Afzal Khan (general) - War Against The Marathas

War Against The Marathas

When the Maratha rebels led by Shivaji challenged the Adilshahi supremacy, Afzal Khan volunteered to the task of defeating the Marathas. According to a Bijapuri legend, he sought a Sufi Pir's blessings before setting out on every military campaign. On such a visit before the campaign against Shivaji, the elderly Pir prophesied that it would be Afzal Khan's last campaign.

In 1659, Afzal Khan led an army of about 10,000 elite troops and pursued Shivaji persistently, inflicting numerous casualties, which forced Shivaji's forces to take refuge in the hill forts. In a bid to force Shivaji to come out in open, he detoured to desecrate Hindu sacred places, including Pandharpur, the most important pilgrimage site in the Marathi-speaking region at the time. Such behavior was unprecedented for a Bijapuri forces, and alienated the local deshmukhs (revenue collectors). He also captured Tuljapur, where his Adilshahi forces razed the statue of the Hindu Goddess Bhavani.

Afzal Khan's original plan was to invade Pune, Shivaji's original residence. Shivaji knew that he would not be able to defeat Afzal Khan in the plains, and moved to Pratapgad Fort, which was surrounded by the dense forest valley area of Jawali. Shivaji's army excelled in this type of terrain, which made the Adilshahi army's cannons, muskets, elephants, horses and camels ineffective. At the same time, Shivaji had limited stores inside the fort and Afzal Khan's raids had caused terror among his followers. Afzal Khan also attempted to garner support from local militarily independent landlords, who nominally acknowledged the suzerainty of the Adil Shahi. The powerful nobleman Kanhoji Jedhe, who was the most respected deshmukh of the area, supported Shivaji. The deshmukh of Khopde, an enemy of Kanhoji, became a supporter of Afzal Khan.

Afzal Khan felt that the ensuing battle would cause massive casualties to both sides and eventually lead to a deadly stalemate. He, therefore, sent out emissaries to Shivaji, to lure him down the fort and negotiate peace. Shivaji's council also urged him to make peace with Afzal Khan to avoid unnecessary losses. The two leaders, therefore, agreed to meet for negotiations.

In 1639, Afzal Khan had murdered Raja Kasturi Ranga after inviting him for a meeting where he could safely make a submission. Therefore, Shivaji was wary of Afzal Khan's real intentions. When Afzal Khan sent his envoy Krishnaji Bhaskar to Shivaji, Shivaji solemnly appealed to him as a Hindu priest to tell him if Afzal Khan was making any treacherous plans. According to the Maratha chronicles, Krishnaji hinted that Afzal Khan harbored mischief. Shivaji then sent his own envoy Pantaji Gopinath to Afzal, agreeing to a meeting; Pantaji's real mission was to find out the strength of Afzal's forces. Pantaji bribed some officials of Afzal Khan to learn that he was planning an attack on Shivaji.

Afzal Khan had originally asked Shivaji to meet him at Wai. Warned by Pantaji, Shivaji insisted that the meeting should take place closer to Pratapgad. Afzal Khan agreed, on the condition that the meeting would be arranged with two personal bodyguards on each side. His forces marched to Par, a village lying one mile south of Pratapgad. A crest below Pratapgad was chosen as the meeting place.

Shivaji set up tents with a richly-decorated canopy at the place, but also placed his soldiers in ambush at various intervals on the path leading to the meeting place.