Tanaji Malusare

Tanaji Kaloji Malusare
Bronze bust of Subhedar Tanhaji Malusare at Sinhagad
Born	Godavli, Javali Taluka, Satara, Maharashtra[ citation needed ]
Died	4 February 1670 Sinhagad, Maharashtra, India
Allegiance	Maratha Empire
Service / branch	Maratha Army
Years of service	c. 1646–1670
Rank	Subedar [1]
Known for	Battle of Sinhagad
Battles / wars	Capture of Torna fort [2] Battle of Pratapgarh Battle of Jawali [3] Battle of Sinhagad   †
Relations	Kaloji Malusare (father) Savitri Bai (wife) Raybaji Malusare (son)

Tanaji Kaloji Malusare ^[4] or Subedar Tanaji Malusare was a military commander of the Maratha kingdom and a companion of Shivaji. A local poet Tulsidas, ^[a] wrote a powada describing Subhedar Tanhaji's heroics and sacrifice of life in the Battle of Sinhagad, which has since made him a popular figure in Indian folklore. ^{[5] [6] [7] [b]}

Background

According to the historian David Hardiman, Kolis were the early helpers of Shivaji Maharaj in a revolt. Tanhaji Malusare is one such prominent example whose name is memorizalized due to his act of capturing the fort of Singhad and handing it to Shivaji. ^[9] Tanhaji's father's name was Kaloji Malusare.^{[ citation needed ]}

Military career

Early military career

According to many historians including Jadunath Sarkar, Tanaji was involved in the capture of Torna fort or Battle of Torna (1646). In 1646, Shivaji along with his fellow commanders Netaji Palkar, Yesaji Kank, Baji Phalaskar and Tanaji Malusare captured the fort of Torna ^[10] taking advantage of the illness of the Adil Shahi Sultan, Mohammad Adil Shah.

As an official Army Officer

Further information: Battle of Pratapgarh

Tanaji was with Shivaji Maharaj around the time when he took his pledge at Rayareshwar temple to establish a sovereign kingdom. He was the commander of Maratha troops in the Battle of Jawali ^[3] and also in the Battle of Pratapgarh, where Shivaji Maharaj killed Afzal Khan.^{[ citation needed ]}

Final Battle and Death

Main article: Battle of Sinhagad

Shivaji following his reconquest, he sent Maratha forces under the command of Tanaji Malusare to recapture the fort of Sinhagad (then,Kondhana fort) at the night of 4 February 1670. Mughal Kiledar (fortress commander), Udaybhan Rathore and Tanaji was martyred in the battle but However, the Marathas recaptured the fort.

In popular culture

An early 20th century depiction by M.V. Dhurandhar of Tanhaji's vow to Shivaji and Jijabai in the presence of his son and uncle before the campaign for Kondana fort.

• Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had written a ballad on him, which was banned by the colonial British government. ^[11]
• Gad aala pan sinh gela (Marathi: गड आला पण सिंह गेला) (transl. We won the fort but we lost the lion) a Marathi novel by Hari Narayan Apte was written in 1903, based on his life. ^{[12] [13]}
• In 1922 Bengali poet Jatindramohan Bagchi wrote a poem named Singhagarh stating the heroic death of Tanaji Malusare while recapturing the fort. ^[14]
• Sinhagad , a 1933 Marathi film was produced by Baburao Painter, based on the 1903 novel. ^{[15] [16]}
• Bengali writer Saradindu Bandyopadhyay wrote the Sadashib series where the younger version of Tanhaji was mentioned as a close associate of Shivaji.
• In 1971 Amar Chitra Katha released a comic book called Tanhaji, written by Meena Talim and illustrated by Vasant B. Halbe. ^[17]
• Tanhaji's character is portrayed by an actor in Raja Shivchatrapati serial of Star Pravah.
• In the 2018 Marathi-language epic Farzand , Tanhaji Malusare is portrayed by Ganesh Yadav.
• In the 2019 Marathi-language epic Fatteshikast , Tanhaji Malusare is portrayed by Ajay Purkar.
• Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn produced and played the role of Tanhaji Malusare in Tanhaji. It was based on the Battle of Kondhana, Tanhaji film theatrically released on 10 January 2020. It was a box-office hit. ^[18]
• In the 2023 Marathi-language epic Subhedar , Tanhaji Malusare is portrayed by Ajay Purkar.

See also

• History portal

• Baji Prabhu Deshpande
• Murarbaji
• Bahirji Naik
• Suryaji Malusare

Notes

1. not to be confused with Goswami Tulsidas
2. The text has not been dated conclusively. It is popularly accepted to be written not long after the Battle; however, some scholars have claimed the text to have been written in the eighteenth century. ^[8]

References

1. Chandra, Satish (2003). History of Architectures and Ancient Building Materials in India. Tech Books International. p. 167. ISBN   9788188305032.
2. 
   Sarkar, Jadunath (1920). "Shivaji and his times". Shivaji and his times: 32.
3. Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale (2011). Shivaji His Life and Times. pp. 425–426.
4. "Ajay Devgn's Taanaji: The Unsung Warrior will now be called Tanhaji due to numerological reasons". India Today. 27 March 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
5. Kantak, M. R. (1978). "The Political Role of Different Hindu Castes and Communities in Maharashtra in the Foundation of Shivajiraje's Swarajya". Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute. 38 (1/4): 51. ISSN   0045-9801. JSTOR   42931051.
6. K. Ayyappa Paniker, ed. (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections, An Anthology, Volume One. p. 375. ISBN   9788126003655.
7. Rao, Vasanta Dinanath (1939). "SIDE-LIGHT ON THE MARATHA LIFE FROM THE BARDIC (शाहिरी) LITERATURE OF THE 18th CENTURY". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 3: 1194–1212. ISSN   2249-1937. JSTOR   44252466.
8. Raeside, Ian (July 1978). "A Note on the 'Twelve Mavals' of Poona District". Modern Asian Studies. 12 (3): 394. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00006211. ISSN   1469-8099. S2CID   145438073.
9. Hardiman, David (1996). Feeding the Baniya: Peasants and Usurers in Western India. Oxford University Press. p. 221. ISBN   978-0-19-563956-8. When Shivaji began his revolt in the following decade, the Kolis were amongst the first to join him under the leadership of the Sirnayak Khemi and they played a leading role in helping Chatrapati Shivaji to consolidate his power. The Koli Tanhaji Malusare, is remembered in Maharashtra to this day for his courage in capturing the almost impregnable fort of Singhad for Shivaji.
10. Sarkar, Jadunath (1920). "Shivaji and his times". Shivaji and his times: 32.
11. Derek Jones, ed. (2001). Censorship: A World Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN   9781136798634.
12. Sisir Kumar Das (1991). History of Indian Literature, Volume 1. Sahitya Akademi. p. 532. ISBN   9788172010065.
13. Apte, Hari Narayan (1903). Gaḍa ālā, paṇa sīha gelā (in Marathi). Pune: Ramyakathā Prakāśana.
14. "পাতা:জাগরণী - যতীন্দ্রমোহন বাগচী.pdf/১৭ - উইকিসংকলন একটি মুক্ত পাঠাগার". bn.wikisource.org (in Bengali). Retrieved 8 November 2023.
15. Ashish Rajadhyaksha; Paul Willemen (2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Taylor & Francis. p. 239. ISBN   978-1-135-94325-7 . Retrieved 10 February 2015.
16. Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey (1996). The Oxford History of World Cinema . Oxford University Press. pp.  403. ISBN   978-0-19-874242-5 . Retrieved 14 January 2020.
17. Talim, Meena; Halbe, Vasant B.; Pai, Anant (1973). Tanhaji: The Maratha Lion. Amar Chitra Katha. ISBN   978-81-8482-159-8. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
18. "Taanaji The Unsung Warrior movie on Movie Alles". Movie Alles. 22 June 2018. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.