Finding that there was no remedy but to try and attack the Marathas, Chanda Saheb’s brother Bada Saheb began with an army from Madurai to relieve him. About ten kilometres west of Tiruchirappalli, a ten thousand strong Maratha army led by Bhaskarram intercepted him. Raghuji himself directed the operations. Neelkanth Raghunath’s letter describes the fierce battle, “Chanda Khan’s brother Bade Khan, with five thousand Pathans from Madurai, marched straight on, the forces arrived at the place, about seven miles away, at the time when there was disunity. Then the forces became dispirited. Then, Bhaskarpant with his army marched ahead, accompanied by the forces under Fatehsinghbaba, Haibatrao Jadhav, Pandhare, Gorkhoji Bhapkar. They all fought for three days, killed Bade Khan and destroyed his forces. Bade Khan was killed by our people. His dead body was brought in the camp by Bhaskarpant. Victory was bestowed by God.”
Bada Saheb and his younger brother Sadiq Saheb, were both killed in this battle fought at Manaparai on 21 March 1741. Nearly three thousand men on each side perished in the nine-hour confrontation. Raghuji sent Bada Saheb’s corpse in a palanquin to Chanda Saheb. All that was left to be done was the capture of the main fort. This, Raghuji decided, to take by an escalade. Ananda Ranga Pillai describes the final action, “A letter was received from an agent in the Maratha camp, ‘On Saturday, the 16th instant, Raghuji Bhosale directed the Palegars, the Kallar (one of the two Carnatic tribes, who were warriors and excelled in guerrilla tactics) of the Maravan Tondiman, and the Pindaris, to scale the walls of the fort at Tiruchirappalli, and they did so simultaneously from all quarters. Chanda Saheb, who was besieged there, seeing that his life would be in danger if he remained any longer, treated for terms, through the medium of a Pathan nobleman. He agreed to pay a sum of twelve lakh rupees to the Marathas, on condition that he should be allowed to retire in safety. At midnight of the same day, he repaired to the Maratha camp outside the fort, together with his son Abid Saheb, his son-in-law Khan Bahadur, and Sharif Saheb. When Raghuji Bhosale met these four individuals, he said nothing, but disarmed and kept them in honourable custody in his camp. The fort at Tiruchirappalli was occupied by the Marathas, and their standard was hoisted there.”
It was perhaps a coincidence, but in keeping with the religious faith of the Bhosales, the final victory was attained on the Ram Navami day, the birth date of Lord Ram. It could also have been planned as many military manoeuvres of the time were carried out on auspicious days. Bhaskarram’s victory over Bada Saheb marked his first major outing in the field. The capture of Tiruchirappalli was a remarkable achievement of the time, as later events were to show how difficult the task could be for the most powerful of armies.
As per the Maratha agreement with Safdar Ali, Chanda Saheb was to be removed from the Carnatic. Chanda Saheb tried to negotiate his release with Raghuji, and on hearing this, Safdar Ali moved to the safety of Jinji and reminded the Marathas of their treaty. Chanda Saheb’s parleys, therefore, did not bear fruit. Although he did not know it then, the capture of Tiruchirappalli marked the beginning of a long exile for Chanda Saheb from the Carnatic. Neelkanth Raghunath wrote to the Peshwa in his letter of 1740, “On Saturday 25 March 1741, Ram Navami, at three hours in the night Tiruchirappalli was captured and the flag of Fatehsinghbaba was hoisted. Chanda Saheb was kept in our camp. Up to now Chanda Saheb is with Bhaskarpant as a hostage. Bhaskarpant went to Berar.”
A little earlier, when Raghuji was fighting at Tiruchirappalli, he suffered from a mysterious ailment. It is possible that it was this serious ailment that hastened his withdrawal from the Carnatic. Neelkanth Raghunath reported, “A severe ailment of rheumatism at this very moment has seized Raghuji since the capture of Tiruchirappalli. All kinds of remedies are being constantly tried but so far without effect. The malady goes down a little and then rises again… It appears the complaint is caused by some superhuman agency. Raghuji handed the fort into Fatehsingh’s charge. The latter in turn has appointed Murarrao Ghorpade as the guardian of the place and has moved his camp towards Satara.”
Disagreements between Fatehsingh and Raghuji are also reported in the same letter. There was a dispute over who would take charge of the fort. Neelkanth Raghunath says the fort was handed over to the nominal commander Fatehsingh, and Raghuji had no clear instructions from Shahu on this score. The letter writer laments Raghuji losing a fort of so much value.
In a sub-plot in the story, Raghuji was interested in having his son enthroned at Tanjore at this time. And this could be the reason why Fatehsingh, Shahu’s foster-son, could not see eye to eye with Raghuji. A letter of the times tells us, “Ever since Raghuji made known his desire of appointing his son Janoji to the vacant throne of Tanjore, a severe ill feeling has come between the two chiefs, and Raghuji has since given up making any proposal or offering any advice to Fatehsingh. So, when Tiruchirappalli was consequently captured, Raghuji quietly withdrew all his men and yielded to Fatehsingh’s wishes. But you must remember that without Raghuji’s unexampled valour, to which God is witness, the place could not have been taken.”
To be continued…
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