On the history trail: The fall of Raigad and the extraordinary leadership of Ramchandra Pant Amatya

Raigad, one of the most impregnable forts of all the Maratha forts had been made largely inaccessible by the natural defences of Mother Earth. This fort was constructed on a large plateau with enough food, cattle and supplies required for a large military presence to hold out for a long time.

 

In fact, this particular site was chosen by the late Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his father for its difficult terrain that could not be penetrated by any powerful military. However, the dynamic Raje did not foresee the possibility of treachery.

 

This human weakness was exploited by Zulfiqar Khan who managed to capture Raigad on 3 November 1689 after a siege of 8 months. The traitor in this case was Suryaji Pisal of Wai who opened the gates to Zulfiqar Khan after being promised the position of Deshmukhi Vatan of Wai, a position he had long coveted.

 

The fall of Raigad effectively meant the capture of the selfless Maharani Yesubai and young Shahu along with a large number of loyalists. They were taken triumphantly to Aurangzeb and it appeared that the Maratha power was on its final legs.

 

But there stood one beacon of hope in Ramchandra Pant Amatya, a strong voice who rallied the Marathas to pledge themselves to the cause of their heroic leader Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and avenge the barbaric death of Shri Dharamveer Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and fight to save his young wife and son who had been carried away by the Muslim savages.

 

The Marathas were still reeling from the shock of the brutal murder of Sambhaji Raje and the news that their beloved Maharani and son were forcibly taken away to Aurangzeb roused the patriots to fight till their death. The Marathas were penniless, leaderless and resourceless but they had one thing that Aurangzeb lacked – an inspirational leader from whom they drew strength to fight for Hindavi Swarajya.

 

Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj was yet to come into his own and though he did not possess the cunning of Aurangzeb or the ingenuity of Shivaji Raje, he had a liberal disposition and listened carefully to the advice of his worthy counsellors. His chief advisor was Prahlad Niraji, reputed to be wisest man of his time among the Marathas.

 

However, the credit to bringing back a number of Marathas back into the fold has to be given to Ramchandra Pant Amatya. An extraordinary man who had been personally trained by Shivaji Raje was known for his astuteness, genius for recognizing merit and talent in men and astonishing capacity to harness it to promote the supreme cause of Hindavi Swarajya.

 

Rajaram Raje describes Ramachandra Pant Amatya’s services thus, “This Maratha kingdom is a gift from Heaven. Ramchandra Pant saved it in its dreadful crisis by carefully picking up the merits and capacities of men, inspired them with a spirit of service and devotion and employed them in appropriate spheres. With uncommon foresight, he employed national resources to the best advantage. He successfully thwarted the heroic efforts of Aurangzeb who with his mighty resources came down upon the Maratha land determined to conquer it. Providence crowned Ramchandra Pant’s endeavours with success and frustrated all the cherished desires of the emperor.”

 

Ramchandra Pant, though no soldier and yet to actively take part in a military expedition possessed the rare virtue of keeping his subordinates contented and they in turn, were happy to execute his commands. He kept an eagle eye on the movements and activities of numerous Maratha leaders from his base at Vishalgad.

 

Known for his patience, diplomacy and tact, Ramchandra Pant managed to rally all the Maratha leaders both great and small in an extensive field of war stretching from Burhanpur in the north to Gingee in the south.

 

He mentored a number of young spirited chiefs who worked selflessly to protect our Motherland. Parashuram Trimbak Pratinidhi and Shankaraji Narayan Sachiv were given the all-important task of defending, holding and recapturing the important forts of the Marathas. Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav were employed in destroying the Mughal armies and denying them supplies and resources. Mughal generals in particular, in charge of the armies roving over the vast region of Karnatak and undivided Maharashtra were attacked relentlessly by these two brave warriors.

 

Written by Lakshmi Subramanian

 

* Photos are only symbolic (Taken from public domain/internet and any copyright infringement is unintentional and regrettable)

* Information about Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj is taken from archives