Shahu I

Shahu I (Shivaji Sambhaji Raje Bhonsale; Marathi pronunciation: [ʃaːɦuː]; 18 May 1682 – 15 December 1749) was the fifth Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Shivaji I. He was born into the Bhonsle family and was the son of Sambhaji I and Yesubai. At a young age, he was taken into custody at the Siege of Raigad by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and held captive. He was released from captivity after the death of Aurangzeb in the hope of engineering an internecine struggle among the Maratha factions of Tarabai and Shahu. Shahu emerged victorious in the bloody Battle of Khed and was crowned as Chhatrapati.

During Shahu's reign, Maratha power and influence extended to much of central and western India, which had then created a strong Maratha Kingdom. After his death, his ministers and generals such as the Peshwa Bhats and their lieutenants of the Shinde and Holkar house, Senasahibsubha Bhonsles of Nagpur, and Senakhaskhel Gaikwad of Baroda administered their sections of the confederacy under a loose coalition under the orders of the Chhatrapati.

In 1689, at the age of seven, Shahu was taken prisoner along with his mother by the Mughals after the Battle of Raigarh. Aurangzeb was fighting the decentralised Marathas and hoped to use the crown heir Shahu as a pawn in his battle. Therefore, he treated Shahu and his mother well. Even in Mughal captivity, Shahu's mother, Queen Yesubai, continued to rule her private territories as a Deshmukh. Aurangzeb regarded Shahu, whose real name was Shivaji as 'Sav or Sadhu Shivaji' in contrast to his grandfather Shivaji I, resulting in his popular title 'Raja Shahu' meaning Honest or Saint King.

Shahu was married to two daughters of high ranking Maratha Sardars in the Mughal service. Aurangzeb gifted Shahu the Bhavani sword of Shivaji, the sword of Afzal Khan, and another gold-hilted sword. Aurangzeb also granted him Sanads to lands and revenue rights around the Parganas of Akkalkot, Supa, Baramati, and Nevase for his maintenance. After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, one of his sons, Prince Azam Shah, released Shahu in the hope of starting an internecine conflict among the Marathas, and also to have Shahu on his side for his own succession battle for the Mughal throne. At that time, his aunt Tarabai, who governed the Maratha realm in the name of her son (also named Shivaji), denounced Shahu as an impostor substituted by the Mughals for the son of Sambhaji. Shahu then waged a civil war against Tarabai to gain the Chhatrapati's throne in 1708 and emerged victorious.

Following the death of Aurangzeb, Shahu grew impatient about returning to his homeland. He was advised by princess Zinat-un-Nissa (Aurangzeb's daughter) and Zulfiqar Khan to not wait for formal sanads of appointment from Azam Shah, but to quit the Mughal camp at once and proceed to his home country. He readily acted upon this advice and left the Mughal camp at Doraha on 8 May 1707. The rulers of Bharatpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur received Shahu on his way to Pune with warm hospitality. Shahu visited the sacred city of Ujjain and paid his obeisance to Shri Mahakaleshwar. At Burhanpur, Jotyaji Kaskar was left behind by Shahu to receive the sanads from the Mughals. Shahu then arrived at Bijagad, about thirty miles south of Narmada, and was joined by its ruler Rawal Mohansinh, who had long rebelled against Aurangzeb and cooperated with the Marathas. Mohansinh was the first to espouse the cause of Shahu and help him with troops and funds. From Bijagad, Shahu proceeded to Sultanpur, where he was joined by several Maratha chiefs such as Amritrao Kadambande, Rawal Sujansinh of Lamkani, the Bokils, the Purandares and other Brahmin families.

After reaching Maharashtra, Senasahibsubha Parsoji Bhonsle, commander of 15,000 troops, pledged himself to Shahu. Parsoji’s example was quickly followed by Sardar Nimaji Shinde, Sarlashkar Haibatrao Nimbalkar, Rustamrao Jadhavrao (Shahu’s father-in-law), Sekhoji Thorat and Chimnaji Damodar who were all operating in Baglana, Khandesh and Nashik region. The forces of Tarabai assembled near Kudas Khed for a confrontation.

On 3 August 1707, Jotyaji Kesarkar received the formal sanads for Raja Shahu at Burhanpur from the new Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, who had got the throne by killing his half-brother and rival, emperor Azam Shah in the Battle of Jajau. While Bahadur Shah granted Marathas sardeshmukhi of the Deccan, he failed to grant them chauth and thus to satisfy them fully. He also did not recognise Shahu as the rightful Maratha Chhatrapati. He thus let Tara Bai and Shahu fight for supremacy over the Maratha Kingdom. The Battle of Khed would be a major development in the ensuing civil war.

On his march from Pune to the field of Khed Kudus, Shahu faced resistance from the town of Parad, which had a small fortress from which a feeble cannonade was directed upon his forces by the Patil Sayaji Lokhande. The fortress was stormed and levelled to the ground, and the besieged were put to the sword. The Patil Sayaji's widow placed her son Ranoji in Shahu's palanquin. Shahu, who regarded this as his first victory, named the boy Fatesinh and adopted him as his own son. Upon reaching Khed, Shahu sneaked into Dhanaji Jadhav's camp in disguise and had an interview with Dhanaji's comptroller Naroram Ranga Rao, who held favour of his master. Naroram represented the legitimacy of Shahu's claims to the Maratha throne and persuaded Dhanaji to espouse the right cause at the right time. Thereafter, Dhanaji also pledged his allegiance to Shahu. The Battle of Khed then took place on 12 October 1707 between the forces of Tarabai and Raja Shahu, who personally commanded his contingents. Tarabai's forces were led by Pratinidhi Parshuram Trymbak and Sarsenapati Khanderao Dabhade and suffered major casualties, while Dhanaji Jadhav only engaged in nominal skirmishes due to his prior oath of allegiance to Shahu. Shahu thus achieved a resounding victory causing Parshuram Trymbak Pratinidhi to flee to Satara Fort. Following the battle, Shahu visited the Khandoba Temple at Jejuri to pay homage and assumed the title "Kshatriyakulavatansa Sriyut Raja Shahu Chhatrapati".