Dharmveer Sambhaji Maharaj

Sambhaji Maharaj kept Aurangzeb away from North India for 27 years

        

The remarkable things that Sambhaji Maharaj achieved in his short life had far-reaching effects on the whole of India. Every Hindu should be grateful to him for that. He valiantly faced the 8 lakh strong army of Aurangzeb and defeated several Moghul chieftains in the battlefield forcing them to retreat. Because of this, Aurangzeb remained engaged in battles in Maharashtra, thus keeping the rest of India free from Aurangzeb's tyranny for a long time. This can be considered as the greatest achievement of Sambhaji Maharaj. If Sambhaji Maharaj would have arrived at a settlement with Aurangzeb and accepted his proposal of being a tributary prince, then within the next 2 or 3 years Aurangzeb would have captured North India again. However, because of Sambhaji Maharaj's struggle, Aurangzeb was stuck in battles in South India for 27 years. This helped in the establishment of new Hindu kingdoms in the provinces of Bundelkhand, Punjab and Rajasthan in North India; thus providing safety to the Hindu society there.

  

The Portuguese afraid of Sambhaji Maharaj's strength

        

Sambahji Maharaj attacked Goa and defeated the Portuguese. He then signed a peace treaty with them and thus tied them down. One should not forget that  Sambhaji Maharaj also put a stop to the activities of religious propagation by the Portuguese in Goa;  thus providing safety to the Hindus in Goa. The Portuguese were very scared of Sambhaji Maharaj. In a letter written to the British, the Portuguese had mentioned, "At present, Sambahji Maharaj's strength is the matchless." Such glorification of Sambhaji Maharaj by his enemies is a testimony to his strength.

 Sambhaji Maharaj's initiative for the reconversion of Hindus

        Everyone knows that Shivaji Maharaj reconverted Netaji Palkar (who had earlier converted into Islam) into Hinduism. However, it is important to note that Sambhaji Maharaj had established a separate department in his province for the 'reconversion ceremony' of the Hindus who had earlier converted into other religions. There is a story of a Brahmin named 'Kulkarni' of Harsul village in the history of Sambhaji Maharaj. Kulkarni had been forcibly converted to Islam by the Moghuls. He tried to reconvert into Hinduism, but local Brahmins in his village did not pay any heed to him. In the end, Kulkarni met Sambhaji Maharaj and told him about his misery. Sambhaji Maharaj immediately arranged for his reconversion ceremony and reconverted him into a Hindu. This noble initiative of Sambhaji Maharaj helped many Hindus to reconvert back into Hinduism.

Sambhaji Maharaj's fiery Dharmabhiman (Pride in one's religion)

 People do not know about the sacrifices made by Sambhaji Maharaj. On 1st February 1689, because of the treachery of his brother-in-law, Ganoji Shirke, Sambahji Maharaj was captured by the Moghuls at Sangameshwar, while he was listening to the problems of his vatandars (landlords). After capturing him, the Moghuls took out a procession of Sambhaji Maharaj under the security of lakhs of soldiers, during which they tortured him physically and mentally. They dressed him up like a clown and locked him in a wooden cage. The painting of a wounded and bleeding Sambhaji drawn by the artists at that time is still displayed in a museum in Ahmednagar. The painting shows the anger in the eyes of this glorious Hindu king. The angry eyes in the painting give us an insight about the self-respect that Sambhaji Maharaj had. On 15th February 1689, Sambhaji Maharaj was produced before Moghul emperor Aurangzeb at the fort of Pedgaon. Aurangzeb offered prayers to Allah (Islamic God) and celebrated since the 'King of infidels' had been captured. Aurangzeb's Minister, Irawlas Khan asked Sambhaji to surrender and convert to Islam. However, Sambhaji Maharaj refused to bow down to Aurangzeb. This was a deciding moment. Sambhaji Maharaj chose Hindutva before his personal happiness. He kept alive the glorious tradition of self-respect established by his father, Shivaji Maharaj. Within the next 2 days, many of Aurangzeb's chieftains tried to change Sambhaji Maharaj's mind to get converted to Islam. They told him that his life would be spared if he converted to Islam. However, the self-respectful Sambhaji Maharaj repeatedly kept on insulting them and refused to bow down to them. 

Sambhaji Maharaj - The king who became immortal in history because of his sacrifices for Dharma (Righteousness)

        Alas, the cruel and vicious Aurangzeb ruptured Sambhaji Maharaj's eyes, cut his tongue into two pieces, but still death did not embrace him. The cruel Moghul chieftains tortured him a lot. Sambhaji Maharaj had to face all this only because of his mighty self-respect for Hinduism. It was Gudhipadva (Hindu New Year) on 12th March 1689. To insult Hindus on their new year, Aurangzeb killed Sambhaji Maharaj on 11th March 1689. Aurangzeb's men chopped off his head, hooked it on a spear and took out a procession throughout the city. In this manner, Sambahji Maharaj beared extreme torture inflicted on him by the Moghuls for 39 days, from 1st February to 11th March for the sake of Dharma (Righteousness) and thus, increased the glory of Hinduism. Thus, this king, who sacrificed for the sake of Dharma became immortal in history; whereas Aurangzeb who did not follow Rajdharma (kingly duties), proved to be a criminal in history.

       

 Revolution in Maharashtra after Sambhaji Maharaj's sacrifice

      

This sacrifice of Sambhaji Maharaj, sent the whole of Maharashtra up in flames, and the deciding fight between the vicious Aurangzeb and the Marathas began. Each household became a fort and the mothers & sisters in each household began to encourage the males in their house to take revenge of Sambhaji Maharaj's killing. Sambhaji Maharaj's sacrifice reawakened the self-respect of the the Marathas. This incident that occurred 300 years ago, changed the course of history. Due to people's support, the strength of the Maratha army went on increasing and reached a count of 2 lakh. Staunch opposition to the Moghul regime began at several places throughout India.  After 27 years of futile battle in Maharashtra, Aurangzeb died and the fall of the Moghul regime began. It signalled the dawn of a powerful Hindu kingdom.

        In these 27 years of battle with Aurangzeb, many brave Maratha soldiers like Hambirrao, Santaji, Dhanaji were involved, but the awakening brought about by the sacrifice of Sambhaji Maharaj proved to be a turning point in this battle.