Before Shivaji could make new moves he met some setbacks. His trusted commander Mahadev Pant died. He had played a stellar role in beating back Fateh Khan’s large army when it attacked the fort of Purander. Shivaji sent condolence message to the family of Pant and invited his four sons to join the forces of Swarajya.
But unfortunately the sons didn’t carry the genes of their father. They were idiots who always fought among themselves. Then, they conspired with various Muslim empires against Shivaji. The four got arrested by orders of a furious Shivaji and were thrown in the dungeon. They were only released when all four promised to mend their ways and dedicate themselves to the cause of Swarajya.
Another shock was coming for Shivaji.
Yashwantrao, late More’s adopted son, the Deshmukh of Jawli who was installed in the throne by Shivaji announced his intension of joining hands with Shah Adil of Bijapur. He openly raised the flag of rebellion against Shivaji.
It was a great betrayal. Jawli was a very difficult mountain area. Hidden in those mountains even a small army could beat back a large invading force. Shivaji could not afford to ignore the betrayal. The traitor was to be taught a lesson. Shivaji had to move carefully. He opted for guerilla warfare.
Small batches of fighters were sent into those mountains to launch surprise attacks. The tactic proved very successful. After several encounters and skirmishes Shivaji’s fighters were able to subdue the rebel and Jawli army was defeated. But the main culprit, Yashwantrao managed to escape.
The rebel took refuge in his fort of Rairy.
This time Shivaji himself led his army of a large number of soldiers. A siege was laid to the Rairy fort. Yashwantrao was not the one to give up easy. He held out for six weeks and fought hard. Then he surrendered and begged for mercy.
Shivaji pardoned him on the promise of future loyalty.
He again went bad after a short time. He started writing letters to Shah Adil spewing venom on his benefactor Shivaji. He used abusive language for describing Shivaji. One of his letters was caught and his game of treachery was revealed.
The abusive language used by him made Shivaji furious. This time, there was no scope for showing any mercy to the traitor.
At Shivaji’s orders Yaswantrao and his sons were put to death. Jawli state was annexed into Swarajya. Six nearby forts were also captured to expand the budding empire of Shivaji.
Weakning Empires
Emperor Mohammad Shah Adil of Bijapur died. He was a cruel person and a debauch. He had burnt the eyes of his elder brother with hot irons. And the younger brother got his arms cut off. Having taken care of his brothers he spent time in drinking and the company of women. He took little interest in running of the empire. It was done by his Begum named Ulianjanaba. The Begum was childless.
So, she manipulated things and got the son of a maid installed as the Emperor who was to be merely a figure head. The real power Ulia Janaba kept in her hands adroitly.
In the north, Mogul empire was also shaky. Shahjahan was ill for a long time. He wanted his favourite son Murad to descend on Mogul throne. But his other son Aurangzeb was pushing his claim. Shahjahan hated him. To keep him away from the capital Agra Shahjahan deputed him in south to manage affairs there. Aurangzeb was a ruthless, pushy and cunning person. He remained in south but his eyes stayed fixed on Agra throne.
In the meantime, Shivaji’s elder daughter Sakbarbai was married off. Saibai had given birth to a son who was named Shambhaji.
As empires were busy in succession battles Shivaji made his move. He toured vast regions and surveyed the area. He found that there were large grey areas that didn’t clearly fell in any empire. The areas were unguarded. He sent his armies and laid claim on all such areas adding up to a large sea coast and a vast hinterland. It included Goa, Konkan, parts of Karnataka, Kalyan, Dabhol and Bhiwandi. All forts in the area were brought under the saffron flag.
This act was followed by clever diplomatic move. He sent his trusted friend Sonopant Dabeer to the camp of Prince Aurangzeb as his special agent. In a letter Aurangzeb was requested to give his recognition to vast areas of Bijapur empire annexed by Shivaji as the integral part of Shivaji kingdom i.e., Swarajya.
Aurangzeb saw in it an opportunity for him and recognised Shivaji’s claim. He was killing two birds with one stone. One was the destruction of Bijapur Empire. The second was making Shivaji a grateful protege whom he could use in future battles.
Aurangzeb’s letter dated 23rd April, 1637 to Shivaji reads—‘Presently we recognise the land, forts and ports you have captured from Bijapur Empire as yours. Our heart has great love for you.’
Shivaji knew that Aurangzeb was not trust worthy and was a tricky person.
