Tanhaji Malusare : an unsung Hero

Do you know? There are some incidents in our history which we never forgot. It's been 350 years now but still, There are some warriors whom we can not forget. I think, there are very few people who don't know about the Sinhgad Fort. Yes, I am talking about the great Maratha Subhedar Tanhaji Malusare. 

Tanhaji Malusare was a Maratha military leader, under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Many of us know the history of sinhgad, but I think it's not just part of history. It's about dedication & sacrifice towards our motherland. 

After the treaty of purandar (1665), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj started to recapture the forts & kondhana was the first one. Meanwhile, Tanhaji Malusare was busy with his son's wedding. When he got to know about this mission, he decided to lead the soldiers. But Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj refuses this & said they are not doing any mission. They told Tanhaji to concentrate on Raiba's wedding. After listening to Maharaj, Tanhaji counters some questions to his Friend. 

Is my son's wedding more important than swarajya?

Is the wedding more important than the saffron of Maratha's?

Is the wedding so important? that it compels a king to lie to his soldier & friend to another friend. 

Remember Shivba, we had taken oath in Raireshwar temple with Mahadev as our witness. We will live & die together. We will share happiness & pain together. I will be very happy if I die for you, swarajya & saffron. As long as I live, Maratha flag will soar high. For me, swarajya is far more important than any comfort or happiness. Now I will lead the kondhana mission & let it be declared. First, the conquest over Kondhana & then my Raiba's wedding. ( आधी लगीन कोंढाण्याचं मग माझ्या रायबाचं )

We can see that, from what mindset & emotions he has gone through. He didn't take any time to decide what to do. He prefer his duty over his blood relations. Because first priority was the swarajya for him. 

Dedication & Sacrifice

During the night of 4 February 1670, Tanhaji attacks on Mughals with 500 Mavlas. The intensity of the battle was very high. Udaybhan & Tanhaji engaged in single combat. Udaybhan broke Tanhaji's shield & forearm. Tanhaji wrapped his turban cloth on his forearm & continued battle. Udaybhan was killed in that battle. The greatest warrior Tanhaji Malusare sacrifices his life while fighting for the swarajya. 

When Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj got to know about this, he said The fort has been captured but we lost our lion. (गड आला पण सिंह गेला) After that the name of kondhana fort changed to Sinhgad Fort. Whenever you visit Sinhgad, you will feel presence of Tanhaji Malusare.

We Indians are Very blessed that we have such a rich history. We should learn from this that how to committed towards our work & nation. We people have a tendency to just show patriotism on independence day. But if we work with dedication, as a citizen we can contribute to our nation. 

Thank you !!!