The Brave Son of Sahyandri

The Brave Son of Sahyandri.

A personality with a rare combination in the royal family throughout history is Sambhaji Maharaj, the cub  or chawa of the Sahyadri. (As we called Shivaji Maharaj as lion.)Balanced grip on weapons and scriptures. Intellectual and physical balance. Concentration of mind and attitude and understanding of the temporal and the transcendental. These are the characteristics of Shambhaji Maharaj .

At the age of thirteen, he was proficient in 16 languages of the world. A prince who could speak fluent English three and a half centuries ago. By the age of fourteen, he had written books like Budhabhushanam, Nayikabhed, and Nakhshikha. At the same age, he was the author of a book called Satsataka, which discusses spirituality. He was also proficient in swordsmanship, horse riding, and other martial arts.

Masaheb Jijau gave two Chhatrapatis to Swarajya. One was the creator of Swarajya, Shivaji Maharaj, and the other was the protector of Swarajya, Sambhaji Maharaj.

Swarajya was a state that was actually incarnated, but it was also an idea. Sambhaji Maharaj called that idea is Shiva Vichar. Sambhaji Maharaj was more than just a son of Shivaji Maharaj, actually he was his devotee. Sambhaji had immense faith in Shivaji Maharaj and that is where the act of dedication began.

Sambhaji Maharaj entered politics at the age of eight and a half through a treaty with Maharaja Jai Singh. At the age of nine, Sambhaji  was in the court of Aurangzeb. He was the main organizer of the escape from Agra planned by his father. Before that, he used to attend Aurangzeb’s court daily.

Then Aurangzeb once asked him, “How will you take the elephant we gave you so far to your Deccan?” The fearless Sambhaji replied, “An elephant is an animal. It can be carried by riding it or by driving it. But how will you bring the forts of Swarajya that you have captured to your kingdom?”

Death in the form of a body tied to Sambhaji’s back at the age of nine through politics. At the age of 32, he rested on the banks of the Indrayani River, having accomplished a feat that no one could touch.

After the death of Shivaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb set out to take the reins of Swarajya. According to Aurangzeb and others, there was nothing difficult in this. The king of the richest state in Asia. 14,500 is only the number of Sardars. Each Sardar had an army of fifty thousand. At that time, Alamgir’s annual revenue was 23 thousand crores. Age 65.

At that time, Sambhaji Maharaj had an army of 50 thousand. Annual revenue was barely one crore. Age 23.

Still, Sambhaji was not afraid in the slightest. He kept fighting.  He did not know how to cry. Because he had a constant source of inspiration like Shivaji Maharaj. Who was used to facing the enemy in any situation with dignity.

After Shivaji Maharaj passed away, Sambhaji Maharaj said to Hambirrao Mohite, “Uncle, I want to set the economy of the kingdom. Find a proper place.” Hambir Mama searched  Burhanpur . The Marathas looted this place for three days . Aurangzeb’s capital in the south. This place  was very near to the heart of  Aurangzeb  Because Aurangzeb’s two beloved sisters were born in this village. His mother died in Buranpur. And Aurangzeb’s only love affair was also happened  here.

After Aurangzeb entered Swarajya, Sambhaji Maharaj fought for twenty hours out of twenty four  hours, occasionally eating shadu’s clay bread. Sambhaji Maharaj set fire to Swarajya. He left the Mughal soldiers in a state of panic.

Sambhaji, who was very intelligent, found a different tactic .When  Aurangzeb in Swarajya ,Sambhaji Maharaj was  in Aurangzeb’s empire. Karnataka, Mysore .Chikdevaraya of Mysore gave a tribute of one and a half crores to the Sambhaji Maharaja. He came to Thanjavur with Venkoji, later in Tamil Nadu, Madras, Pashankot fort of Kaveri, 80 kings of Andhra Pradesh surrendered to Sambhaji Maharaj. He captured the states of Bengal, Bihar etc. That is, according to today’s Indian map, he established his rule over nine states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu. Only the northern part remained because Rajputs were there .

Sambhaji Maharaj, while writing a letter to Maharaja Jai Singh’s son Ram Singh, says, “We have conquered the south. You are in the north. The Mughals think that Hindus have become devoid of principles and we have no pride in religion. But we are ready to sacrifice everything for our motherland, our country, our forts. If you extend your hand of cooperation at this time, it will be possible to put Aurangzeb in jail.”

What ambition? And that too when Aurangzeb himself was here in his own swarajya and was  almost trying to finished swarajya . In his short life of 32 years, this Sahyadri cub I.e Chawa fought a total of 240 battles and did not lose a single one. Which is still recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.

But the swords of the Rajputs never came out of their sheaths. If these swords had not been tied up, today’s history would have been different.

Still, Sambhaji Maharaj continued to fight. Because of one legacy. The legacy of Masaheb Jijau, Shivaji Maharaj, who erased the darkness of 750 years of slavery from the minds and awakened a new fullness.

It is the entire human evolution. Slavery changes the human genome. That is why even today in Maharashtra, the number of people martyred for the soil is high.

Sambhaji not only protected Swarajya. He also expanded it. He added five thousand kilometers to the area than before. He increased the treasury five times. Meanwhile, he built some forts without leaving a single fort. Sambhaji Maharaj made the Mughals bend, the English dance, the Portuguese bow down and drowned Siddhi.

This Chhatrapati did not bow, he just kept moving forward with infinite stubbornness. If a prince with such immense bravery, courage, might, philosophy, and morality becomes Chhatrapati , then we will have no value. This is what the ministers thought and then the conspiracy began. The way to destroy character.

Some historians and filmmakers have conveyed Sambhaji’s “rude and scheming” personality to the public. Various female characters had to be created for that. Mohita’s Manjula, Thorat’s Kamala, Durga. After being harassed by Sambhaji Maharaj, Thorat’s Kamala committed suicide. The year 1698 is written on that tomb. When Sambhaji Maharaj died in 1689. How crooked and dirty.

Sambhaji Maharaj had made another ambitious plan to hoist saffron over Delhi. In it, Aurangzeb ‘s prince Akbar, who was a traitor to Aurangzeb, was involved. Sambhaji Maharaj put Akbar in a boat from the port of Rajapur, from where Akbar would take the help of the Shah of Iran and bring an army of 70 thousand against Aurangzeb. On hearing this news, Aurangzeb would retreat from Gowalconda and leave straight for Delhi.

The first objective was to distract Aurangzeb from Maharashtra and while returning to Delhi, Santaji Ghorpade had stopped in the north with some selected troops. He would block Aurangzeb’s path. Sambhaji Maharaj would support him with a fresh army. But Akbar’s ship got lost and instead of reaching Iran, it reached Muscat. Prince Akbar was stuck in Muscat for six months. Of course, even before Akbar reached Iran, Aurangzeb had imprisoned Sambhaji Maharaj here.

Because ,Aurangzeb had realized this.we will not be able to defeat the entire Swarajya and its king openly.

For the next 40 days, Aurangzeb tortured Shambhuraje relentlessly. Dressing him in clown’s clothes, cutting off his beard and moustache, pricking him with a stick of sugar, burning his eyes with a stick, cutting out his tongue, peeling off his skin, pouring salt water on him, and making him suffer the agony of death while still alive. Through this, Aurangzeb showed the whole world the evidence of Aurangzeb’s barbarity, his monster, a beast tendency.

Sambhaji Maharaj endured all this because he had gone far ahead of time. Ahead of the bondage of the body. No one can bind my body. But circumstances will not decide what state of mind I should keep? This Shambhu had freed himself from the limitations of the body. Because the teaching given by Jijau from the story of Ramakrishna that you are endowed with inexhaustible, unlimited strength and power. He had embraced this.
This Shambhu was a devotee of Shiva, he had become one with Shiva through his infinite devotion. And he was asking his divine father, “Isn’t this what is called dedication ?”

The devotee of Shiva, who bravely faced the brutality and naked dance of death performed by Aurangzeb, surrendered to time with the same maturity. Thousands of people took the spark from it and buried the entire time.

देखणे ती जीवने जी तृप्तीची तीर्थोदके

चांदणे ज्यातून वाही शुभ्र पाऱ्या सारखे

देखणा देहांत तो जो सागरी सूर्यास्तसा

अग्नीचा पेरून जातो रात्र गर्भी वारसा.

See those lives that are pilgrimages of satisfaction

The moon that flows like white mercury

See that body that is like a sunset on the sea

The fire that sows in the night’s womb is a legacy.

||Shri Mauli Charni Arpan||
Ashwini Gawande