The year was 1676.
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s brother Bahadurkhan had constructed a huge, spacious, impenetrable and a strong fort in the Pedgaon region of Maharashtra, India. The fort was named after its creator as Bahadurgad a.k.a Pedgaon Fort a.k.a Dharmaveergad.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj got news that around 1 crore hun and approximately 4000 Arabic horses were laden in this fort and were on their way to the Mughal empire at Delhi. Shivaji Maharaj decided to take full advantage of this situation and increase his arsenal and revenue.
Shivaji Maharaj at that moment had around 9000 soldiers ready at hand. So he divided his soldiers in two parts of 2000 and 7000. He ordered his commander Hambirrao Mohite to lead the group of 2000 soldiers and head towards Bahadurgad and asked him to mock the enemy.
As they approached Bahadurgad, the soldiers on the fort turned alert and informed Bahadurkhan of the incoming trouble. Bahadurkhan asked his soldiers about the strength of the Maratha army and when assured of the number being not more than 2000 he grew in confidence, as he had around 15000 soldiers ready to strike in the fort. He even ordered his troops to open the gates of the fort, let the Marathas in and then to strike them fiercely with his 15000 soldiers.
But Marathas had different plans altogether . They were not here to fight, they were here just to mock. Seeing the gates of the fort open, the Marathas purposefully stayed outside the gates and tried to frustrate the Mughal troops by throwing arrows, spears and stones at them. This act continued for about 2–3 hours and made Bahadurkhan go ballistic. Seeing the Marathas not entering the fort, he ordered his troops to chase the Marathas down and get hold of them. But catching Marathas was no easy task. They were well acquainted with the mountain trails, forest routes and tricky paths of the jungle. The entire horde of 15000 troops stormed through the gates of the fort and started chasing the Marathas (leaving the gates of the fort wide open). The chase continued for about 27 miles and the Mughals gave up without even catching a single Maratha soldier.
As soon as they decided to return to the fort and turned their horses, they saw huge flames coming out of the fort. The huge stacks of money and the Arabic horses were nowhere to be seen. Each and every cloth, utensil, things needed for daily use turned into a firestorm. The entire fort was burned down.
This was the brilliance of Shivaji Maharaj. When the Mughal troops were chasing the 2000 Maratha soldiers, leaving the fort unsecured, Shivaji Maharaj entered the fort with his 7000 soldiers and looted the 1 crore hun and 4000 Arabic horses and set the entire fort on fire.
So we can summarise this strategy as follows-
Amount looted- 1 crore hun
Horses captured- 4000
Time taken- Few hours
Battle engaged- None
Maratha soldiers died- None
Mughal ignominy- Infinite
References-
Buy Ganimi Kava Book Online at Low Prices in India
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s brother Bahadurkhan had constructed a huge, spacious, impenetrable and a strong fort in the Pedgaon region of Maharashtra, India. The fort was named after its creator as Bahadurgad a.k.a Pedgaon Fort a.k.a Dharmaveergad.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj got news that around 1 crore hun and approximately 4000 Arabic horses were laden in this fort and were on their way to the Mughal empire at Delhi. Shivaji Maharaj decided to take full advantage of this situation and increase his arsenal and revenue.
Shivaji Maharaj at that moment had around 9000 soldiers ready at hand. So he divided his soldiers in two parts of 2000 and 7000. He ordered his commander Hambirrao Mohite to lead the group of 2000 soldiers and head towards Bahadurgad and asked him to mock the enemy.
As they approached Bahadurgad, the soldiers on the fort turned alert and informed Bahadurkhan of the incoming trouble. Bahadurkhan asked his soldiers about the strength of the Maratha army and when assured of the number being not more than 2000 he grew in confidence, as he had around 15000 soldiers ready to strike in the fort. He even ordered his troops to open the gates of the fort, let the Marathas in and then to strike them fiercely with his 15000 soldiers.
But Marathas had different plans altogether . They were not here to fight, they were here just to mock. Seeing the gates of the fort open, the Marathas purposefully stayed outside the gates and tried to frustrate the Mughal troops by throwing arrows, spears and stones at them. This act continued for about 2–3 hours and made Bahadurkhan go ballistic. Seeing the Marathas not entering the fort, he ordered his troops to chase the Marathas down and get hold of them. But catching Marathas was no easy task. They were well acquainted with the mountain trails, forest routes and tricky paths of the jungle. The entire horde of 15000 troops stormed through the gates of the fort and started chasing the Marathas (leaving the gates of the fort wide open). The chase continued for about 27 miles and the Mughals gave up without even catching a single Maratha soldier.
As soon as they decided to return to the fort and turned their horses, they saw huge flames coming out of the fort. The huge stacks of money and the Arabic horses were nowhere to be seen. Each and every cloth, utensil, things needed for daily use turned into a firestorm. The entire fort was burned down.
This was the brilliance of Shivaji Maharaj. When the Mughal troops were chasing the 2000 Maratha soldiers, leaving the fort unsecured, Shivaji Maharaj entered the fort with his 7000 soldiers and looted the 1 crore hun and 4000 Arabic horses and set the entire fort on fire.
So we can summarise this strategy as follows-
Amount looted- 1 crore hun
Horses captured- 4000
Time taken- Few hours
Battle engaged- None
Maratha soldiers died- None
Mughal ignominy- Infinite
References-
Buy Ganimi Kava Book Online at Low Prices in India
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