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Murarbaji Deshpande | |
|---|---|
 General of Maratha Army | |
| Monarch | Shivaji I |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 1665 Purandar |
| Occupation | Kiladar of Purandar Fort |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Maratha Empire |
| Service | Maratha Army |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Purandar |
Murarbaji Deshpande (died 1665) was an associate of Shivaji. He is best remembered for role in Battle of Purandar in which he was killed, [1] and the Marathas lost the battle. [2]
Murarbaji Deshpande was born into a Bramhan (Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu ) family and his native land was the Javali Satara District. He commanded 700 mavle (maratha troop) to attack Diler Khan. [3]
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The battle for Purandar fort was a landmark battle of symbolic importance for both the Marathas and Mughals. It was essential for the Marathas to hold off the Mughals for as long as possible, thus demonstrating the difficulty of conquering the mountainous Maratha Empire. It was equally imperative for the Mughals to conquer Purandar as swiftly as possible to demonstrate the futility of resistance of the dominant Mughal empire.
In the end, the battle ended with the Marathas suing for peace, against the superior European cannons fielded by the Mughals, under the leadership of the European mercenary Mannucci, blasting away the walls of Purandar. In spite of crumbling defenses, Murarbaji and his troops sustained a dogged defense. Murarbaji was later killed in the battle. [1]
The battle of Purandar, made the Marathas realize the difficulty, facing the overwhelming force led by Mirza Raja Jai Singh, but also revealed to the Mughals the tenacity of the Marathas. Thereafter Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj sued for peace to Mirza Raja rather than risk the decimation of his forces and the ruin of his homeland. Aurangzeb asked Shivaji to come to Agra to sign the treaty of Purandar. As part of the settlement, Chatrapati Shivaji agreed to give up 23 of his forts and 4,00,000 hons to the Mughals.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)