full force of this enthusiasm in his earlier years There was a good deal o f the wild o- ats sowing in his earlier exploits, but the sense that he had a mission t o achieve grew with him every day o f his life. It is re corded that on three memorable occasions he was determined to give up all his possessions and retire from worldly life to see k salvat i on th sand on all i so ccas o n , ee it was with great di fficulty that hi s t ea chers and ministers prevailed on him t o entertain more correct notions o f his duty

H ow the seed was sown . lii n fe . Throughout his career o n all occa sions of great trial, when the times were so critical that a single false step would p rove t he ruin of all his hopes, he resigned himself t o prayer and asked for a sign and await ed in expectat ion the manifestation of a higher voice speaking through him when he was beside himse lf i n a fi t of p o s s e s s i o n . The ministers were made to write down the reply so vouchsafed for their m as t e r’ s i nfo rmat i on and S hivéji acted up on it with , implicit i hfa t , whe ther that voice told him to make his peace with Aurangzeb and go to Delhi to be a prisoner of his e inem es o r t o meet A fz ulk han si ngle h- anded in a p ossibly mortal combat. These stories of se l rf- esignation and sel pf- ossession distinctly point out and emphasize t he fact that i t w as not merely secular consideration or deep policy which governed his motions . The impulse came from a higher part o f O ur common or rath e r uncommon turna e. Foreign writers o f Indian history h va e not been able to dun erstand this feature in jShiv é i ’ character, although orm e t han his s hardihood and enterprise, i t was this lmenta characteristic which made him a r rep ese nta tive man of t he ga e The only motive . power which is strong enough to om ve t he

5 0 s e of the M a: dthd P ower . masses in this country is an appeal to their religious faith. During the past three hun mdred years t he whole of India had been visibly oved by the new contact with the M aho medan militant creed, and there had been action and reaction of a very marked k i nd . The rise of the Va h’ nav sects zs represented by the fo llowers of Rémé jnu a, dRamanan , and other Purit an t eachers had made men feel that salvation was a concern for all, and that before God s’ throne there was 11 0 difference between t he high b- orn and t he low. This teaching is the most d i sti nct mark of t he d oct ri nes of R amé nand , bir urd so f Ka , o f Ré md és, Rohi d é s, S a , N Ch itanak , and a anya, vsho flo urished i n d ifferent parts of N orthern and Eastern India. The severity o f the monot heist ic creed o f th e M ahomedans was dist inctly impressed upon the minds of some of these prophets. The worshippers of D at t at raya or the incarnation of t he Hindu Trini ty, often clothed their God in the garb of a Maho e This s em l hdan ' am i nfluence was at ' a zr . work wit h greater effect on the popular mind i n s rMahar a ht a, w here preachers, both Brahmans and r h sno n-B a man , were calling on people to identify Ram with Rahim, and ensure their freedom from the bonds o f formal ritualism and cast e distinct ions

H ow the seed was sown. 51 and unite in common love of man and faith i n one God . Contemporaneously with the . p olitical le aders, Tuk ar am R amdas, Ek nz’rth , , and Jayarémswémi were t he religious leaders of this movement, which was, more over, not confined t o t he highe r castes, but claim ed representat ives from all classes, high and The cult th eo fVit traditi o ns lo w. ho ba of , Pandh par ur, the heaven o n earth, attracted . t housands every year, and t he extempore r ecitals or K athds drew thousands more in e very town and village. The effect o f these lectures was best exemplified 1n the counsel w h ich Raj é g vSawal Jayasi ngh a e to his ! s r jma t e A urangz éb in 1 6 7 8 whe n t he ez z zah , o r Hindu poll-tax, abolished by Akbar, was i os dmre- He reminded his master that p e. God was not t he God of M ahomedans alone, but he was the , God of ki dall man n . The gPa an and t he Moslem stand alike b e fo re Him To nullify the religious ! cus . t oms o f Hindus is to set at naught t he will o f the Almighty.” This was a ne w fe eli gn , and i t ye t re prese tn e d g er lt h e en a consen p opl Thesus o f t he e e. M aho med ans t hemw selve s had learned t o feel the force of this higher teaching. Abul Fazil and Faizi had s tedt ran la M ahd bhd r at and R amayan in t he same spirit . Akbar strived wit h a singu d v i g emlar e o t o n t o a al amat t he t w o relig 1o ns

fR 28 8 o the M ard thd P ower . i n a new dispensation which was i tn ended to abolish all religious differences. cPri n e Dara sheko, the eldest so n of S h ah ajah an trans , lated the thepU m' ha d s and Gi td and , as represented these aspirations of enlightened M ah omedans, and it w as on this acc ou tn as , much as fo r his birthright, that Aurangzeb de hu t dma w ar on him and ne him t o , death . M ahomedan saints like Kabir in t he north and Shaik Mahomed in Maharashtra preached the same higher law to Hindus like t o ghand M ahomedans a , and hu wor shipped taf er death by both communities they were desregarded by bigots of both e‘reeds in their li feti me . / v This then w as the s i t u at i o n Religious . revival and a Puritan enthusiasm w ere at work in the l dan and it was clear to , me sn’ minds that the old bigotry must c ease . This religious enlightenment was t he principal point o f departure from t he earlier traditions of submission to brute force, and it dma e itself mani fest i n t he form of a det ermination that Mahomedan intolerance should not again overspread the l dan . No ne lfe t this influence more strongly than the worshippers, who placed their faith in t he shrines of Bhaw ani at Tuljépur and Kolh é pur. They caught this fire, and communis

H ow the seed was sown. 53 cated it to others through their bards, the theGo Bhd ts. nd h l' and zs Shivaji , who mixed o n equal terms with Tuk é r é m Ramdas, and other religious teachers , o f his time, represented these new aspira tions in an int ensi fied form i n his o wn proper person. This was one chief source o f his strengt h and his hold on the people, and it represented a strength which no prudent calculations of chances could ever c onfer. Another influence which operated o n S h i v jé i ’ mind with a force no t realized by s his father or teacher was the feeling that the threatened invasion of the foreign M os lem conquerors could only be adequately met by an united opposition. jShivé i ’ tea s cher Ramdas tersely put this conception of i sShivéji’s a m and policy in his verses of advice, communicated t o his unfortunate son Sambhéji , to unite all who were M arat h as , and propagate the duty or d har ma of a great u i ed tior dshtr a or n t n This was na . the whole end and ai m of jShi vé i ’ policy, s and i t explains some of his more question able acts. He felt that the Moghul would surely pre iva l, just as the Afghan had done three hundred years before, if the nobles

5 4 R i se of the M ar atha P ower . of the land quarrelled among themselves and fought with each other—each stri v mg onty to keep or increase his own little jahdg ir or V atan int act at the cost o f his neigh bour. The times dictated a policy of union and mutual trust for a common purpose. Everybody, whether Hindu or c eMahomedan, w ho am in t he w ay o f t he realization of this idea, had t o be put d ow n , whether he was a friend or foe, a relation or a stranger. This weakness of internal dissensions is an ever-present danger in all times and phases o f Indian history. It has been happily described as t he tendency to be unorganised and centrifugal, to resent disci pline and s ub o rd i nat i o n N o wonder that . such unorganiz ed power cannot maintain itself against organised force or skill arrayed agai nst it in the b att l e- fi e ld or m t he , Council Hall. In the smaller arrangements as well as i n hi s larger schemes, Shivéji tried to interlace me sn’ interests or ambi tions in a way t o make them feel pride i n common success and shame in common de e t The or sf a M . eGh gé d’‘ s, t he , and t he zr Ghorpadés represented this separatist t en deney, and th ey had to be disposed of by superior torce or skill, before the leading



fbti R i se o the M ar d thd P owez . est of men feel a cleansing fire burning within them. The M évlis and the Hét karis did not follow him solely for the booty they acquired, and when they could no longer help him in distant expedi tions, Shivéji did not fail t o employ M usal mans both on sea and land t o carry out his designs. Tanaji Malusaré and his brother B jij jSurya i a F asalk ar and N ét ai Palk ar, t he , jB i’ aa Avaji , a1 B l jiPrabhus D éshpéndé and the Brahmans Moropant , Abaj i ghuSondév, Ra th r D ttoN jA Jna a av an, nnai a, anardanpant the th s Guj rHanmant é, M ar a a Prat apr ao a and Hambirrao M ohi té, Sant éji Ghorpadé and D hanéji Jzi dhav, the ancestors jof Parso i v rBhonslé, and U d aji Pa a and K handéré o , D abhédé all served under him in his armi es , and on ne proved faithle ss to him This is . the highest privilege of genius. These men stuck to their posts even when Shivéji was a captive at Delhi and helped him to establish his power without an effort when he escaped and returned back to his country. Later o u ewh n taf er his de ath , hi s so n , , Sambhéji misbehaved and was killed, and Shéhu was led a captive from Réigad, these same men and their successors bore the brunt of the Moghul conquest, and though compelled to retire to the south, only did so, to return with renewed strength to

H ow t he seed was sown . 57 pl te thec om e di scomfit ure o f A urangz éb at t he total failure o f his ambitious schemes. Lastly, Shivéji’s self-discipline was as great a s his power o f control and his military daring. This characteristic of hi s nature s tands out in marked contrast with the loose ness and ferocity o f those times. I n the worst excesses committed bv his armies runde t he stress o f war and need of money , c ows, w ome n and cultivators were never , m olested. Women especially were treated w i th a chivalry unknown to his enemies . W hen capt ru ed in the ch can es o f w ar they , w ere sent back to their husbands with all rs ger ki gho nou . He saw t he dan o f ma n a s s ignme nts ji n ahdg ‘ s of conquered lands zr and set his face against the proposal made t o him His successors did not observe this . c aution of their master and accelerated t he dismemberment of the Empire, whose foundation he had laid with such wisdom. Religi ous fervour, almost at white heat, b ordering on the verge of s e l f- ab ne gati o n a , daring and adventurous spirit born of a confidence that a highe r power than sman’ p rotected hi m and his work, the magnetism o f superior genius which binds men together , a nd leads them to victory, a rare i nsii!h

5 8 R ise of the M ar atha P ower . into the real dnee s o f the times, and a steadfastness of purpose, which no adverse turn of fortune could conquer, a readiness and resourcefulness rarely met with either in European or Indian history, true patrio t ism, which was far i n advance of the times and a —tsheenssee of justice tempered with were the sources of t he mercy , strength that enabled Shivéji to sow the seeds o f a power which accomplished in the hands o f his successors all that he had plan ned out, and enabled his race t o write a chapter in Indian history to some purpose. With the thread furnished by this preliminary examination of the character of the founder of t he M taraha Empire, we shall no w be bett er able t o follow the labyrinth o f t he story o f his life, and sit in judgment upon the more particular events of his singularly noble career.

CHAPTER IV. HH O W T RIV ED THE SE E D . I S H I V A JI ’S F E LLO W -W O R K E RS . HE short sketch we attempted to de lineate in the preceding chapter will p resent t o the re da er s’ mind the leading c haracteristics of th e great Captain who gathered together the scattered forces of M ra atha power, and under the protecting shadows of the strong hill o-f rts of West ern I ndia, bound them together int o a great k ingdom, with larger potentialities before it i n the rnea future. It is however obvious t hat the work of l ib e rat i o n on which , Shiv aji had set his heart, was a work in w hich he required co - o p e r at i on The seed . sown by him could only sprout and thrive in a suitable soil. I f the leading spirits of the times had not been prepared by a long and arduous discipline to co-operate with him even Shiv aji ’s towering genius would , have failed to accomplish the great task he had und e rtak en Both Native and European . writers of M ar at h ’ history have been so ar

60 fR i se o the M arci thd E we) . taken up with the absorbing interest of t he history of S hi v jéi ’ life that they have often s lost sight of the fact that he only represent ed in a higher degree the gi fts o f body and mind and the aspiring ambition of t he men of his times, and that success became possible to him only because the seed he sowed was w atered by capable men in all ranks of life, who accepted him as their captain and leader. He was eminently pr imus p’ and never regarded himself zn ar es, in any other light W e propose in this . chapter to give a running sketch of the fellow-workers of Shivéji , the soldiers and s tates m en and the spiritual teachers, who , rose about this time t o eminence. The materials to hand for such life-sketches are but poor, but the moral of this story will be hardly understood till we reproduce even d imly on the canvas of history a reflex of the features of those great and heroic men , whose i nfluence shaped the story of S hi v jéi ’ s life, and whose memories are still our best inherit can e . The first pl ca e in this historic picture o f t he past, must be assigned to Jijéba1, the ot rm he o f Shivaji . She claimed a descent from t he ancient Y édav kings o f M aharashtra and was t he daughter o f t he proudest

H ow the seed thr i ved 61 . the ti esjM m ar at h’ ahhg ' d ct r of The zr zr s tory of her romantic marri ga e with Shahaji, w hen they were both ch i l dr en is eminently , t ypical o f t he times . Her father in an u nguarded moment expressed a wish that she should be S h ah jai ’ w i fe , and the pledge s w as enforced by Shahéji 's father, M éloji jR aé by a sacrilege which at once showed , t hat M alop was a man who could hold his o wn against vee n t he gre ta Jadhavréo , c o dmman er of twenty thousand horse I f . J édhavrao claimed his descent from the Y adav Kings o f D évgiri , Shahaj i traced his li neage back to the Raj put princes of Udepur. W ell-bor n and well c- onnected as she was, J ijébéi was greater still in the heroism w hich e nnobles men and women in the h umblest circumstances of life. thHer fa er n ever excused the injury that had morti fied h i s pride, and the turn of events, which dm a e Shahaj i ki g kn -ma er at Ahmednagar and D aulat é b d’ , only aggravated t hi s e nmi ty . zr J zi dhav rao twe n over to the M oghul inv da ers, and j iShaha was forced to give up the d efence o f t he Ahmednagar kings. He retired to Bijapur hotly pursued by his ther l vifa his w ife behind hi m -i n-law ea ng , , a fugitive and a captive in t he hands o f t erher fa h . I n these adverse circumstances, Jijébéi was left to her o wn reso ru ces, about

s e ( the M at d thd Po wer . y6 2 , t he time that she gave birth t o the great S hivéji in the fort of Shivanér. jJi b’ é i , rr ba andoned by her father and husband, had goo d reason to feel i n her own person the indignity of foreign s ubj e ct i o n In her . de solate condition young Shivaji was all in all to her, and she brought him up relying solely on the protect ion of the gods, especially the Goddess h iB awan , who had spared her and her child i n t he midst o f such affl i ct i o ns Later o u with S hah jé i ’s . , pe rmi s si o n she removed to his jahdg ’ at , zr oo he ged byP na t n mana D ’ d 0j1 Ko ndade v, , 11 Shahéji’s trusted minister. The hill forts which surrou dn ed the place were associated i n Shivaji’s memories as his only safe home, and no wonder that, with such a mother, and with such associations, he developed a character o f hardihood and enterprise from his earliest days. The boy loved his mothe r w ith an affect ion which had no bounds. His father never lived with him but his mother was always at h dan . Throughout his li fe, she was the guiding genius dat pro tect ing deity whose approbation re warded all t oil and fille d him with a courage which nothing could daunt The religious turn of mind, and the strong faith in his m i ssi on so , prominent in his character, Shivaji owed entirely to his mother, who literally fe d



fs e o the [Wa ni tha P owez . him at times to sympathise with the wild; freedom with which Shivéji loved rot o am: over the hills, but his love for his charge was unstinted, and at last he was persuad thcd at Shiv ajt was no t to be judged by the ordinary standards of m e n and that , the ideas over which the young man brooded were of a sort in which even failure was glorious. S h i v jé i ’ wildness s needed the curb and the guidance of a strict disciplinarian like the old master under whose care he was brought up. He taught the young boy all the arts of peace and war which it was good for him t o mknow ; and he taught hi what was more valuable still, t he way to organise and control undisciplined forces. D da 0j1 was a ci il gov rmast erhand in t he art o f v e nme nt , Before he took over the charge of the hitjad g ' , had been much devast ta ed by zr the ifam ne and border wars between the Moghuls and the Bij apur kings. Poona itself had been depopulated ; packs o f w olves, and bands o f robbers, fiercer than wolves, dma e husbandry impossible. In the course of a fe w years, D édoji destroyed the wolves by offering rewards and he destroyed t he robberr bands by stern repress sion Long and favourable leases were . granted to t he settlers who agreed t o

H ow the seed thr i ved 65 . cultivate the soil, and before ten years had passed, D ad0j1 was able to show to his master that the estate was i n a flourishing condition which enabled hi m to employ a large number of foot-soldiers and bur ghers, and keep the hill-forts repaired and g rriso d oo upa P ne . na and S a I nd ’ ur and , zrp Baramati, with the M avals, thus enjoyed the blessings of peace and well o- rdered cont rol. Plantations o f fruit-trees smiled over t he land, and still ‘ bear testimony at Shivapur t o t he wisdom o f the great Bréhman-minister. So strict was his disci pline that once hw en he was tempted t o pluck wit hout leave a ripe -mango o f one of his master s’ trees, he ordered those about him t o cut o ff his right hand by way of sel f-i nflicted punishment . The entreaties o f his followers were allowed to prevail and the hand was spared, but he ceased to wear the sleeve on the right side as a token o f the unconscious wrong he had done, till Shahaj i ordered him t o di scontinue t he practice . Of course, jD é do i’ s ambition was o f the old school, to make Sh ivaji a partisan le da er like his father and grandfather. He could not, till his last m oments, rise to the height of the thoughts over which Shivaji’s mind was b r o o di gn to u nit e these p tar isan l d re a e s, ,

f6 6 R i se o t he ril m a' thd F ower . ctand e ffe t he ir common liberation from the M oslem yoke. Whe n however he w as , , sat isfied that his young charge had the c apaci t y to realise this wild dream the old , man yielded and blessed him before he died. S h i v jai’ re ve nue system and his civil s government were entirely modelled upon the practice of his te ach e r , D ad jo i and it is , no t too much to say, that w ithout such a , guiding dhan to regulate and curb his wildness, the success which attended S hiv éji would not have been so certain and per manent as it proved in t he end . D ad0jl s death occurred j ust hw en Shiv aji first launched his fortunes upon a career o f adve nture and peril by seizing T o rna and , fortifying Réi gad. During t he t en years that he had administered the estate, D édoji had trained a number o f Brahman Ichr hoo ns i n the service to supply his pl ca e, i n t he e xtended fields o f operation upon which A. a S ondév , t red b jijS h i vai had now en e Raghunét h Ballé l Shémar ajpant , and t h e , ld r ther re e Pinglé, fa o f M oro pant , and N a o pant Hanmant é, were all trained i n this school both as civil officers and military c ommanders. These men sympathised with their young master s’ spirit of adventure, and they and other kindred spirits, M oropant

H ow the seed t h n ' ed l 67 z/ D ttoP i nglé , A nnziji a , N iréji Pandlt Ré oji th jS o mna , D at t é i G0pinz’1t h, Raghunat hpant , and Gangéji M angaji , proved o f eminent se rvice to hi m in his ambitious plans. They represented t he brain of t he new movement . The iron hand and t he heart o f steel which alone could ensure its success were also re ady to dhan in t he M avli le da ers w ho w ere S h i v jai ’ chosen c o mp ani ons in boyhood. s Three such are specially mentioned i n t he h istories, Yésaji K kan Té néji M é lusaré and , , j iBa F asalk ar, who rwe e all me n brought up in the hard discipline o f their mountain hill orts j j-f . F i rangop N arasalé S am b h a i Kéw i , , j iM é nk oji D ah ét onde Go maji N i’ k , N eta zr M alusar é, H ir o i j jP alk ar, S uryai jF ar and , D évji Gad hwé and others also belong to , t he same M avli stock . They rwe e soon j oined by t he great P rabhu le da ers, rM ura B aj i P rab h u of dM h ’ , and j iB’ Prabhu o f a ar ar l j iHirdas M éval, and Baa Avji Chitnis from the H abshi territories. The two Béjis had been in the service of jShi v a i ’ e ne mi es and , s were taken over by him in his service for their gallantry. There was such a char m ab o ut S hi v é ji’ p e rs o nal i t y that even t hose s who were his enemies, and whom he had conquered on the b t la t e-field b e cam e his , t rusted followers. The r h sB a man , t he Pra bhus, and the M avli leaders ewer t he ic h e f

6 8 R i se of zhe M af atha P ower . sources of S h i v jéi ’ strength in these e arl i e r s years. The representatives of t he great Maratha families in the service o f Bij apur and Ahmednagar, so far from helping the movement, proved to be its most bitter o sf e . Baj i M ohite, a relation of Shahaj i, had to be surprised at Supé and sent yawa to the Karnz’nt i k . Baj i Ghorpadé o f M udhol was mean enough to entrap Shahaji at the bidding o f ki g tothe of B pi ’ had zr j jn ur , and S hi vzi i suppress him by terrible revenge. The Mores J lio fw’ al l o we d ra B ahman e mi ss ar y a from Bij apur to hide in their territory, with a view to assassi tna e Shiv aji , and t he Mo rés had to be disposed o f i n self-defence by arts which were inexcusable dun er any other circumstances. The Savants o f Wadi K o kand t he D alvi s o f t he n an and t he rS hi rk és and Survés o f Shri ngarpur we e similarly obstructive, and refused to j oin t he ov tnew m emen , and t hey had there fore to be suppressed, or, as in the c sa e of S é v ant s , subordi tna ed to the new power The N im . lb zi lk ars and M éz’rn s o f M haswad of F a t an , jand Zun érrao Ghadgé, all in the Bijapur service, continued to fight against t he national movement which Shi vaji had under kt a e n t o organise, and remained true t o

H ow the seed thr w ea. 69 their old allegiance. It will be thus seen that the strength o f t he new movement lay entirely in the middle-classes of the popula tio old iliesn , t he jM at h ' a h hg ’ d hr fam ar zt zr contributing little or no help till at a later stage . Wh ho everen , w t he first di ffi cult i es , were overcome, the new generation o f young m e n belonging to the highest fam i li e s , e nt e re d S hi v jéi ’ service and became his s most trusted leaders. Guj rPrat éprao a , Ham Ni b lk rjb i r r ’ M ohité, Shido i m a a S amb h éji , zro orM é Suryar é o K ai k adé , S ant aji Gho rp ad é , , D hanéji Jé dhav, K handér ao D ébhédé P arsoji , hi dand Rupéji Bhonslé and m’ i S en are e zr jN all names which figured in t he later history of S hi v jéi ’ life, and they soon succeeded s in securing to the movement the support , no t only o f the middle and lower classes, but o f the best and most aristocratic fami lies in the country. This is a point of some importance to otn e, for it shows clearly that the movement was initiated by the people and by their natural leaders who , o nly j oined it when the success became as s ure d . Even the l theM aho medans fe t influence th at was at w ork . S h i v jéi ’ chief admiral, s D y uru gar a S w as M aho medan, and n a , fought with the Siddi admirals o f t he M o

f70 s e o the Alard thd P ower so l dergh uls I br éhi mk h z’rn athhn e a , , pw as a , disb edaM m M ahome ah o e d an The and . dan soldiery and troopers from Bij apur t r d servicjand Golcondé en e e Shiv é i ’ e , and s were with some misgivings admitted i tn o separate corps. The relative importance o f the Brahman and the Prabhu elements o n one side, and the M avli and Marath a elements o n t he other, will be fully realised from t he fact, that in Grant D ufi ’ history the s names o f twenty Brahman le da ers oand f ur Prabhus are mentioned as against twenty li l d rs s liM av and M ar ét ha e a e . The e M ay s and M arathas were opposed to abo ut fourteen Maratha partizan leaders in t he Bij apur and M oghul service All t he . M inisters, except Brahman t he P and t' ho and zr thos d yst he Nydyé d h ’ h , had i n ea of zs trouble to be military commanders as well as civil o ffi c e r s and they d i sch arge d this , double function with equal credit. The N a tive Bahhar s kma e mention o f twice as many s r l tivname , but t he proportions ea e shown boa ve are not much disturbed. There are about fifty Brahman and Prabh u leaders mentioned as against forty M avli l d rs r tiveandM of ar at h ’ ea e i n t he nar a zr gr t thoughC h i t ni ’ ea Bak har , i n t he final ss



f7 2 s e o the Zli a z d thci P ower . Vellore, and several strong posts in Mysore, t ill Shivéji , at his request, made his final e xpedition into the Karnatik and the D ra vid country. The importance of these pos sessions in the south was fully realised hw en Aurangzeb captured Sambhaji , and c onquered the hill-forts o ne by o ne and , t he M aratha leaders had to retreat to the o ts u h at Ging i, whence they returned i n a fe w years back to their country, and forced Aurangzeb i n his turn to admit his discom fi ture brotherR h ’ Janar d an . agh unat p ant s tpan served under Shi véji in the later wars w ith the M oghuls. Such were these Han mant és, me n o f iron courage, and at the esam time great i n the wisdom o f their c ounsels. M o ro pant P i ngl ’ may well be described e as the chief pillar of S h i v jéi ’ power, and s r de a ne his éh hw’ by distinguished es pP ' sz services in extending the conquests in Nor t herh Konkan and Baglan. He was a great builder o f forts, and a great organizer o f r iesjS His father was i n Sha h i v ai ’ am . s haj i s’ service i n the Karnét ik , but M oropant r eturned home when still a youth and oi ed r yj n S hi v jéi ’ am in 1 653. The first s P és h wh Sh é marajpant , failed to achieve suc , cess in rst he wa in the Konkan w ith t he

H ow the seen’ thr zvea’. 73 v tsS i ddis and t he S a an , and M or opant was sent by his master to retrieve the loss, and succeeded in his m i s s i o n H e w as c o n . stant ly engaged i n all the wars o f those times, and outlived his master only a short time whs survived in his The jP ’ h h zh es family till Shahu bestowed it upon Balaj i V i shvanat h i n 1 7 1 4 . jHe w as ’ Shi vé i s c hief civil adviser, as also his principal military commander, and there was no man at t he time who could be mentioned as more capable and more devoted to t he national interest. Abéji Sondév w as traine d i n the same school with the theHanmant és and Ping to o tsidlés . H e w as t he first go u e t he li its t ke byj ahhg ' m and a t he o fi ensi ve , zr attacking Kalyz’m which , though retaken several times by the Moghuls, continued to b e an advanced M aratha outpost in Ab ajl ch r e the Ko kS o nd é v ’ a g , as S ubhe’d é r i n n an . s H e lsowas a , like M or opant , a gr eat build e r of forts When Shivéji went to Delhi, Ab jia and M oropant were le ft i n charge o f the kingdom as advisers of Jijébai . He was ppoi t d hisfirst a n e M uz umd hr and son w as appointed A mhtya at t he time o f t he c o r o nat i o n .

7 4 R i se of the M a rdthci P ower . Ragho Ballal Atre distinguished himself in the w ars with the S i dd i s He took pro . minent part in t he suppression of Chan draréo M oré, and it was his chief distino tion that the first P at h ’ n soldiers employ a cd by erjSh i v ’ i w e p lac e d dun er his co m zr dman . A nnéji Datto was another Brahman le da er ros towho e b e S ur m' s and P antasachi v i n t ijS h i v é i ’ me . He took an active part in s co q est lt he nu o f Panhaa and R é ngané , and in t he Konkan wars, and led the first ex h plu deredpedition in t he Karnat i k w en he n , , Hubli . He had the charge of South Konkan j ust b j iAas ai Sondév and M oropant had t he charge o f North K onkan and Baglan. He was associated with these commanders in ch rgthe M aratha territory, when a e o f t he Shiv aji went to Delhi . Mm' s jD at t é i Gopinr’i t h was l/ t and antr i , in charge o f Shiv aji’s household irsaffa , and ser ved Shivaji in the important mission to A fz ulk hén The famous Sak héram Bapu . Bok il of later M aratha history was descend cd from this family. Raoj i Somnath was in charge o f t he Berar conquests, and served in the Konkan

H ow the seed thr i v ed . 75 wars also. ther o thHis fa S mna was D b' a zr and foreign minister, and was succeeded by J anard anp ant Hanmant e in those posts . hisN i réji Ré oji was Nyhyé d hish and so n P ralhéd was ambassador at Golconda and i n R ajé r é m ’ time b e cam e i n conse s quence o f his great talents in organising t he defence o f Gingi , Among t he bPra hu C ommanders and Councillors, the principal names are Murar Béji , Baji Prabhu, and Balaj i jA vi . M urar Baj i was in charge of Puran ortdar f and defended it against t he attacks , of D ilérk han with great heroism , and at t he cost o f hi s life . Baj i Prabhu, from being an enemy, was converted into a devoted follower. When Shivéji escaped from Panhéla and went to gKan ana, he posted himself with a thousand men i n a narrow defile, where he contested every inch of ground with the Bij apur General, in command of overwhelming forces, till he heard t he gun announcing Shiv aji 's safe arrival at heRangana, w n at last he gave up breath exhausted from the effects , of the wounds he had received. This ex

f7 6 R i se o the lll a rd thci P ower . ploit and sacrifice have been compared by some with the heroic defence of the Pass at Thermopylae, so well known to t he readers of Greek history . Balaj i Avp was descended from a noble family in the H ab sh i ’ service, and like s Balaji V ishvanat h later 011 , was forced to leave his native village to save his life . He attracted S h i v é ji ’ notice in 1 648 by s his cleverness, and continued to be the chief secretary throughout S hi v jai ’ li fe . His s son and grandson also played an important part in the t wo succeeding reigns, and one o f his descendants wrote rethe g at chroni k o Bc le, C n wn as t he h i t ni ’ ak har . ss Among the M avli Commanders, Yéséji k hie vlK an w as t he c f o f the M a i i nfan try, and did i mportant service in the earlier conquests. H e and Tanaji conti enu d to be S hi v jai ’ chi e f associates all through their s li fe They were both with him hew n A fz ul . k han was killed, as also hw en Shahist ék han was assaulted i n his o wn palace, and they both accompanied Shiv aji to Delhi . Tanaji M alusaré and hi s brother Suryéji are names immortalised by native bards for t he courage they showed in escal ading

H ow the seed thr i ved . S inhagad, where Tanaji met his death , and upon t.he S uryaji took his reve gn e garri s o n . Baj i F asalk ar D éshmuk h met his death i n a combat with v tst he Sa an i n t he Kon rsk an F irangoji N arasalé was t he wa . Commander of the Chék an fort, and made over to ji t He was one Shi vai in 1 648. o f those who, though once an enemy, became a trusted friend, and when the M oghul reconquered C h ak an and tempted him by , an offe r o f service, he refused the tempta tion and j o i ne d S hi v jai ’ army. s Sambhaji Kal with Raghunat hpant took part in the attack on Javli when Chandra r ao M oré was killed. While Yésaji Kank was t he Co dmman er o f the M évli i tnfan ry , Co derN ét aji P alk ar was t he mman of t he cavalry. He was t he most dashing o ffi cer r yi n t he a m , and extended S hi v jai ’ plun s dering expeditions to t he e sta as far as Ahmed rnaga , J alna and Aurangab ad He . was rhe e, there and everywhere, wherever danger was to be faced. The next Commander o f the Cavalry was Guj rPrat aprao and he worthily sustained a, the hisconfidence master pl ca ed in hi m in defeating the Moghul armies in glBa an,

7 8 R i se of the Al a ni thai P ower . and the Bij apur armies rnea Panh é la He . was i n charge of the M aratha forces station e d at A urangabéd, during the t wo years o f peace between Shivaji and the Emperor. Having failed in keeping up a hot purs uit o f the Bij apur forces, he was censured by S hivaji, and on the next occasion when he encountered the enemy, he achieved a com plete victory with the loss of his own life like Té naji M alusaré, and Baj i Prabhu, and j iBa F asalk ar, and S uryar ao Kak adé . Among the you gn er generals Khandérao D bh da a e, Parsoji Bho nslé, Sant ajl Ghorpadé and JD hanaji édhav, became well k- nown names in the generation subsequent to de thS ’ The first t wo laid the hi v jai a. s foundations of M aratha power i n Gujarat and Bérér, while the last t wo brought t he war o f independence to a successful issue . Such were the men whose prowess and counsel helped Shivaji to found the king dom. Not one o f them failed i n doing his duty in the hour of danger no t o ne , proved treacherous to his master or tw e n , o ver to the enemy, while many died at their posts i n the hour of victory consoled , with the tho ug ht that they had done service assigned t o the m These are facts , .



8 0 s e of the M a ni tha' P ower . had obtained during the successful rwa s w aged by Shivaji against his enemies, no such result would have been possible . These hundred me n so brought up and , disciplined, inspired the nation with a new hope and a ne w courage which helped them to feel buna ated confidence in their p owers of resistance, and i n the ultimate success o f their efforts to turn back the t ide which thre ta ened to overwhelm. It is on this account that we have deemed it necessary to devote an entire chapter to sketch the careers o f the more notable le da ers, the memories o f whose deeds in spired their successors to follow in their footsteps S hiv aii by his great personality . filled the rank and file o f his followers with his o wn Spirit, and this was the mis sion of his life. His territories and his treasures passed yawa from the feeble hands buto f hi s son, the spirit he had inspire d in his men remained untamed by reverses , and only gathered new strength, as t he odds against them increased. Before a much lsma ler army, led by Jayasingh and D ilér k h an Shivaji found it politic to te dn er his , submission and go to Delhi. His successors had to face the whole brunt of the Moghul forces led by t he Emperor in p e rs o n and , t hough they had to retreat to the south ,

H o w t/ze seed 81 they o ffered no submission but returned , h ome v ictorious, and soon claimed back the ir own with interest. This sketch of the fellow-workers o f Shi véji i n the task o f national liberation w ould be incomplete without a brief notice of the holy men o f peace, who about this it me flo urished in the country, and were t he chief advisers of the civil and military c ommanders. The k sC h i t ni ’ Bak har ma e ss mention o f a bnum er o f these great teachers, chief among whom were t he hi chM o ryé dév of C n wad Ranganat h , i rS wam o f N igadi , V it halré o o f Beda V Joshiaman mb Baw a O f Shi ngé t é , ijN ' i al o f D ahit ané, Bo dhlé Bawa o f D hé man g é o n Jayar am Sw ami of W ad g ao n Keshay , , S w am i o f H yderabad, Paramé nand Bawu o f P oladpur, A chalpuri o f S gan ameshvar and i ost c lMan Bé wé of P ad g é o n The m ee . brat ed , however, t so f he e spiritual teachers rewe Tuk aré m Baw a o f D éhu and Ramdas iS wam o f Ché fal Ramdas became Shiva . ji s’ spiritual guide and his chief adviser v secu r tt se en i n la ma e r The i nfluence o f . these religious teachers will be more fully notice d in a separate chap ter. It w ill b e h re st t bysuffi cient t he i nflu e t o at e hat e c tio ln e of R ai md ’ and Tuk ’ am t he na na zns anr

f8 2 R i se o tile Al a r dtlzd P ower . sentiment was kept up at a higher level o f spirituality and devotion to public iaffa rs than it would otherwise have attained. I n token of the work of liberation being carried o u, not for personal aggrandisement but for higher purposes o f service to God and man, the national standard received, at the suggestion of Ramdas, its favourite orange colour, which was and is the colour of t he clothes worn by anchorites and devotees. The old forms o f salutation rwe e dispensed with as implying submission to the for e igner, and a new form was substituted, which only recited the enam fo. R é m d é ’ ss favourite deity. U dn er the same influence the names of S hi v jéi ’ principal o fli cers were s changed from their Mahomedan designations t o Sanskrit equivalents, and the forms of correspondence also were similarly improved Shivéji, from a sense of gratitude t o his spiritual teacher, dma e a gift of his king d o m and R am d as gave it back to him as , a trust t o be managed in the public i nter est . When Shivaji pressed him to accept some I mi m lands for the service of his favourite diety, R amdas significant ly request ed him to assign I mi ms in territories which were still under foreign sway, thus signi ficantly hinting that the work o f liberation was not yet completed.

H ow t/ze seed 83 The short sketches given above o f the leading me n who fi g ur e d prominently about , the time of the rise of the M aratha power, will, it is hoped, convey a more accurate idea of the condition of the times than It w as any chronicle of S h i v jéi ’ deeds. s this back-ground behind Shiv éjis great cen tral figure, which constituted the chief source of the wisdom and strength, which were put forth u dn er his leadership. N0 account of S h i v é ji’ life could be complete s without a full realisation of the strength o f the national kawa ening that had taken place at this time. The vitality o f a tna ion ‘is best presented not merely by its capacity for self-defence, but also by its power in each succeeding generation to raise up men fitt ed i n every way to carry on the w ork with greater vigour and more assured success. Judged by this double test , S h i v jéi ’ contemporaries fully sustained their s place as a generation o f men at once wise and b vra e who w e re worthily led by him , in the work of nati onal ti oconstrua n .

TH E TR E E BL O S S O M S . HE public career of Shivéji may be said to have commenced with t he occupati on o f Torané in 1 646, when he was only nineteen years old, and his life o f ceaseless activity was brought to a close prematurely in 1 680. This period of thirty four years naturally ranges itself into four divisions o f unequal length, which must be studied apart, as t he sphere of activity and the principles of conduct guiding that acti vity underwent a slo w but decided ch gan e as Shivéji grew up in years and experience . M uch confusion has resulted from ignoring t he fact that this career was one o f gro wth and development, and the rules o f action which i nfluenced Shivéji necessarily varied with the varying exigencies of his success in the earlier and later stages. I n another respect also prejudice has been at work in applying t o the wild times in which Shiv jal’s early years were passed t he stricter standards of public morality, for which, ve en in Europe, modern civilization has only recently secured general recognition ,

Tbe tr ee blossoms . 85 instead of maxims of policy observed by contemporary native rulers i n India and elsewhere. The Maratha country proper had never been really conquered by the Moslem rulers of t he D e c can They had . subjugated the plains, but the hilly portions to the west were only occ asionally o v e r ru n . The forts were not garrisoned, no r kept i n rep ir thea , and K i lle’d d r s, who were gene rally men with lo lca influence, were allowed to have very much their own way, push i ng and jostling each other, and making wars and eann xations, as though there were no central power to control their move ments. The looseness of this system of anarchic rule was further aggravated by the fact that, w 1th the break-Up o f t he Nizam shahi kingdom, its spoils had been shared by the Emperors o f Delhi and t he kings of Bijapur, and the Maratha country was t he c onstant scene of t he border warfare o f these two powers. The unhappy results of such a confusion o f authority can be better imagined than described. I n t he first six years of his career, Shi véjl busied himself with his unruly neighbours i n command of the hill-forts and M é vals about P o ona and , he had no thought of defying t he distant authority of the M oghul commanders at Aurangabad, or o f the kings of Bij apur.

8 5 fR i se o tile M ardt/zci P ower . bout ooHe had his own jalzdg i r a P na and Supé t o protect, and he could only defend it with the least expense of money and men by seizing or repai ring t he neglected hill-forts which commanded it on all sides. Besides this immediate and practical concern o f self-defence , Shivaji had, even i n these early years of his life, a dominant idea o f uniting together the scattered forces o f t he Maratha chiefs in his neighbourhood, and thereby securing that general protection and toleration which past experience showed could not otherwise be ensured. hW en this prelimi rna y task w as accom plished w i thout bloodshed, iand w th t he consent o f all parties c con erned, Shivaji found himself forced into a co nflict with t he power o f t he Bij apur kings, who first i riso ed his ttreacherouslv mp n fa he r, and sent emi ss ra i es to surprise and capture him , and afterwards tried to crush him by a series of invasions led by the most dis t inguished commanders in Bij apur service . This conflict with Bij apur formed t he second period in the story of his life, and extend ed over t en years, at t he end of which time, Shivaji succeeded i n dictating his own terms and establishing his power more tfirmly han ever over a larger extent o f



8 8 R i se of tbc M a m’t/ m’ P ower . Emperors, so long as they confined them selves t o their o wn proper spheres of action in the Karnét ik and North India, and did not make aggressive warfare with a view to subjugate W estern M ah ar as h t ra ctI n fa , . he extended his protection to the Golconda k ings who ruled i n Télangan and also materially helped the kings o f Bijapur t o repel the attack made by the M oghuls upon that kingdom. A s regards the Delhi Emperors, he was prepared to be their dependant vassal, if they would let his c ountry alone. With this view he twen all t he w ay t o Delhi to make his s ub m i s si on , evand en after he had been tre ach e rou sl y put in confinement , he consented to an armistice, the principal condition o f which was that the Emperor should recognize him as one of the chief nobles pirEo f t he m e. The idea o f forming a confederacy of Hindu powers all over India, and subver ting M usalman d om i ni on appeared never , to have seriously been entertained by him It was a later growth, and was first lir ea zed by Banrao lBalla w h e n in the , , bet ee tc onflict w n hi m and Pan Prat ini dhi , he advised Shahu Maharaj a no t to waste his energies in lopping off the branches , b ut to use all available strength i n shak i ng t he tree by i ts roots at t he cent re o f

l e tr ee blossoms . 89 p ower near Delhi. S hi v éji ’ idea seems to s have been t o form a central Hindu power i n the Dec can, and i n alli can e with the Bij apur and Golconda kings to push back the M oghul power t o the north of the Tépti rive r. This is t he clue to the whole s i t tua i o n Self-defence and t he formation o f . a national Hindu powe r in Western India, which, in alliance with t he M ahomedan States of Golconda and Bijapur, would repel aggression from t he North, and enforce protection and t oleration for his own coun t rymen,— these rwe e t he o bjects and limits of his amb i t i o n With this clue di n han , . we shall be better able to study the entanglements of the narrative of these four distinctive periods in the life and career of Shiv éji . The fi rst period, as stated above, com mences with the occupation o f Torana, hose g ve itw Raigad K z'lléd ci r a pu w as . next fort ified eand mad t he pri ncipal seat o f his residence. There was nothing very unusual in these pr oceedings, and the Bija pur D ar bd r was persuaded that these forts were seized in the general interest, and by way of protection to t he ilyfam j gabd ’ . zr The displacement of Baj i M ohit é from t he h rg oritytc a e of Supé was an act o f au h

90 R i ce 0] the M ar d tizé P ower . which could excite no comment, because he serv t thewas a j éh g ' O u the an o f a zr . Eastern side, the Chék an fort commanded the way to oPo na and Shi v éji persuaded , F irangoji N arasélé to make it over to him . The command o f the Fort was l eft with F irangoji as before, and eve r after he continued to be a most devoted adherent. The M ahomedan commander o f t he fort o f to est ooSi nhagad t he w o f P na w as si rni larly persuaded to vacate c rghis ha e . The Mavals were thus brought under c ontro l , and the Mavlis, th e hardy inhabit tan s o f these p rta s, were enlisted in t he army dun er their own natural leaders. All these accessions were made without any violence or blood-shed. The jalzég ' included, zr besides Poona and pSu a Baramati and Inda , ort co dedpur, and the P urandar f mman the old road rof m P0 011 6 to Baramati. sei eThe was desirable z ur o f Purandar fo r t she e and other reasons. The ol d Bij apur co dmman er r hwas a B a man who was per sonally well disposed to D é doji K ondadev, but was otherwise very lawless i n his movements. His wife, having remonstrated against certain acts of his, was punished by being blown yawa from the mouth o f a canno n The death t io f h s man led to . disputes among his s son and Shi vaji was ,