Jan Muhammad of Jalna

Jan Muhammad of Jalna (or Sayyid Jan Muhammad Sufi, Jan Muhammad Darwesh) was a Sufi saint in the city of Jalna (in modern Maharashtra state). Tracing the history of Shivaji’s movements from 4 November 1679, when he marched out of Selgur (55 m.w. of Bijapur.) The Maratha cavalry, 18,000 strong, rapidly moved northwards in two parallel through the districts of Mughal Deccan, plundering and burning all the places in their track and taking an immense booty in cash and kind. In the middle of the month, Jalna, a populous trading town, 40 miles east of Aurangabad, was captured and plundered. Here the godly saint, Sayyid Jan Muhammad, had his hermitage in a garden in the suburbs. As Shivaji in this raids always spared the holy men and holy places of all religions, most of the wealthy men of Jalna had taken refuge in this hermitage with their money and jewels. The raiders, finding very little booty in the town and learning of the concealment of the wealth in the saint’s abode, entered it and robbed the refugees, wounding many of them. The holy man appealed to them to desist, but they only abused and threatened him for his pains. Then the man of God cursed Shivaji, and popular belief ascribed the Rajah’s death five months afterwards to those curses. (K.K. ii. 271; Dil, 165;91 Q.B. 88.)”

References

Shivaji and His Times, p. 256, By Jadunath Sarkar, Orient Blackswan, 01-Jan-1992