Battle of Kolhapur

01After Pratapgad

Shivaji had followed his victory at once, sweeping south through Bijapur territory and taking Panhala fort on 28 November 1659. The sultanate sent Rustam Zaman to win back the lost country. Shivaji did not wait in his forts. He attacked first, his cavalry coming at the Bijapur army from several sides at once. The Jedhe Shakavali records the date and the result: the enemy fled, leaving horses and elephants behind.

02A field victory

Kolhapur mattered because it was fought on open ground, not in the forests of Jaoli. It showed that the Maratha cavalry could beat a regular sultanate army in a pitched battle. Bijapur’s answer was larger still: in 1660 it sent Siddi Jauhar, who would shut Shivaji up in Panhala. Rustam Zaman, for his part, was suspected at Bijapur of having been in secret touch with Shivaji, which may explain how quickly his army gave way.

Person · d. 13 July 1660Baji Prabhu DeshpandeBaji Prabhu, deshpande of Hirdas Maval, held the narrow pass of Ghod Khind with a few hundred Bandal men against the pursuing Bijapuri army on 13 July 1660, so that Shivaji could reach Vishalgad. He kept fighting until the guns from the fort told him his king was safe. The pass has been called Pavan Khind, the holy pass, ever since.Read →