Sambhaji Maharaj Essay
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Answer:
There has been no other character in Maratha history who has been so enigmatic and controversial as Sambhaji Raje Bhosale.
Sambhaji, or Shambhu Raje as he was fondly called, was the eldest son of the legendary Shivaji Maharaj. He was born on 14 May 1647 at Fort Purander.
Curiously Sambhajiraje has as many loyalists as he has his share of critics. Some dismiss him as hedonistic, reckless, and cruel, whereas some revere him as the bravest Maratha king that ever lived. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between. Sambhaji's reign was a short and very tumultuous one to say the least. His life was abrupt and his death so very tragic. But with his death Sambhaji achieved much more than he did during his lifetime. He is still deified as a true Hindu martyr, one who preferred death to an ignoble life of subservience.
Early life
Sambhaji's mother was Saibai, from the family of the Nimbalkars of Phaltan. She died early (on 5 September 1659, at Fort Rajgad) after a brief illness, leaving young Sambhaji in the care of his grandmother, Jijabai. Shivaji was away on various expeditions, so the young Sambhaji was reared by his grandmother and his stepmothers.
Young Sambhaji was married to a minor, Jivubai, who was renamed Yesubai. She was the daughter of Pilajirao Shirke. It was a straightforward matrimonial alliance. Pilajirao was a powerful deshmukh (in the Konkan area) in the court of Bijapur. After the marriage he provided Shivaji with access to the Konkan belt. (Incidentally, Shivaji's second wife, Soyrabai (mother of Rajaram), was also from the house of the Shirkes.)
Sambhaji had to face the cruelties of politics at a very young age. When Mirza Raje Jaisingh cornered Shivaji, forcing on him a humiliating treaty, a part of the agreement was that young Sambhaji was to be kept as collateral against Shivaji's satisfactory adherence to the agreement. Sambhaji was also to serve as a courtier at the Mughal base of Aurangabad.
Sambhaji had been a part of Shivaji's entourage to Agra and his subsequent confinement there. When Shivaji escaped from Agra, Sambhaji was left behind in the care of some friendly Brahmins at Agra and was only sent back to Maharashtra much later, once the danger to his life had faded.
Sambhaji: the poet
Sambhaji was also known for being a patron of the arts. He employed a learned man called Keshav Pandit Adhyaksh to read with him Valmiki's celebrated epic, the Ramayan. As a reward, in 1684 he gave Keshav sixteen hundred small silver coins known as ladis. Moreover, the king was no mean verse writer himself. He is known to have written two books of Hindi poetry. The first was Nakhshikh, in which he described the pleasures of love. The second was Nayakabhad. In it he sang of the varying charms of the beauties who beguiled his leisure moments (as referenced by Kincaid).
The battle of succession
FOLLOWING PAGES:
The Marathas: Rajaram Maharaj
The Marathas: Tarabai
The Marathas: Shahu Maharaj
The Marathas: Kolhapur Chatrapatis
RULERS OF INDIA:
India
Marathas
Mysore
Bijapur
Government of Maharashtra
Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj
Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, nephew of another Sambhaji who died at a young age
It is alleged that Sambhaji always had a troubled relationship with his stepmother, Soyrabai. She harboured ambitions for her son, Rajaram. She wanted him to succeed Shivaji as the next Maratha king. She allegedly began to poison Shivaji's mind to that effect. [1]
According to historians such as KhafiKhan, Mannucci, Duff, Kincaid, and Sarkar (most of whom have based their versions on the Chitnis Bakhar), Sambhaji didn't help his cause either. As alleged by the Chitnis Bakhar, [2] rumours of Sambhaji's youthful indulgences were reaching Shivaji's ears. There were even reports of Sambhaji's misdemeanour towards the daughter of a minister (Annaji Datto Surnis, as mentioned by historian Setu Madhavrao Pagdi. Annaji Datto's daughter apparently committed suicide). Shivaji had always maintained high standards regarding the behaviour of his men towards women. Obviously he didn't take kindly to this news about the crown prince. To make matters worse, Sambhaji didn't get along with many of Shivaji's ministers. There were reports of Sambhaji interfering in the tax collection efforts of these ministers. Apparently Sambhaji sided with the ryot and often publicly ridiculed those ministers whom he accused of being high-handed and corrupt.
But many historians (Bendre and Shevde, the novelists Shivaji Sawant and Vishwas Patil who have researched Sambhaji extensively) have refuted allegations that cast aspersions on Sambhaji's character. They have laid the blame for Sambhaji's actions squarely on a clique of ministers who resented Sambhaji and wanted Rajaram to replace him as the crown prince. According to these historians, it was calumny spread specifically to malign Sambhaji. Shivaji did detain the crown prince in Fort Parnala at Parli. But what transpired afterwards has definitely left doubts about Sambhaji's judgement.
✨ Sambhaji Maharaj ✨
Sambhaji (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the second ruler of the Maratha kingdom. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire and his first wife Saibai. He was successor of the realm after his father's death, and ruled it for nine years.
Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing wars between the Maratha kingdom and Mughal Empire as well as other neighbouring powers such as the Siddis, Mysore and the Portuguese in Goa. In 1689, Sambhaji was captured, tortured and executed by the Mughals, and succeeded by his brother Rajaram I.
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