| Battle of Sinhagad (Kondhana) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of The Maratha rebellion | |||||||||
 The Fort of Sinhagad | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Maratha kingdom |  Mughal Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Tanaji Malusare † | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of Sinhagad, also known as Battle of Kondhana, involved an attack by Marathas during the night of 4 February 1670 on the Mughal fort of Sinhagad (then Kondhana), near the city of Pune, Maharashtra. The Marathas captured the fort.
Sinhagad was one of the first forts which Shivaji recaptured from the Mughals following the treaty of Purandar. The capture was made possible by scaling the walls at night with rope ladders. Tanaji Malusare was killed, but the fort was captured by the Marathas. The battle and Tanaji's exploits are the basis of a popular Marathi ballad. [2]
When Shivaji was informed about the victory and the loss of Tanaji's life during the battle, he is said to have exclaimed "गड आला पण सिंह गेला" (IAST: Gaḍa ālā paṇa siṃha gela English: The fort has been captured but we lost the lion). A bust of Tanaji Malusare was installed at the fort in memory of his contribution and sacrifice. [3]
The first and most spectacular success was the capture of Sinhagad fort. It was taken by scaling very difficult walls by the means of rope ladders in a night raid which culminated in a hand to hand combat inside the fort. The raid was led by Tanhaji Malsure, who was killed in the battle.
