When a son avenged his father's arrest

Indian history has rather been unkind to our own countrymen or rather we have been unkind in writing our own history. Even today, we have failed ourselves in reading and writing history accurately and in a dispassionate manner.
Many incidents and events in our past have either been simply glossed over or given a slant. Deliberate or otherwise, such writings have made their way into history and today they have become a part of  history books.
Indians have always been besotted with what Westerners have said about our history and culture and we have blindly accepted them even if they are wrong. Many incidents and personages have been dismissed by British and European historians without giving them their due.
One such figure who has not been accorded due recognition and whose exploits have been significantly whittled down in history is Shahaji Bhonsale, the father of  Chatrapathi Shivaji.
Few historians and fewer people are aware that Shahaji was among the first exponents of guerilla warfare. He was also an astute military strategist and he once managed to outwit the combined forces of Mughals and Bijapur armies merely by his common sense. This was when he was in the service of the Nizam Shahis.
Once the Nizam Shahis were extinguished, he joined the service of the Adil Shahs and for decades he was counted among the bravest, courageous and extremely far sighted commander of  the mighty Bijapur Army.
A peculiar incident that has not been given its proper and correct perspective during this time is the so called arrest and imprisonment of  Shahaji in 1648-1649 by the Adil Shah Emperor and his subsequent release.
While most history books ascribe his arrest to the rise of Shivaji,  contemporary accounts and even a few Marathi books speak otherwise about the incident.     
The Marathi Bakhars (Bakhar is a historical narrative written in Marathi prose and it is classified as one of the earliest genres of medieval Marathi literature. More than 200 bakhars were written from the seventeenth to nineteenth century. Many of them detail the deeds of Shivaji) and Basatin-i-Salatin by Mohammad Ibrahim Al Zubairi are sure that Shahji was arrested as a reaction to the military exploits of Shivaji.
According to these two sources, Shivaji had taken possession of some forts and territories in Maharashtra

and they belonged to the Adil Shah. Besides, he had killed several Bijapuri officers and even surprised the escort below the Bhor Ghat and captured the royal  treasure which was being sent from Kalyan to Bijapur. The conquest of Kalyan and the hill forts of Rajmachi and Lohgad had angered the Adil Shah who naturally concluded that these disloyal acts must have been done by the young Shivaji with the advice and instigation of his father. Hence secret orders were issued to arrest Shahaji.
Other sources such as the Sabhasad do not give credence to this view and infact they go so far as to say that Shivaji’s conquests had nothing to do with his father’s arrest. On the contrary, the Sabhasad throws up an entirely new angle on the incident. The Sabhasad records-this was the earliest work on Shivaji written by one of  the courtiers in the Maratha administration, Krishnaji Anant Sabhasad, in Ginjee in 1694- that a letter was sent to Shahaji by the Adil Shah Emperor directing him to keep Shivaji  under proper control.
The record further says Shahaji replied that his son was no longer under his control and that the Emperor might consequently deal with him in any manner he liked. This reply angered the Emperor who directed Afzal Khan to punish Shivaji. Surprisingly, the Sabhasad makes no mention of the imprisonment and release of Shahaji in 1649. The Chitragupta and Shiva Pratap Bakhars also make no such mention.
One of the earliest historians on Marathas, Chitnis, claims that Shahaji wrote a letter to Shivaji censuring his conduct and asking him to go to Bijapur. Chitnis further claims that Shivaji sought advice of his wife, Sai Bai Saheb, as well as of his officers and nobles.
Another work, Shiva Digvijaya, reproduces all the letters of  Shivaji, Shahaji and the Adil Shah on the issue. It confirms that Shivaji consulted his mother, officers, his wife and Goddess Bhavani before he wrote to his father and the Adil Shah.
Shivaji says in his letters that he was responsible for his own actions and that he was ready to take responsibility for the consequence of his deed. He further said he could not be diverted from his course.
Another source says that the Adil Shah disbelieved Shahaji when told that he had no control over Shivaji. Since the Adil Shah continued to be suspicious of Shahaji’s conduct, he ordered another Maratha nobleman in his service, Baji Ghorpade, to arrest Shahaji by any means and bring him to Bijapur.
Shahaji then was near Tanjore or Thanjavur and Baji Ghorpade accompanied Nawab Sarje ( Sharza ) Khan to meet Shahaji. The Adil Shah had asked Baji Ghorpade to arrest Shahaji in case he refused to control Shivaji. The Nawab, however, refused to arrest Shahaji as he considered him to be his friend.
Baji Ghorpade asked Shahaji to take steps to control his son and prevent Shivaji from invading the Adil Shahi territories. When Shahaji said he had no control over his son, Ghorpade decided to arrest Shahaji.
The Muhammad Namah, an imperial chronicle of Bijapur, has a different story altogether. It says there was some ill will between Shahaji and Mustafa Khan, Prime Minister of the Adil
Shahi Kingdom, during the siege of Ginjee. It says Shahaji questioned the authority of the Prime Minister who then ordered his arrest. Historians like Jadunath Sarkar say that the arrest of Shahji was due to his hobnobbing with the Raya of Vijayanagar and other Hindu Kings.
The Basatin-i-Salatin and the Shiva Bharat carry the same tale about the imprisonment of Shahaji. The Shiva Bharat narrates that one day, just as the sun was about to rise, the Adil Shahi commanders Dilawar i Khan, Masud Khan, Ambar Khan, Rajahs of  Adoni and Karnpur, Farhad Khan, Khairat Khan, Yaqut
Khan, Azam Khan, Bahlol Khan, Malik Raihan Khan,
Balal, son of Haybat Raja, Sidhoji, Mambaji Pawar,
Mambaji Bhosla, and some other nobles, besieged the
camp of Shahaji.
As Shahaji’s soldiers had kept awake the night, they had no idea of such a sudden attack and were unprepared, and so there was a great disorder and tumult in their camp. Masud Khan himself was commanding the forces. Then Khandoji, Ambaji, Manaji, Baji Raje and a few others entered the camp and arrested Shahaji.
The Basatin-i-Salatin says three Sardars- Baji Rao
Ghorpade, Yashwant Rao Wadhwe and Asad Khan-entered the
camp of Shahaji and thus awakened him and asked him to surrender. However, Shahaji decided to fight and ordered all his nobles to be prepared. He then rode on his faithful horse and attacked Baji Raje Ghorpade.
Shahaji was injured in the fight against Ghorpade. When he  swooned, fell down wounded, Ghorpade arrested him. The three thousand horse of Shahji soon dispersed and much plunder was secured from the camp.
Another account says that Shahaji was invited by Baji Raje Ghorpade of Mudhol to his house for a banquet and was treacherously put under arrest. Surprisingly Shahaji;s own kinsmen like Mambaji and Trimbakji Bhosle were in the
pursuing party, as were Sidhoji and Mambaji Pawar. The accounts say that Baji Raje was really accompanied by seven Maratha Sardars.
The vast booty acquired in the fort of Ginjee and Shahaji
were brought to Bijapur under the personal escort of Afzal
Khan. The Adil Shah received the party led by Afzal Khan in the Kalyan Mahal.
The Muhammad Namah claims that “Shahaji Raja who was brought in chains was sent to the prison.” However, the fact that the Adil Shah did not mete put any harsh treatment or torture Shahaji surprised the nobles and people of Bijapur.
A further surprise awaited the when the Adil Shah said he would release Shahaji and restore his jagir provided his forts of Bangalore
and Kondwana were returned to him. Shahaji then wrote to his two sons, Sambhaji and Shivaji, asking them to return the forts. When the forts were returned, the Adil Shah honored Shahaji and gave back his jagir.  
Shahaji, on his part, never forget the arrest. He wrote to Shivaji asking him to take revenge against the Ghorpade. Shivaji did kill the Ghorpade in his palace in Mudhol  and extracted revenge but that is another story.
Once Shahaji came back to Bangalore
, he allowed Ekoji to rule the province and he himself retired to Kanakagiri where he stayed on till his death in a horse accident in Hodigere near Chennagiri in 1664.

The General who killed his 63 wives

Monuments generally inspire awe and wonder and monuments of India never cease to amaze. There are very few monuments that elicit the emotion of  disgust and revulsion.  One such monument is the Saath Kabar (meaning: sixty graves) in Bijapur.

Saath Kabar, as the name itself means, is the grave of 60 persons. The structure, which is in ruins, stands a mute spectator to the tragedy that unfolded at this very spot several hundred years ago.

Ali Adil Shah 2 was the ruling monarch of the Adil Shah dynasty and Bijapur was his capital. The Emperor was facing difficulties as he was facing attacks from the Mughals on the one hand and Shivaji from the other.

Try as he might, Ali Adil Shah 2 had not been able to reign in Shivaji. The astute Maratha strongman was slowly but surely chipping away at the foundations of  the Adil Shahi Empire.

Both the Adil Shah and the Queen Mother called Afzal Khan sometime in 1659.

Afzal Khan was one of the most decorated and brave generals of Bijapur. He had led the Bijou army to several victories. Both the Queen Mother and Ali Adil Shah 2 asked him to take on Shivaji. “If need be, kill Shivaji”,  they said.

Afzal Khan had 64 wives and concubines in his harem. All of them were residing in his palace in Bijapur city.

After his return from the royal court, Afzal Khan made preparations to take on Shivaji. His first task was to raise an army so that he could take on Shivaji militarily. He recruited people with experience, courage and knowledge of the Maratha terrain in his army.

His third task was to ensure that his army of 12,000 soldiers whom he had specifically recruited were paid. He then thought about an idea to pay his army. He would raid and demolish temples en route to Pratapgarh where Shivaji was stationed to pay for the Army.

His army included elephants, horses, camels and  several canons.

A great believer in astrology, Afzal Khan decided to consult his favourite astrologer before confronting Shivaji.

Afzal Khan spent hours with several astrologers. All the astrologers, including his favourite astrologer, told him indirectly that he would lose the war. Their refrain was “Your  wives will not outlive you.”

Afzal Khan also consulted a Sufi saint who was known for his prophecies. The saint point blank told him that this would be his last campaign.

Afzal Khan had come to believe in astrology as the predictions had always come true. His faith in astrology had increased every time he won a war. He became so superstitious that he would venture for war only after consulting astrologers.  

Though Afzal Khan remained undaunted by the prophecy and decided to go ahead with the war on Shivaji, he had one worry. That worry was not about him or the impending death that the astrologers had predicated to him.

Afzal Khan was a zealous Muslim and he had loved his wives and mistresses and he did not want them to fall into another man’s hands after his death. He then began wondering how he could safeguard the honour of his women.’

Had it been only a few women, Afzal had not doubt that he would have had them murdered. But he had 64 wives. He thought long and hard and finally came upon a solution.

Afzal Khan had seen a deep well near Navraspur which was five kms from Bijapur city. Navraspur was an abandoned city after the death of Ibrahim Adil Shah  2 and there were no people nearby. The village of Torvi was a little away and it was mostly Hindu in population.

Afzal Khan went to the area and surveyed the surroundings. He then hatched a brutal plan to murder all his wives. He called all of them on the pretext of holding a feats and had them drowned one by one in the well. Two of his wives fled after they came to know of the gruesome fate they would have to undergo.

Of the wives  was caught, while the other managed to flee. The woman, who was caught, was brought to the well, screaming for mercy. Alas, the brave General showed no mercy and threw her into the well. He removed the bodied with the help of a bamboo pole and built 63 graved for them near the well. One grave is empty as nobody could trace the runaway woman.

The grave of the 63 women came to be known as Saat Kabar. The well can be seen even today. There are no records to show what the Adil Shah Emperor or others thought of the murderous act.

What happened next is that Afzal Khan tried to kill Shivaji at Pratapgarh by deceit and was killed by the great Maratha on November 10, 1659. Shivaji was such a noble king that he built a memorial for Afzal Khan in Pratapgarh and also allowed Afzal Khan’s son to take away his father’s body.

The building surrounding the graves is nothing much to write about. It does not have any grace or artistry which is generally associated with the monuments of Bijapur. However, no monument in Bijapur or even India can match this one for the gruesome incident.              

There are only a few parallels in history about such similar incidents. The one that comes to the mind is the drowning of 280 women of his harem by the Ottoman Emperor Ibrahim the Mad. Ibrahim suspected that one of his women had an affair with somebody else. Instead of finding out who it was , he threw all of them into the Bosperous Sea.

Incidentally, Ibrahim the Mad was obsessed  with fat women and he even made a obsess woman, Sheker Pare of Georgia,  the probably he would loose his life.

Henry Cousens has written about the graves and also of  the killing of the 63 wives.