BHAU’S SUCCESS, NAIK’S ENVY

The Peshwa did not stray very far from Satara. He went to Waduth, about twenty kilometres away and camped there on the bank of the river Krishna. The temple of Shakuntaleshwar built by him a few years later was possibly a favourite camping site. From Waduth, Nanasaheb wrote to Pilaji Jadhavrao on 24 March 1747 to come and meet him from his base at Wagholi. Pilaji was a veteran, but not keeping well. Yet, one finds the Peshwa urging, “I am at Waduth. Come immediately. I am waiting for you. Even if you are unwell, you should come. I will not detain you for long. This is an important matter about a campaign.”

The matter involved Pilaji’s advice about events in Satara as well as the news that the Nizam was marching on Bhau’s army in the Carnatic. Again, he wrote, “You should definitely come. The Nizam is heading for Savnoor and Bednoor. Naturally, he will cross Bhau. Naik is also accompanying him. This complication must be resisted. This is Bhau’s first campaign. He should preserve his good name. The elder queen has begun to increase Maharaj’s anger driven by the expectation of marginal profit. The Nawab intends to keep his feet planted over both the boats. Bhau has captured the Kittur station. Now he is on his way to Sondhe. Emissaries have been dispatched to Bednoor. The Portuguese are under pressure. If Naik comes, we are thinking of blowing him away. I am waiting for you.” These letters of March 1747 were the culmination of a prolonged period during which Maharaj was displeased with the Peshwa.

The Nizam dispatched Naseer Jung in Carnatic behind Sadashivrao Bhau. Meanwhile, the Peshwa established contact with Murarrao Ghorpade and began foiling Naik’s plans.

On 30 March 1747, Bhau met Murarrao. Amicable discussions took place. But Murarrao did not join the campaign. He was in discussions with Kolhapur. On 3 May 1747, Bhau camped at Saundatti. Bhau roughed up and brought under his control the whole region from Patshahpur up to Harihar, Basavapattan. Here, Shahu also got angry with the Peshwa and had removed him from the office of the Pradhan for a short while. Sadashivrao’s campaign was a success, and after a four-month period, towards the end of May 1747, Bhau returned from the north Carnatic with enough tribute to take care of some of Shahu’s debts. The successful campaign brought Bhau centrestage and the Kolhapur Chhatrapati even offered Bhau the post of the Peshwa at his court. Nanasaheb soon foreclosed that option by designating Bhau as his own Dewan – a post that Chimaji Appa held in Bajirao’s time.

Sadashivrao Bhau met the Peshwa near Pandharpur. The Peshwa seems to have himself described the overall outcome of the campaign, “In the Carnatic campaign, one has to survive on grass. Less income and more spend.”

However, Sadashivrao Bhau got the first valuable experience to show his prowess, and his brilliance came afore. It was not a small thing that this campaign gave rise to a man with unmatched aggression.

Due to Peshwa’s actions, Babuji Naik became miserable. He thought about camping in the Carnatic. But because he did not have any money, he faced privations. Facing countless problems, he began grovelling in front of the Nizam. “We wrote, ‘If we go back to Satara, we would not live. Nawab should save us. If you agree to keep us in your service along with our contingent, we would happily serve you, but please do not send us back.’ But you (Nizam) replied, ‘Return back. Do not stay with me.’ Since that day, both have not had any food to eat, and are fasting. Nawab has sent some mangoes, jackfruit, and coconuts. He left and marched off to return. At the Kanmadi fort, Naik clashed with Murarrao. Naseer Jung encamped at Shire.”

Due to the competition between the Peshwa and Naik, Sadashivrao’s campaign could not achieve expected success. Since he returned a failure, Naik lost all his prestige with the Maharaj. Both the queens began following-up with him for repayment of loans. “Maharaj posted guards in front of his house. They behaved strictly. Both the brothers fasted until the evening. Aabaji Naik took a poison pouch in his hands. Babuji began searching for a dagger to hurt himself in his stomach. Aatmaram Joshi came there and took away the poison pouch. Both of them went to the extreme and sat in front of Shri Siddheshwar. Raghuji Bhosale came there and tried to reason with him saying, that he would help them to secure the revenue rights in the Carnatic. After that, Naik brothers marched off and went to Manoli via Nargund. They are thinking if Maharaj sends strong ministers and take them back by honouring them with protocol presents, then they would go.”

The Peshwa had a firm resolve to not allow Babuji Naik settle down in the Carnatic. Many others tried very hard to foil this objective. “To ensure that the Peshwa should not be able to set up his own principalities (in the Carnatic), the senior queen, Fatehsingh Baba, Raghuji Bhosale, Yashwantrao Potnis etc. people had been trying hard to convince Murarrao. Babuji Naik had also sent his emissaries there.”

But towards the end of 1747, and the year after that, Shahu lost his attention over the administration. His health and heart grew weak. Seeing that it was impossible for anyone else except the Peshwa to carry the burden of the kingdom successfully, he handed over the full responsibility of the Carnatic to the Peshwa by the end of that year. The Peshwa informed his emissary, “The Carnatic province has been awarded to us through God’s own wish.”

Babuji Naik was driven away from the region. He tried really hard in that relation. But since his chief master himself later died, Naik did not have a strong support any more. Ramraja assumed the throne after Shahu, but he did not wield that much power. In the arrangements decided at Sangola, the Carnatic province was given to the Peshwa with the Chhatrapati’s orders. Naik later also participated in the revolt that Tarabai and Damaji Gaikwad raised against the Peshwa. But he could not survive in front of the Peshwa.

The Portuguese were well aware that Nanasaheb kept a close watch on their activities. On 7 October 1748, the Viceroy wrote in a letter, “Nana is on watch with open eyes to see if we march to the North. He not only made many adjustments to the forts taken from us but also fortified the islands of Arnala, Karanje and many other ports, indicating the use of everything in their defence.”

To be continued…

KRISHNA CROSSED

During the journey, Rajaram was accompanied by many of his most trusted and selected colleagues. Some important men of these were – Commander-in-Chief Pansambal, Prahlad Niraji, Nilkanth Moreshwar and Bahiro Moreshwar Pingle, Nilkanth Krishna, Khando Ballal, Chitragupt Kayasth, Krishnaji Anant Sabhasad (author of Shivaji Maharaj’s first Bakhar biography), Baji and Khandoji Kadam, Mansingh More, Santaji Jagtap, Rupaji Bhosale, etc. On the way, Bahirji and Maloji Ghorpade joined them. It was decided that he would keep his family behind on Vishalgad in due security, Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav were to keep roving around and harass the Badshah’s forces as per convenience. Santaji Ghorpade had not accompanied Rajaram in this journey to Jinji.

Jinji is situated fifty miles southeast of Vellore. Rajaram reached there on 15 November. Here in Maharashtra, the Badshah captured two strong forts, on 3 November Raigad, and in one more month Panhalgad. But in this exercise, instead of actual fighting, the Mughals achieved their objectives by paying for them in cash. This way, towards the end of year 1689, there was not a single vestige of the Maratha kingdom left in Maharashtra itself.

Rajaram’s above journey to Jinji was extremely risky and hence historically memorable. When he left Panhala, he must have had two to three hundred men with him. Since all of them kept riding their horses for long stretches with few stops in between, they were able to finish the five-hundred-mile journey in just one month. The Badshah immediately sent men to chase them, and dispatched urgent orders for various big outposts in the Carnatic, that Rajaram was on the run and must be immediately arrested on sight. Due to this, Rajaram’s journey became one of difficult adventure and many times life-threatening situations presented themselves to him. The account of the stops taken on the journey have been mentioned as follows.

Rajaram Maharaj and his colleagues escaped Panhalgad in such secrecy and care, that the Mughal army which was sitting in siege could not get any indication of their movement. Maharaj travelled on horses, and at the time of sunrise reached the banks of the Krishna River. If this journey had taken place by the western route from Rangna, Gokak, Saundatti, Hubli, Bankapur, Harihar etc. then they would not have crossed the Krishna River. This clearly means that to dodge the enemies, Maharaj did not take the southern or western route but instead, travelled towards the east. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj too had worked on a similar tactic at the time of his escape from Agra. Instead of going towards the south directly, he had gone first to the north, then east, and then he had turned towards the south.

Exactly where did Rajaram Maharaj reach, and where he crossed the Krishna River is unknown. But this location can be assumed to be around the religious auspicious place of Lord Dattatreya Nrusinhawadi. If one looks at the map of Deccan, it is easy to understand, that if one wants to travel from Panhalgad to Jinji, one never encounters Krishna River on the way. Therefore, if Rajaram Maharaj crossed the Krishna River once, then it was necessary for him to cross it again to go further south. He seems to have crossed that, possibly after travelling some distance on its northern banks after the first crossing, at either Kudchi or Amapur in North Karnataka and took the further road to south. All this roundabout route was just to dodge the enemies.

After this, Rajaram Maharaj stuck to the southward route and kept marching. His journey up to Shimoga seems to have normally followed the route: Gokak-Saundatti-Navalagunda-Anegeri-Lakshmeshwar-Haveri-Hirekerur-Shimoga. Near Gokak, he must have crossed the Ghataprabha River and near Saundatti the Malaprabha River. While passing through Lakshmeshwar Pargana before Shimoga, the Mughal officials there got wind of his journey, and they began chasing his party with their force. Here they encountered the Varada River. Maharaj dodged his chasers by crossing it with help from Bahirji and Maloji Ghorpade brothers. But upon proceeding ahead, they realised that their route was again blocked by one more of the enemy forces. In such a difficult situation, powerful warriors trained under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Santaji Jagtap and Rupaji Bhosale, got ready to protect their king. Entrusting the responsibility to hold-off the enemy forces to Santaji Jagtap, Maharaj escaped further with Rupaji Bhosale.

To be continued…