Mastani, Rakma Bai Pg30 | All about MASTANI, Chimaji, Nana Saheb Pg31 - Page 15

Originally posted by: history_geek

Maddy,

Aurangzeb wanted to see the bride & groom after the marriage. But it was contrary to the Maratha custom. But Aurangzeb was adamant.

Hence, Yesu Bai & Zinat un Nissa Begum , as per a well thought out plan, sent a (servant) girl called Veer Bai (i can't remember her name clearly) dressed as a bride along with Shahu Ji to receive Aurangzeb's "blessings". She was called illegitimate as she was not legally married but stayed with him as a wife. Shahu ji became very fond of her.

Amazing, and kudos to your research and knowledge👏

No.
These wives were not supportive of the Mughals. Aurangzeb only wanted to get Shahuji married in order to make him succumb to pleasures of women. This was done to divert his mind & distract him from his continuous never ending demand for Swarajya.

😕


Yes, the sister of Shahuji whom Aurangzeb got married was the first daughter of Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. She was also in captivity along with her brother Shahuji and mother Yesu Bai since 1689 when Sambhaji was tortured and executed. Her name was Bhavani Bai. She was married off to Mohammad Muhi-ud-din. He was the son of Sikandar Adil Shah - the last Sultan of Bijapur.

I felt very bad after reading this. Bhavani was the only grandchild Shivaji Maharaj saw and he had named her. To think she was married off to a Mugal 🤢

There is HUGE respect for Sambhaji Maharaj for the way he stood upto extreme torture of Aurangzeb and refused to change his religion. I have read Sambhaji Maharaj's eyes were gored out and hands cut 😡 He chose slow torturous death over bowing before Aurangzeb. 👏👏👏

BTW this raised another question in my mind. Why did Aurangzeb not get Shahuji married to a Muslim girl?!!!

Which makes me wonder - for all his liberal ways did Akbar get any of his daughters, grand-daughters, nieces or even relatives married off to any of his Hindu sardars? After all he treated Maan Singh like his son and had very trusted Hindu sardars! He is credited for being so liberal and tolerant so asking!!!


The other 2 princess' were the daughters of Chatrapati Rajaram Maharaj. These were probably not the daughters of Tara Rani Saheb or Janki Bai. They were the daughters of other wives of Rajaram.

I have already explained this in previous pages on this thread but mentioning again to maintain continuity in narration. After the fall of Gingee Fort in 1698, after a long siege by Mughals, 5 wives 3 sons and 2 daughters of Chatrapati Rajaram were captured.


One of the wives of Chatrapati Rajaram committed suicide by jumping from the top of the fort balcony. I have been told that the spot which was moistened by her blood & where she breathed her last is today revered and visited by women and celebrated as a sacred spot & pilgrimage. Do you have any information about this sacred spot ?

Thanks for sharing this information. Respect for her, wish others had followed her example. I have not visited Gingee so don't know but will ask of any of my relatives who have, if they have seen this spot. Maybe Diksha might know.


History tells us that she took the correct step by extinguishing her life ; for the future life led by the surviving Queens can not be described here.

😡😡 Wish others had followed her, know easier said but they were not common people they had a responsibility.
Can't help but think about Chittod here.


So, these 2 princesses must be the daughters of the wives among these 4 surviving ones. These 2 princesses were married off to Shamsher Beg (son of Aghar Khan) and Raja Neknam of Deogarh (a Gond Muslim convert).


You see, how well Aurangzeb was placing his cards. He played till his very end. He was a great politician.

I REALLY REALLY hope they show Aurangzeb's last days in Peshwa Bajirao, as you had described in your post. A failure after 27 years mission, crumbling Mugal empire, deserted by his family and army wishing for his death and knowing he led Mugals to this state. I feel good knowing this.

This probably explains another point. Why Shahu never allowed Bajirao / Balaji , to go for complete annihilation of the Mughals. Though, he was free but his mother Yesu Bai was still a captive till 1719 (as we discussed) until Balaji rescued her ; and his sisters were married off to the enemies. In fact, this is discussed in good details in Peshwa papers. We shall discuss it someday.

Very interested to know more about this, though I think this is sad. Hope they show Yesu Bai rescued by Balaji here in PB. I wish Shahuji had not let these relations come in between.


PS : Since, you seem interested. :) Hence here is some more information. Jyotaji Keskar and Moropant Subnis were deputed by Aurangzeb to find the brides for Shahu ji. The 2 brides were Ambika Bai (daughter of Bahadurji Jadhav, son of the celebrated Rustom Rao Jadhav of Sindkhed) & Savitra Bai ( daughter of Sinde family of Kanherkhed).

Originally posted by: cute.manasi

I have one question , did shahuji returned back only after aurangzeb's death .

Originally posted by: history_geek

The answer to your question is YES and this is an interesting question in itself. Various events are related to this. But here is what happened after Aurangzeb's death.

Aurangzeb died on 20 (or 21/22) February 1707 at Ahmednagar.
His son Azam Shah proclaimed himself Emperor on 5th March 1707.
Shahu ji met him on 13th march 1707.

Several Rajput chiefs who were in attendance supported the cause of release of Shahu ji. Along with that, Shahu ji made a friend in Zulfikar Khan, he also pleaded on his behalf. Azam outwardly showed that he will release Shahu Ji. But he did not act in this direction.

Instead, he moved towards Delhi to fight his brother Shah Alam who was coming from Lahore to capture the treasury & throne at Delhi. He carried Shahu ji along with him. As the distance from his native land increased, and as they moved closer to Delhi and crossed the Narmada river, Shahu ji began to grow restless.

Again, the help came from the guardian angel Zinat un Nissa Begum. She asked Shahu ji to at once leave the camp and run away. She also loaded him with various gifts. Shahuji ran on 8th May 1707. His wife, mother, others were left behind.

Mughal version says he ran away.
Maratha version says he returned after due permission.

Hence, we can say he was "released" on 8th May 1707. The negotiation was continuing since 1704 but came into actual implementation in 1707. We shall discuss all of that, if the makers decide to show what all happened between 1704 and 1707.

Originally posted by: MaddyO

Thanks for sharing this information. It feels good to know that Shahuji was so attached to his own land and people.

Good he succeeded. So then did Mugals later send his wives back?! You have written Balaji rescued Yesubai.

Abhay, I am curious about the fate of Azam Shah and Zinat un NIssa Begum. Was she one of the reasons for Shahuji's soft approach to Mugals?

Balaji rescue of Yesubai - very eager to know more about this. Since this was much later, was Bajirao with Balaji then?

Again repeating what I wrote on my other post, I wish to see Aurangzeb as described in his will and last days post you have made. I hope Peshwa Bajirao shows this failed Aurangzeb.

Originally posted by: history_geek

Maddy,

Shahu ji had returned back but Jyotaji Keskar was left behind to obtain formal sanads from the Mughals. He was the same person who was deputed to select a suitable bride for Shahu ji as i mentioned on last page.

Either Azam Shah had no power left to pursue Shahu ji due to himself being busy in handling the contest for Mughal throne or he himself did not pursue Shahuji thinking that he was not a great danger.

Azam Shah was killed soon on 8th June 1707 in a battle, and his brother Bahadur Shah was proclaimed Emperor.


Shahu ji left one wife behind when he was returning back in 1707. Ambika Bai died shortly after the marriage in Mughal captivity only. Savitra Bai Jadhav remained at Delhi along with Yesu Bai till 1719 when they were rescued by Balaji Vishwanath.

In the mean time after returning back Shahu ji married twice - Sakwarbai Shirke and Saguna Bai Mohite. Then he had other secondary wives too.


BTW, i have to make a minor amend in my earlier post, where i mentioned Bhawani Bai was married to Muhi-ud-din.

Bhawani Bai was married to Shankar Mahadek and at his death she committed Sati. In addition to this, Sambhaji had another daughter named Ahilya Bai and she was married to Jeevaji Rao Sinde.

It was NOT Bhawani Bai but another daughter of Sambhaji & this princess was married to Muhi-ud-din Muhammed of Adil Shahi Sultanate of Bijapur. She was not the daughter of Yesu Bai, but from another wife of Sambhaji. And by that wife Sambhaji had another son named Madan Singh. He was also in Mughal captivity. Another son of Sambhaji named Madhu Singh is also mentioned but this prince died in captivity only in 1698.

So, we have 3 daughters and 3 sons of Sambhaji known (till now).


Zinat un Nissa Begum lived a long life. She was alive till 1720 (or 21). Yesu Bai and wife of Shahu ji lived with her in Delhi. And as i mentioned in my earlier post, Balaji had thanked Zinat un Nissa Begum for all the care and support she gave to "Maratha captives".

Balaji rescued Yesu Bai and others in 1719. That time he was the Peshwa, but his son Bajirao, that time aged 19 years, was present along with him on this mission to Delhi. In fact, he was in a major role in this expedition. This event would require a separate update (1). I am answering in short just because you have asked.

No, she was not the reason of soft approach of Shahu ji towards Mughals. Shockingly enough, one of the reasons which i have read is - Shahu had given a promise to Aurangzeb that he would not allow any power to destroy his Mughal Empire. This is mentioned in a letter written in 1739 by Shahu ji to Bajirao. And if you look at history then we can see that he always reprimanded Bajirao and never gave him complete independence either to annihilate Nizam or the Mughal Emperor. This reminded of the same old thing which we discussed in JA lot of times - Praan jaye par vachan na jaaye.

All these are complex issues. It would also require a separate update (2).

So, in addition to Shivaji's navy, i am noting the above two updates too, to be written in future.

I tried to reply to each point of yours, line by line.
Hope nothing got missed. :)

Originally posted by: MaddyO

Sindkhed? Jijamata - Mother of Shivaji Maharaj was from Sindkhed and her maternal surname was Jadhav. Any relative of hers?

At the moment i have no idea, Maddy. Even this little information i have mentioned after consulting so many sources.


More and more I am loving the fiery astute Tararani.

Of course, She was made of a different stuff. Single handedly giving it back to the opponents. I mentioned earlier, what Khafi Khan wrote about her. { https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/140076211 } He says when the Mughal camp first heard that a woman Tara Bai had decided to run Maratha government they all burst into laughter and became happy as if the roots of the Marathas have been cut. But Alas! They did not know that under her the losses were going to be extreme. He, infact, praises her a lot.

Originally posted by: DeepVeerPhoenix

^Yes. Some people have seen Monitor lizard in Mulund. I have my college there and have heard about it from friends. They are also spotted it hilly regions of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. So they do exist but are rarely spotted

Originally posted by: luvuyuvi

Thank you so much for the posts,abhay. The discussions are really interesting, learning a lot...I've few things to say.

I'm not comparing ,but if you see, whenever you think of shivaji maharaj, there are various names,which will come to your mind. Like tanaji malusare, bajiprabhu deshpande, Shiva kashid, prataprao gujar etc...

When you talk about rao(bajirao), again malharrao holkar, chimaji appa etc...

but when you talk of sambhaji raje ,it's only kavi kalash and hambir rao mohite. Also the latter died after Some time. Kavi kalash was scholar, but not a political prodigy. After the coronation fiasco, he tried to bring ministers to his side, but had to punish them after their attempt to kill him. There was confusion and terror amongst people. N ot that people were not loyal to him but he had no one to trust, apart from kavi kalash.

In fact , when jijabai was alive,he was the heir apparent. After her death , soyarabai dominated the house hold ,wanted her son to be the king. He had impressed Aurangzeb, when shivaji maharaj along with him was in Agra. He was known to be the very scholar person. Also after shivaji maharaj's death, Aurangzeb came to Deccan. Sambhaji raje handled his enemies on different fronts.

He made some mistakes, but he wasn't as bad as he is portrayed to be. His death is a testimony to the fact what kind of a person he was. A very deserving son to shivaji maharaj.

Marathas and forts- it seems almost a love-affair to me. Marathas were so well versed with the ways of forts. It was said that forts are liability in the rainy season. Marathas would leave the forts in rainy season, after destroying everything. And after few months, would attack and win the fort ,which would be full of many things,grains water and all other things.

Originally posted by: history_geek

Replied in red.