Tanaji Malusare

Tanaji Malusare
Memorial of Tanaji Malusare at Sinhagad fort
Koli Military leader in Shivaji's Army
Born Godavli, Javali Taluka
(Satara, Maharashtra, India)
Died 1670
Sinhagad
(Pune, Maharashtra, India)
Religion Hindu

Tanaji Malusare was a Maharashtrian[1] Koli[2][3] military leader in the Maratha Empire. He fought alongside Maratha leader Shivaji Maharaj in various battles throughout the years. He is most famously known for his role in the Battle of Sinhagad in 1670 A.D.

Battle of Sinhagad

According to the legend, Tanaji, who hailed from "Umrathe" near Mahad, Konkan, was busy making preparations for his son's wedding when he was summoned and immediately left the festivities. On hearing Shivaji's plan to recapture Kondhana, Tanaji took charge of the campaign and left for Kondhana, Pune.

Upon reaching Kondhana, Tanaji and his detachment of 300 troops were said to have scaled the fort from the western side on a dark night with the help of a domesticated Bengal monitor lizard (ghorpad) nicknamed Yashwanti to which they were said to have tied ropes and sent crawling up top to the precipice of the fort.[4] After two failed attempts, Tanaji and his men successfully scaled the steep hill fortress.

Once inside and after opening the Kalyan Darwaza, Tanaji, his men and another detachment of 500 troops headed by Suryaji (his younger brother) attacked the army holding down the fort. The fort was controlled by Udaybhan Rathod, a rajput officer appointed by Jai Singh I.

A fierce combat took place between the forces of Tanaji and Udaybhan. During the battle, Tanaji broke his shield but he continued fighting by tying his upper garment over his defending hand in order to ward off Udaybhan's blows. The fort was eventually conquered but in the process, Tanaji was gravely wounded and died fighting on the battlefield.

Upon hearing the demise of Tanaji, Shivaji was struck with grief and expressed his sorrow by uttering,

Gad ala, pan sinha gela" ("The Fort is captured, but the Lion is dead")

Eventually, Shivaji renamed the fort of Kondhana to Sinhagad in memory of Tanaji.

In culture

Poems

Books

  • Gad ala pan sinh gela, a Marathi novel named based on his life

Films

  • A Marathi film with the title based on the novel with the same name
  • Bollywood Superstar Ajay Devgn announced a film based on the life of Tanaji Malusare named Tanaji: The Unsung warrior scheduled to come out in 2019.[7][8]

Notes

1.^ This monitor lizard story is disputed among historians. "Gorpade" is a common surname amongst Marathas and it is likely that one of the first people to scale the fort was named "Gorpade"

References

  1. ↑ "Padmavati controversy leaves Ajay Devgn scared for Tanaji Malusare biopic". The film Taanaji is based on the Marathi warrior Malusare, who fought the battle of Pratapgad and died
  2. ↑ David Hardiman (1996). Feeding the Baniya: Peasants and Usurers in Western India. Oxford University Press. p. 221.
  3. ↑ David Hardiman (2007). Histories for the Subordinated (in Eng). Seagull Books. p. 103. When Shivaji began his revolt in the following decade, the Kolis were amongst the first to join him under the leadership of the sirnayak Khemi, and they played a leading role in helping Shivaji to consolidate his power. The Koli, Tanaji Malsure, is remembered in Maharashtra to this day for his courage in capturing the almost impregnable fort of Singhad for Shivaji...
  4. ↑ The Dawn and Dawn Society's Magazine. 1907. pp. 1–.
  5. ↑ K. Ayyappa Paniker (ed.). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections, An Anthology, Volume One. p. 375.
  6. ↑ Derek Jones, ed. (December 1, 2001). Censorship: A World Encyclopedia. Routledge.
  7. ↑ "Ajay Devgn on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  8. ↑ "Taanaji The Unsung Warrior movie on Movie Alles". Movie Alles. 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  1. ↑ Not to be confused with Goswami Tulsidas
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