VEER TANAJI MALUSARE

INTRODUCTION
Tanaji Malusare was a military assistant of Maratha ruler Shivaji. A
local poet Tulsidas, wrote a powada describing Tanaji's heroics and
sacrifice of life in the Battle of Sinhagad, which has since made him a
popular figure in Marathi folklore. He came from a Hindu Koli family.
A bust of Tanhaji Malusare still stands at the Sinhagad fort. However,
the story of his bravery is often lost in the pages of history. However,
his sacrifices will be once again brought to life with me retelling the
story of the fateful night of February 4, 1665.
What was the Battle of Sinhagad, and why
is Tanaji Malusare remembered
• In 1665, as Mughal forces led by the Rajput commander Jai Sinh I besieged Shivaji
at the Purandar fort in Deccan, the latter was forced to sign the Treaty of Purandar.
Under the agreement, Shivaji had to hand over important forts to the Mughals,
including Purandar, Lohagad, Tung, Tikona, and Sinhagad (then called Kondhana).
• Historian GS Sardesai describes Sinhagad’s strategic importance in his 1946 book
‘New History of the Marathas’: “Of all the forts surrendered to Jay Sinh the most
important was doubtless Sinhagad, for it was looked upon as the capital of the
western regions and a key in the hands of those who had to govern them. Purandar
ranked next to it. That is why Jay Sinh had insisted that Sinhagad should be the first
to be handed over by Shivaji personally… He who possessed Sinhgad was the
master of Poona.”
• As part of the treaty, Shivaji had agreed to visit Agra to meet the Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb, which he did in 1666. Here, Shivaji was placed under house arrest,
but was able to make a daring escape back to Maharashtra. Upon his return,
Shivaji began to recapture the forts ceded to the Mughals under the treaty.
• Sardesai describes the challenges that the Marathas would have to endure to
retake the fort: “(Shivaji) knew well that the fort could not be taken by any other
means than by his brave soldiers scaling the walls by means of rope-ladders
stealthily walking in and opening the main gates, through which the storming
party could rush in. Sinhagad is the only fort not vulnerable to artillery: there is no
room where guns could be brought into position for a bombardment of it. All the
sides are steep, upon one of which a narrow path now leads to the main gate for
communication with the outside world.”
• In the early hours of February 4, 1670, Tanaji with around 300 soldiers successfully captured the
fort, but lost his own life. “A large number headed by Suryaji remained concealed near the main gate
and Tanaji himself with his selected followers scaled the walls by means of an iguana and opened
the gates by putting to the sword the few sentries that came out to oppose him… A sanguinary action
ensued in which both sides lost heavily including their leaders Tanaji and Uday Bhan (sic). The fort
was captured and a huge bonfire announced the result to Shivaji at Rajgad,” the book recounts.
• Shivaji, who is known to have grieved Tanaji’s loss heavily, had the fort Kondhana renamed
‘Sinhagad’ in the general’s honour (‘Sinh’ meaning ‘lion’). A bard named Tulsidas was
commissioned to write a ‘powada’ (ballad) for Tanaji, and this literary work continues to be popular
in Maharashtra.
• In the early hours of February 4, 1670, Tanaji with around 300 soldiers successfully captured the
fort, but lost his own life. “A large number headed by Suryaji remained concealed near the main gate
and Tanaji himself with his selected followers scaled the walls by means of an iguana and opened
the gates by putting to the sword the few sentries that came out to oppose him… A sanguinary action
ensued in which both sides lost heavily including their leaders Tanaji and Uday Bhan (sic). The fort
was captured and a huge bonfire announced the result to Shivaji at Rajgad,” the book recounts.
• Shivaji, who is known to have grieved Tanaji’s loss heavily, had the fort Kondhana renamed
‘Sinhagad’ in the general’s honour (‘Sinh’ meaning ‘lion’). A bard named Tulsidas was
commissioned to write a ‘powada’ (ballad) for Tanaji, and this literary work continues to be popular
in Maharashtra.