The Siege of Jinji

During medieval ages north India was a bone of contention for various foreign dynasties. Adilshahi, Mughals, Nijamshahi every aspiring power tried to establish their rule in different parts of India. While foreign invaders indulged in annihilating Indian dynasties, Hindu rule over south India was preserved under two brothers Harihara and Bukka. Vijaynagar the empire they found, emerged as the largest south Indian kingdom. But when Mustafakhan an Adlishahi leader closed noose around Vijaynagar, once the prosperous kingdom encompassing entire southern sector of India had to surrender. The fall of Vellore in 1647 completely destroyed Vijaynagar. The fall of Vijayanagar in south India was followed by rise of Swarajya in Maharashtra. During the same period Shivaji took an oath to form HindaviSwarajya. 

Few years down the line, Shivaji became first ruler of sovereign nation. At that time boundaries of HindaviSwarajya did not even cover entire Maharashtra. To expand the span of the nation and in turn to give strategic depth to the kingdomShivajiMaharajwaged campaign in South India. Vellore, Jinji, Tanjore these rich Hindu heartlands were assimilated in Swarajya. ShivajiMaharaj very tactfully and foresightedly developed various forts in southern sector out of which Jinji was given utmost importance. ShivajiMaharaj’s acute fort architecture made Jinji invincible. Little did he know that he was actually building strong military base in south to continue endless struggle between Marathas and Mughals. This time it was RajaramMaharaj to lead Marathas! 

On March 1689, Zulfikarkhan besieged Raigad. Entire royal family was in danger, then to ensure safety of successor of the throne,Yesubai advised RajaramMaharaj to escape Raigad. RajaramMaharaj left Raigad on 5th April 1689 and marched onwards on furious path to Jinji. Pratapgad – Satara – Parali – Vasantgad embarking on this path Rajaram reached Panhala in the month of June. The route here onwards was full of death traps. BahirjiGhorpade, MalojiGhorpade, SantajiJagtap and RupajiBhosale these men of great valour took hit on themselves. Because of them Rajaram could safely and secretly move ahead without even a scar on his head. Rajaram entered into Karnataka. The queen of Bidnur,Chennamma extended him warm welcome. Bidnur a small province situated on the banks of Tungabhadra river. During southern conquest ShivajiMaharaj helped Chennamma to secure her throne. She grabbed the opportunity to repay. But very shortly Mughal invaded Bidnur ,RajaramMaharaj had no option but to leave Bidnur. While RajaramMaharaj was crossing Tungabhadra river, Mughal launched surprise attack on his entourage. RupajiBhosale fought singlehandedly. Meanwhile with the help of BahirjiGhorpade,RajaramMaharaj disguised as a common manand started his journey towards Jinji. 

After crossing all odds Rajaram reached Bengaluru. During his stay one of the servant was washing his clothes and others were coming often to seek his guidance. This behaviour of Marathas was found suspicious by local people. Thus very soon whereabouts of RajaramMaharaj were informed to Aurangzeb. KhandoBallal took the charge and immediately divided the troops. They took different paths to mislead Mughal intelligence officers. After few days all met near Palar river. Palarriver to Jinji fort the last stretch of the journey was left. At thattime Jinji was under the Ambika Bai’s (RajaramMaharaj’s Step Sister) control. To continue her dominance in south she decided to fight against RajaramMaharaj. Rajaram being a benevolent ruler, he did not want to open a front against the people of his kith and kin. He went to Vellore fort and after few days diplomatically captured Jinji fort. Rajaram left Raigad on 5th April, 1689 and reached Jinji on 2nd November 1689. Rajaram and troops survived all death traps and surprise attacks. This hair breadth escape further proved to be the start of new era where Marathas emerged stronger and even more confident. 

Possession of Jinji fort was a great blow to Aurangzeb’s strategic planning. Now he had to deploy 60000 men to Karnataka. Initially efforts were concentrated only on Maharashtra but now battle field got extended to 1000 km deep in Karnataka. Yesubai’s decision proved to be the masterpiece of strategic planning. Rajaram assumed the office and started ruling Swarajya from Jinji. Very soon he won hearts and minds of local land lords and military leadership in Karnataka. They all forged an alliance against Mughals. Rajaram raised and army of 40,000 cavalry and 25,000 infantry. 

Zulfikarkhan arrives at Jinji : 

To deal with growing Maratha power in south, Aurangzeb ordered Zulfikarkhan to lay siege to Jinji. Zulfikarkhan who besieged Raigad and arrested Yesu Bai and ShahuMaharaj now eyed at RajaramMaharaj. Zulfikarkhan reached Jinji on 27th August 1690. While he was heading towards Jinji, Rajaram sent troops against him under AcchappaNayak. But skilled and experienced Zulfikarkhan broke the united opposition and made his way to Jinji. When he came and observed the fort Zulfikarkhan realised it’s a Raigad of Karnataka! 

Invincible Jinji : ( August 1690 to June 1691 ) : 

Jinji comprises of three citadels namely Rajgiri, Krushangiri and Chandrayandurga. Entire fort is protected with the strong fortification of granite stone. It spreads over the area of 7 km. To lay siege to Jinji was next to impossible. Marathas attacked Zulfikarkhan’s soldiers again and again. Attacks were taking place overt and covert. Marathas also disconnected all the supply lines to Mughals. Some loyal Mughal officers like Nagoji Mane, NemajiShinde, MankojiPandhare also joined Maratha camp. Throughout the year Zulfikarkhan fought many battles but could not arrive at decisive victory. 

Increasing strength but lesser impact of Mughal forces ( June 1691 to June 1692 ) : 

To strengthen the siegeAlamgir sent reinforcement with Asadkhan( Zulfikarkhan’s father ) and Kamabaksha ( Aurangzeb’s son). Rao Dalpat, a veteran Rajput Mughal officer also joined Zulfikarkhan. Asadkhan, Kambaksha, RaoDalpat all these men of great aspirations reached Jinji in December 1691. They increased Mughal power manifold and steeled the drooping hearts of fighters. Shahjada encamped near Jinji fort. Zulfikarkhan set up his military base on Alimdadmountain exactly opposite to entrance of the Jinji fort. IsmailkhanMaka who was earlier serving Gowalkonda throne, after its fall joined Marathas and further to this he shook hands with Mughals. He started preparing to launch attack from rear. Rao Dalpat set up his camp between Zulfikarkhan and IsmailkhanMaka. Marathas had stomach to fight and will to break new grounds. Despite of strong Mughal presence in the surroundings of Jinji, Marathas conducted surprise raids on Kambaksh’s camp. To arrest Shahjada and to force Mughals to lift the siege at the cost of Kambaksh, this was the whole idea behind the surprise raids. But this attempt could not change the status quo. 

Gradually monsoon startedsetting in Karnataka. Widespread monsoon washed away all the ambitious plans of Mughal forces. Mughal forces had to trudge through the knee deep mud with heavy weaponry. Marathas took advantage of extreme weather and launched mid night attacks on Zulfikarkhan’s camp on Alimadadmountain. Zulfikarkhan and Rao Dalpat were busy patrolling the siege. Rains slowed down their movements. By the time Mughal came, Marathas left no traces of Mughal forces on that camp. Battle extracted heavy price on Mughals. Guerrilla warfare again proved to be the deadliest weapon. 

Ismailkhan Arrest ( 13 December 1692 ) : 

Mughal forces were scattered around the periphery of Jinji fort. But no individual camp had strength to fight against Marathas. Thus Zulfikarkhan ordered his men to assemble near his camp on Alimadad fort which was initially destroyed by Marathas but later it was rebuilt. All these changes were happening under the face of intelligence report that Dhanaji is approaching Jinji with 15000 men. IsmailkhanMaka’s camp was exactly opposite to Zulfikarkhan’s camp. By the time IsmailkhanMaka made arrangements to change the encampment site, Dhanaji broke down on his army from the rear. Simultaneously Maratha forces in Jinji fort attacked from front. Ismailkhan was fighting vehemently but his valour could not inspire his men. They abandoned the battle field. Ismailkhan could not withstand for long two fold Maratha aggression. The battle ended up with the arrest of Ismailkhan. 

Sometimes bold military actions lacked political prowess. RajaramMaharaj’s trustworthy officer from southern sectorAcchapaNayak was in good books with Ismailkhan. Both of them were initially serving Kutubshahi throne. Thus with Acchapa’s advice Rajaram discharged Ismailkhan. Keeping an eye over future politics,Rajaram played this move. 

Alimardakhan Arrest ( 14 December 1692 ) : 

Every new day in Mughal camp rose with new firetraps. Alimardakhan was trusted Mughal officer who helped Zulfikarkhan to lay siege and to get familiar with southern politics. Alimardakhan got a news that Santaji was stationed at Kanchi. But he had no prescience of the strength of men he possessed. Santaji’s intelligence officers told him that Alimardakhan is likely to provide logistics to Zulfikarkhan. To avert this plan Santaji attacked Alimardakhan with 2000-3000 men. Alimardakhan was taken by surprise with such a small army. He retaliated with confidence and vigour but with 1500 men only. Santaji then pretended to be on back foot and he abandoned the field. Alimardakhan roaring with the sense of victory followed Santaji. Santaji very deftly brought him to the place where reserved Maratha troops were ready to pounce on Mughal army. Alimardakhan lately realised that he had been fooled. Alimardakhan had no option but to surrender. 

Politics in Mughal Camp : 

Zulfikarkhan was leading Jinji siege where as Asadkhan, Rao DalpatBundela, ShahjadaKambaksha, Ismailkhan were assisting him. Alimardakhan was majorly responsible for providing logistical support. Marathas defeated Ismailkhan and Alimardakhan. Before December 1692 when there was no presence of Santaji and Dhanajiin southern military landscape, Zulfikarkhan did not launch bold attacks on Jinji. There was clear understanding between Zulfikarkhan and RajaramMaharaj. Ostensibly Zulfikarkhan was a staunch defender of Mughal rule over Indian Subcontinent the typical ideological narrative of Aurangzeb. But reality was very different. G.T.Sardesai writes in his book The New Histroy of Marathas, “ According to the King’s order Zulfikarkhan exerted himself to the utmost but was severely hampered by hostile surroundings. He realised pointlessness of subduing Marathas under prevailing conditions and tried for a time a policy of reconciliation.” Thus he allowed all the resources to reach Rajaram penetrating the siege. In this situation Rajaram got a time to resettle Maratha office and Zulfikarkhan could lay the siege without blood soaked battle. Although military leadership of Marathas pressed Mughals so hard that at times besiegers got besieged. But these battles could not fetch decisive victory. In a war either you die or you win but here military generals and political spearheads of both the sides had different approach to deal with the situation. Hence entire southern politics was in doldrums for nine odd years. 

This policy of procrastination did not go well Kambaksha. Although he was sent by Alamgir to help Zulfikarkhan his arrival brought fresh difficulties and situation became even more precarious. His ministers advicedhim to follow the steps his brother Akbar once adopted. They suggested Kambakshto forge an alliance with Marathas then to arrest Zulfikarkhan and Asadkhan, further with the help of Marathas instate his rule. Before Kambaksh could act over this idea the plan got leaked and lead to the house arrest of Kambaksh by Zulfikarkhan. There were two intentions behind this episode, Zulfikarkhan wanted to stop Kambaksh from gathering army against him. Secondly Marathas wanted to arrest Kambaksh so that Shahjada can be kept captive and siege be lifted at the cost of him.Although Zulfikarkhan arrested Kambaksh he was given royal treatment and all customs were followed to ensure his safety from Marathas. 

A War and A Retreat( 22 January 1693 ): 

House arrest of Kambaksha was followed by disarray in Mughal army. Marathas waged all-out war against Mughals. Zulfikarkhan, Rao Dalpat had to participate in close combat. Marathas lost 3000 infantry, 1000 cavalry and Mughal lost 500 men. Zulfikarkhan finally attained substantial victory over Marathas. This situation did not prevail for long. During this time Santaji launched attacks on besiegers. Military disaster was followed by financial crisis in Mughal camp. Soldiers could not even afford two times a meal. Marathas killed large number of Mughal forces. Zulfikarkhan left with 1200 men. Rao Dalpat fought to the best of his abilities. But fallen stature of Mughal army could not bear for long this Maratha aggression. This was a time when Rajaram could have easily arrested Zulfikarkhan, Rao Dalpat and many high ranked officers. He could have extracted large sum as a ransom. But RajaramMaharaj acted in gratitude. Instead of charging his army to arrest Mughal, Rajaram allowed them to retreat till Vandiwash, 50 km from Jinji. 

After squashing shrewd Mughal officers Santaji went to meet Rajaram. Maratha army got upper hand over Jinji and surrounding areas. Yet military leadership left devoid of liberty to take independent decision. RajaramMaharaj made treaty and allowed retreat. This conduct of Rajaram incensed Santaji. He withdrew forces and left Jinji. 

Again Siege ( September 1694 to December 1695 ) : 

For one and the half years Zulfikarkhan stationed near Vandiwash. During this time he strengthened army and started capturing forts around Jinji. Again on 15th September, 1694 he laid siege to Jinji. Meanwhile he attacked Tanjavar and defeatedShahajiRajeBhosale( VyankojiRaje’s Son ), captured Palankot which was earlier in Maratha custody. Further he planned to capture Changman fort 68 km westwards Jinji. But Marathas annoyed their troops by continuous surprise raids. Marathas peculiar genius of devising their strategies in coherence with geographical conditions. Mughals encamped near Changman fort. They used water from the lake nearby. Marathas poisoned that water resource. Mughal could not function with no potable water. Thus Marathas not only over powered Mughals but also outsmarted them. Zulfikarkhan could not capture Changman fort. 

Instead of engaging the troops in Changman, there was golden opportunity for Mughals to capture Jinji in the absence Santaji and Dhanaji. But again Zulfikarkhan purposely missed this chance. Every such instance gave indication of mutual understanding between Zulfikarkhan and RajaramMaharaj. Both these leaders of paramount power joined the hands very secretly. So that if Aurangzeb dies in near future then Zulfikarkhan with the help of Marathas could control southern sector of Mughal dominance ( which was not a part of Maratha kingdom ). This friendly accommodation between RajaramMaharaj and Zulfikarkhan leaded to no decisive war. 

Vellore fort was one of the strong hold of Marathas after Jinji. It was situated at a distance of 100 km from Jinji. Zulfikarkhan besieged this fort. Santaji and Dhanaji launched joint offensive. Zulfikarkhan lifted the siege without a fight. By the end of 1695 Santaji left no Mughal officer to challenge him on the soils of Karnataka. Quasimkhan, Khanjadkhan, Muhammad Muradkhan all the trusted military commanders suffered defeat at the hands of Santaji. 

Disturbances in Maratha office (1696-1697) : 

Santaji defeated all most every single Mughal officer who tried to oppose Maratha juggernaut. Had he been given free hand to solve the situation militarily he could have concluded it on a positive note. But the policy of reconciliation between Rajaram and Zulfikarkhan spoiled the relations between Rajaram and Santaji. Growing discontent affected Maratha politics to the core. Disagreement that lingered unresolved fuelled the conflict. Rajaram dismissed Santaji from the office of Senapati and appointed Dhanaji at his place. Fried ties between two brilliant Maratha generals leaded to armed conflict. Santaji lost to Dhanaji. Very soon Nagoji Mane killed Santaji. Death of the unmatched general was a serious blow to Maratha fortune. 

And the chapter ends : 

After the death of Santaji,Alamgir was vehemently pursuing Zulfikarkhan to bring to conclusion the siege of Jinji. Rounds of ceasefire started taking place between Maratha and Mughal. Again Zulfikarkhan was hesitating to carry out bold offensive. The time came when Zulfikarkhan had no option, he ordered the army to tighten the siege. Rao DalpatBundela, Daudkhan Panni prepared their troops to launch final attack. Situation was quite alarming for Rajaram. Somehow he had to penetrate through the siege. Zulfikarkhan also was not in favour of arresting Rajaram. So he deployed Shinde brothers to ensure siege remains intact in few stretches. KhandoBallal approached GanojiShirke. Shirke family were against Chatrapati because SambhajiMaharaj sealed their fiefdoms. KhandoBallal brilliantly convinced Shirke brothers to help Rajaram escape from the siege. KhandoBallal assured them of possession of Dabhol( Shirke’s sealed fiefdom ). HarajiRajeMahadik was ordered to fight against Mughal forces to maintain possession Jinji. On the mid night of 26th December 1697 Rajaramfleed with 20 other men. GanojiShirke took them to Vellore fort. Rao Dalpat and Daudkhan showed extra ordinary gallantry and finally captured Jinji in the month of February, 1698. Further Dhanaji marched towards Vellore to escort Chatrapati and royal family to Maharashtra. Rajaram reached Vishalgad on 22nd February, 1698. 

After coming to his homeland Rajaram spent an entire year to visit various pockets of Maharashtra. He cheered up everyone fighting for swarajya by his personal presence. Return of RajaramMaharaj was a moment of triumph for all. At this point of rising hope destiny had different plans for Marathas. RajaramMaharaj could not bear the strain of camp life. RajaramMaharaj expired on 2nd March, 1700 on Sinhagad. 

RajaramMaharaj possessed neither military expertise nor proactive wisdom to handle internal and external affairs. But he had got kind hearted and clear eyed perspective. Without any prejudices he rendered power to his ministers. He appointed worthy and dexterous military leaders. This band of council persecuted the ardent struggle against Mughals. Nuts and bolts of administrative strategies were so crafted that even the last man in the pyramid of hierarchy felt that it’s his war. RajaramMaharaj successfully generated this sense of ownership. Wholeheartedly men fought for HindaviSwarajya. They didn’t argue, they didn’t complain, they didn’t file claims. They simply pressed onward and conquered. During the very start of Rajaram’s reign, all the hopes were shattered and ten years down the line, Marathas were ruling with sky high aspirations! This changed political landscape proved to be the harbinger of the transformation of Swarajya into Samrajya! 

All the dates mentioned above are according to Julian calendar. 

Aditi Kajrekar 

References: 

1. KilleJinji – Mahesh Tendulkar 

2. G.S.Sardesai – New History of Marathas ( Part 1 )