The Bijapur Vazir at this time, Siddi Masood Khan, had become a friend of Shivaji Maharaj. To save Bijapur from the Mughal invasion, Maharaj himself had sent a part of his army there. Some detachments of this army were still hovering around Bijapur at this time. Taking help from these detachments, Sambhajiraje left Bijapur and arrived at Panhalgad (December 1679). Maharaj was absolutely on the seventh heaven. This has been expressed in his letter to his stepbrother Vyankojiraje. The moment he heard the news, he came down to Panhala to meet his son. He treated Sambhajiraje with filial love and assured him of giving him the kingdom. Maharaj seems to have given the administration of Panhala province to Sambhajiraje and given his trusted warrior Mhaloji Ghorpade to assist him.
At the time of his death, Shivaji had not fixed anything about the way the affairs of the kingdom were to be conducted after him. He had not even debarred Sambhajiraje from any possible inheritance. Actually, Shivaji Maharaj could never have imagined that the illness would be his last. He was just fifty years old. He could never have thought that his illness would escalate so quickly.
As per the information of the British at Rajapur, Sambhajiraje had reached Panhala three to four days before 26 December 1679. Shivaji Maharaj was busy with the battle of Jalna at this time. He came to Panhala to meet Sambhajiraje. To symbolise his lasting love and trust, he entrusted his own responsibility of the fight with the Mughals to Sambhajiraje. Thus, Shivaji Maharaj took advantage of Sambhajiraje’s negative views about Diler Khan. He felicitated Sambhajiraje by immediately giving him the leadership of the campaign against Mughal Empire. Khafikhan, the Mughal historian himself has written, that the Mughal sardars used to say, Shivaji Maharaj was bearable than Sambhajiraje. Khafi Khan writes:
“… His (Sambhajiraje’s) father had indeed raided famous Parganas and government palaces and plundered them in droves. But he had never attacked the hereditary Deccan capital of the Badshah, Burhanpur and Aurangabad. Instead, if any of his ministers suggested him to attack these cities, he would not allow them to do so, through wisdom and foresight. He would tell them, if these cities were attacked, Aurangzeb would feel insulted and definitely attack himself, and then God only knows what will happen in that battle.”
“Afterwards, in the Muharram of 22 January-19 February 1680) the above-mentioned Sambhajiraja, marched off and rode at a quick pace of three-four kos per day as per those times. He attacked Burhanpur with twenty-thousand cavalrymen.”
As per Khafi Khan’s account, Burhanpur was attacked after 22 January. Shivaji Maharaj came back to Raigad before 13 January. As per the British accounts, Burhanpur attack took place after 24 February, i.e. in the month of March; and Sambhajiraje after completing it, came back to Panhala in the month of April. Shivaji Maharaj was ill for 12 days (20-21 March to 3 April). If Sambhajiraje had returned to Panhala before that, he would have definitely got the news of Shivaji Maharaj’s ill health, and he would have immediately reached at his father’s service before he died. But even though the overall army remained in the north until the monsoons started, he must have returned back the moment he heard the news of either his father’s illness or death. The conclusion that can be drawn is, seeing that Sambhajiraje was busy with the Mughal campaign, wrongly assuming that he would not return from it successful, Sachiv Annaji Datto, through his halfway intellect, who used to extract undeserved benefits from his service and office of a minister only for his own selfish interests, who used to put poor farmers in extreme difficulties, and who would always be after bribes, conspired against Sambhajiraje, ensnared Soyarabai and Moropant in it, and tried his luck at introducing a vertical split in the Hindavi Swarajya.
Sambhajiraje’s nature was not treacherous or disingenuous. He was brave, magnanimous, large-hearted, but a little impatient and irascible. Shivaji Maharaj’s skill of taking care of people with various natural inclinations and utilising them in the areas of their expertise was lacking in Sambhajiraje. The point to be kept in mind is, after Shivaji Maharaj’s death, Sambhajiraje simply assumed that he was the owner of the kingdom, which was why, the incidents atop Raigad to the contrary, angered him profusely.
To be continued…
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