|
Shivaji struck his first blow in 1646. He persuaded the governor of the fort of Torana to throw open the gates of the stronghold. It made Shivaji the manager of these two parganas (Provinces). This victory made him well-known overnight in his tribe. Like the Zamindars of the country, he started building castles on the hills and mud forts.
After Torana, he got a sudden opening. Adilshah of Bijapur was struck by a lingering sickness and great confusion arose in his territory. Shivaji, seeing his country in an orphan state, boldly stepped in and seized it with the possessions of other Jaghirdars. It had been a peculiarity of the Deccan that it was never free from commotions and outbreaks and so the officials and the army had become greedy and frivolous.
|
Shivaji, the man of intelligence made use of the circumstances and took the reins of authority in his hands and at length became the most notorious of all the rebels. He assembled a large force of Maratha robbers and plunderers and set about recapturing fortresses.
Now, security of Torana was his responsibility. And to his luck a hidden treasure was discovered while repairing the walls of Torana. The availability of finance squared his strength, popularity and power. With the money thus obtained, he set out to build another stronghold on the neighboring peak of Rajgad. This bold action awakened even the languid authorities at Bijapur. They wrote to Shahji to check his son’s encroachments. Shahji thereupon sent orders to Dadaji Kondadev to keep hold on Shivaji. Dadaji Kondadev, with his increasing age had no more influence on his young ward. Above all Dadaji was happy with Shivaji’s progress. |
Shivaji had started with a mission of reestablishing Hindu kingdom in Deccan and it was impossible to stop this Maratha. He won over the fortress of Sinhagad by bribery, Purandar by trick. Thus, by the end of 1647, he was undisputed master of the Pune district.
|
