Editing Shivaji (section)

== Conflict with Bijapur Sultanate ==

=== Background and context ===
In 1636, the [[Sultanate of Bijapur]] invaded the kingdoms to its south.{{Sfn|Robb|2011|pages=103–104}} The sultanate had recently become a tributary state of the [[Mughal Empire]].{{Sfn|Robb|2011|pages=103–104}}{{Sfn|Subrahmanyam|2002|pp=33–35}} It was being helped by Shahaji, who at the time was a chieftain in the [[Maharashtra|Maratha uplands]] of western India. Shahaji was looking for opportunities of rewards of ''[[jagir]]'' land in the conquered territories, the taxes on which he could collect as an annuity.{{Sfn|Robb|2011|pages=103–104}}

Shahaji was a rebel from brief Mughal service. Shahaji's campaigns against the Mughals, supported by the Bijapur government, were generally unsuccessful. He was constantly pursued by the Mughal army, and Shivaji and his mother Jijabai had to move from fort to fort.{{sfn|Gordon|2007|p=59}}[[File:Shahaji and Shivaji at Jejuri.jpg|thumb|Young Shivaji (right) meets his father [[Shahaji]]. (left)]]In 1636, Shahaji joined in the service of Bijapur and obtained [[Pune|Poona]] as a grant. Shahaji, being deployed in [[Bangalore]] by the Bijapuri ruler Adilshah, appointed [[Dadoji Kondadeo]] as Poona's administrator. Shivaji and Jijabai settled in Poona.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarkar |first=Jadunath |title=Shivaji and his times |publisher=Orient Blackswan Private Limited |year=1952 |isbn=978-8125040262 |edition=5th |location=Hyderabad |pages=19}}</ref> Kondadeo died in 1647 and Shivaji took over its administration. One of his first acts directly challenged the Bijapuri government.{{sfn|Gordon|2007|p=61}}

=== Independent generalship ===
In 1646, 16-year-old Shivaji captured the [[Torna Fort]] through stratagem or bribery,<ref name="Gordon2007" />{{rp|61}} taking advantage of the confusion prevailing in the Bijapur court due to the illness of [[Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur|Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah]], and seized the large treasure he found there.<ref name="auto3">{{cite book|last=Mahajan|first=V. D.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/956763986|title=India since 1526|date=2000|publisher=S. Chand|isbn=81-219-1145-1|edition=17th ed., rev. & enl|location=New Delhi|pages=198|oclc=956763986}}</ref>{{sfn|Gordon|1993|p=61}} In the following two years, Shivaji took several important forts near Pune, including [[Purandar Fort|Purandar]], [[Kondhana]], and [[Chakan Fort|Chakan]]. He also brought areas east of Pune around [[Supa, Parner|Supa]], [[Baramati]], and [[Indapur]] under his direct control. He used the treasure found at Torna to build a new fort named [[Rajgad Fort|Rajgad]]. That fort served as the seat of his government for over a decade.<ref name="auto3" /> After this, Shivaji turned west to the [[Konkan]] and took possession of the important town of [[Kalyan]]. The Bijapur government took note of these happenings and sought to take action. On 25 July 1648, Shahaji was imprisoned by a fellow Maratha sardar called Baji Ghorpade, under the orders of the Bijapur government, in a bid to contain Shivaji.<ref>Kulkarni, A.R., 1990. Maratha Policy Towards the Adil Shahi Kingdom. Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, 49, pp. 221–226.</ref>[[File:JoppenSouthIndia1605max.jpg|thumb|Map of Southern India {{Circa|1605}}]]

Shahaji was released in 1649, after the capture of [[Gingee Fort|Jinji]] secured Adilshah's position in Karnataka. During 1649–1655, Shivaji paused in his conquests and quietly consolidated his gains.{{sfn|Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times|1920|pp=41–42}} Following his father's release, Shivaji resumed raiding, and in 1656, under controversial circumstances, killed [[Morè (clan)|Chandrarao More]], a fellow Maratha feudatory of Bijapur, and seized the valley of [[Jawali, Maharashtra|Javali]], near the present-day hill station of [[Mahabaleshwar]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Eaton|first=Richard M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aIF6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PP198|title=India in the Persianate Age: 1000–1765|date=2019|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=978-0-14-196655-7|page=198|language=en}}</ref> The conquest of Javali allowed Shivaji to extend his raids into south and southwest Maharashtra. In addition to the Bhonsle and the More families, many others—including [[Sawant]] of [[Sawantwadi State|Sawantwadi]], Ghorpade of [[Mudhol State|Mudhol]], [[Nimbalkar]] of [[Phaltan]], Shirke, Gharge of  Nimsod, Mane, and [[Mohite (clan)|Mohite]]—also served Adilshahi of Bijapur, many with [[Deshmukh]]i rights. Shivaji adopted different strategies to subdue these powerful families, such as forming marital alliances, dealing directly with village Patils to bypass the Deshmukhs, or subduing them by force.{{sfn|Gordon|2007|p=85}} Shahaji in his later years had an ambivalent attitude toward his son, and  disavowed his rebellious activities.{{sfn|Gordon|1993|p=69}} He told the Bijapuris to do whatever they wanted with Shivaji.{{sfn|Gordon|1993|p=69}} Shahaji died around 1664–1665 in a hunting accident.{{sfn|Gordon|1993|p=58}}

=== Combat with Afzal Khan ===
{{Main|Battle of Pratapgarh}}[[File:Death of Afzal Khan.jpg|thumb|An early-20th-century painting by [[Sawlaram Haldankar]] of Shivaji fighting the Bijapuri general Afzal Khan|left]]
[[File:Pratapgad (2).jpg|thumb|left|[[Pratapgad]] fort]]

The Bijapur Sultanate was displeased with their losses to Shivaji's forces, with their vassal Shahaji disavowing his son's actions. After a peace treaty with the Mughals, and the general acceptance of the young [[Ali Adil Shah II]] as the sultan, the Bijapur government became more stable, and turned its attention towards Shivaji.{{sfn|Gordon|1993|p=66}} In 1657, the sultan, or more likely his mother and regent, sent [[Afzal Khan (general)|Afzal Khan]], a veteran general, to arrest Shivaji. Before engaging him, the Bijapuri forces desecrated the [[Tulja Bhavani Temple]], a holy site for Shivaji's family, and the [[Vithoba Temple|Vithoba temple]] at [[Pandharpur]], a major pilgrimage site for Hindus.<ref name="Richards1995">{{cite book |author=John F. Richards |title=The Mughal Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&pg=PA208 |year=1995 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-56603-2 |pages=208–}}</ref>{{sfn|Eaton, The Sufis of Bijapur|2015|pp=183–184}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roy|first1=Kaushik|title=Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present|date=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-57684-0|page=202|language=en}}</ref>

Pursued by Bijapuri forces, Shivaji retreated to [[Pratapgad]] fort, where many of his colleagues pressed him to surrender.<ref name="Eraly2000">{{cite book |author=Abraham Eraly |title=Last Spring: The Lives and Times of Great Mughals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyVW0STaGBcC&pg=PT550 |date=2000 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-93-5118-128-6 |page=550}}</ref> The two forces found themselves at a stalemate, with Shivaji unable to break the siege, while Afzal Khan, having a powerful cavalry but lacking siege equipment, was unable to take the fort. After two months, Afzal Khan sent an envoy to Shivaji suggesting the two leaders meet in private, outside the fort, for negotiations.<ref name="Roy2012">{{cite book |author=Kaushik Roy |title=Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1IgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA202 |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-57684-0 |pages=202–}}</ref>{{sfn|Gier, The Origins of Religious Violence|2014|p=17}}

The two met in a hut in the foothills of Pratapgad fort on 10 November 1659. The arrangements had dictated that each come armed only with a sword, and attended by one follower. Shivaji, suspecting Afzal Khan would arrest or attack him,{{sfn|Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times|1920|p=70}}{{efn|A decade earlier, Afzal Khan, in a parallel situation, had arrested a Hindu general during a truce ceremony.{{sfn|Gordon|2007|p=67}}}} wore armour beneath his clothes, concealed a ''[[bagh nakh]]'' (metal "tiger claw") on his left arm, and had a dagger in his right hand.{{sfn|Haig & Burn, The Mughal Period|1960|p=22}} What transpired is not known with historical certainty, mainly Maratha legends tell the tale; however, it is agreed that the two wound up in a physical struggle that proved fatal for Khan.{{efn|Jadunath Sarkar after weighing all recorded evidence in this behalf, has settled the point "that Afzal Khan struck the first blow" and that "Shivaji committed.... a preventive murder. It was a case of a diamond cut diamond." The conflict between Shivaji and Bijapur was essentially political in nature, and not communal.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kulkarni |first1=A. R. |title=The Marathas |date= 2008 |publisher=Diamond Publications |isbn=978-81-8483-073-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N45LDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT30 |language=en}}</ref>}} Khan's dagger failed to pierce Shivaji's armour, but Shivaji disembowelled him; Shivaji then fired a cannon to signal his hidden troops to attack the Bijapuri army.{{sfn|Haig & Burn, The Mughal Period|1960}}

In the ensuing [[Battle of Pratapgarh]], Shivaji's forces decisively defeated the Bijapur Sultanate's forces. More than 3,000 soldiers of the Bijapur army were killed; and one sardar of high rank, two sons of Afzal Khan, and two Maratha chiefs were taken prisoner.{{sfn|Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times|1920|p=75}} After the victory, a grand review was held by Shivaji below Pratapgarh. The captured enemy, both officers and men, were set free and sent back to their homes with money, food, and other gifts. Marathas were rewarded accordingly.{{sfn|Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times|1920|p=75}}

=== Siege of Panhala ===
Having defeated the Bijapuri forces sent against him, Shivaji and his army marched towards the [[Konkan]] coast and [[Kolhapur]], seizing [[Panhala fort]], and defeating Bijapuri forces sent against them, under [[Rustam Zaman]] and Fazl Khan, in 1659.{{sfn|Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times|1920|p=78}} In 1660, Adilshah sent his general Siddi Jauhar to attack Shivaji's southern border, in alliance with the Mughals who planned to attack from the north. At that time, Shivaji was encamped at Panhala fort with his forces. Siddi Jauhar's army besieged [[Panhala Fort|Panhala]] in mid-1660, cutting off supply routes to the fort. During the bombardment of Panhala, Siddi Jauhar purchased grenades from the English at [[Rajapur, Maharashtra|Rajapur]], and also hired some English artillerymen to assist in his bombardment of the fort, conspicuously flying a flag used by the English. This perceived betrayal angered Shivaji, who in December would retaliate by plundering the English factory at Rajapur and capturing four of the owners, imprisoning them until mid-1663.{{sfn|Sarkar, Shivaji and His Times|1920|p=266}}

After months of siege, Shivaji negotiated with Siddi Jauhar and handed over the fort on 22 September 1660, withdrawing to Vishalgad;<ref name="Ali1996">{{cite book|first=Shanti Sadiq |last=Ali|title=The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3CPc22nMqIC&pg=PA124|year=1996|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-0485-1|page=124}}</ref> Shivaji retook Panhala in 1673.{{Sfn|Farooqui, A Comprehensive History of Medieval India|2011|p=283}}

=== Battle of Pavan Khind ===
{{Main|Battle of Pavan Khind}}

Shivaji escaped from Panhala by cover of night, and as he was pursued by the enemy cavalry, his Maratha sardar [[Baji Prabhu Deshpande]] of Bandal [[Deshmukh]], along with 300 soldiers, volunteered to fight to the death to hold back the enemy at Ghod Khind ("horse ravine") to give Shivaji and the rest of the army a chance to reach the safety of the [[Vishalgad]] fort.{{sfn|Sardesai|1957|p=}}

In the ensuing [[battle of Pavan Khind]], the smaller Maratha force held back the larger enemy to buy time for Shivaji to escape. Baji Prabhu Deshpande was wounded but continued to fight until he heard the sound of cannon fire from Vishalgad,<ref name="Kulkarni1963" /> signalling Shivaji had safely reached the fort, on the evening of 13 July 1660.<ref name="KulkarniIndia1992">{{cite book|author=Shripad Dattatraya Kulkarni|title=The Struggle for Hindu supremacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_m1AAAAIAAJ|year=1992|publisher=Shri Bhagavan Vedavyasa Itihasa Samshodhana Mandira (Bhishma)|isbn=978-81-900113-5-8|page=90}}</ref>  ''Ghod Khind'' (''khind'' meaning "a narrow mountain pass") was later renamed ''Paavan Khind'' ("sacred pass") in honour of Bajiprabhu Deshpande, Shibosingh Jadhav, Fuloji, and all other soldiers who fought there.<ref name="KulkarniIndia1992" />