Shivaji Maharaj and the Fort of Sinhagad

⏰ 12 min read · Ages 10+ · Advanced

The Main Story

By 1670, Shivaji Maharaj had rebuilt much of the strength he had been forced to concede under the Treaty of Purandar five years earlier, when several important forts, including Kondhana, had been handed over to Mughal control. Kondhana was no ordinary fort. Perched on a steep, rocky hill overlooking the plains near Pune, it was considered nearly impossible to capture by force, defended by a garrison of skilled soldiers under the command of a capable Mughal officer named Udaybhan Rathod.

Shivaji Maharaj knew that reclaiming Kondhana would require more than numbers; it would require courage, precision, and absolute secrecy. He turned to one of his most trusted commanders and childhood friend, Tanaji Malusare, a warrior known throughout the Maratha ranks for his fearless leadership and unwavering loyalty.

According to the accounts passed down through generations, Tanaji was in the middle of arranging his own son's wedding when he received word of the mission Shivaji Maharaj had in mind. Without hesitation, Tanaji set the wedding preparations aside, declaring that the fort's capture mattered more than any personal celebration, and famously is said to have remarked that "the wedding of my son can wait, but the wedding of Kondhana to Swarajya cannot."

Tanaji gathered a small, disciplined force of Maratha soldiers, including his own brother Suryaji Malusare, and began planning an assault that depended entirely on stealth rather than sheer strength. The fort's defenses faced the more accessible slopes with heavy guard, but one side of the hill was a sheer, treacherous cliff that the defenders considered impossible to climb, and had therefore left far more lightly guarded.

On the night of the assault, Tanaji's forces approached this unguarded cliff face under cover of darkness. Using ropes and the help of a trained monitor lizard, according to the most popular version of the story, to help anchor a rope up the sheer rock, a small group of Maratha soldiers scaled the cliff silently, one by one, avoiding the heavily guarded main approach entirely.

Once enough soldiers had climbed to the top, they launched a surprise attack on the fort's garrison, catching the defenders completely off guard. Fierce, close combat broke out in the darkness as the alarm spread through the fort and Udaybhan Rathod rallied his soldiers to repel the unexpected assault.

The battle that followed was brutal and hard-fought. Tanaji Malusare fought at the front of his soldiers throughout the night, and in the climax of the battle, he engaged Udaybhan Rathod himself in direct combat. In the fierce exchange that followed, both commanders fought fiercely, and Tanaji, though ultimately victorious in ensuring his soldiers pressed on, was fatally wounded and died on the battlefield that night.

When Tanaji fell, his soldiers wavered for a moment, until his brother Suryaji Malusare rallied them, reportedly cutting off the rope that offered their only path of retreat down the cliff, forcing the remaining soldiers to fight forward rather than flee. Inspired by this resolve, the Maratha soldiers pressed on and, by dawn, had captured the fort completely.

When news reached Shivaji Maharaj that Kondhana had been captured, his joy at the victory was immediately overshadowed by grief upon learning of Tanaji's death. It is said that Shivaji Maharaj, deeply moved by his friend's sacrifice, declared, "Gad ala pan Sinh gela" — "The fort is won, but the lion is lost." In tribute to Tanaji's courage and sacrifice, Shivaji Maharaj renamed the fort Sinhagad, meaning "the Lion's Fort," a name it carries to this day.

Sinhagad remains one of the most visited hill forts near Pune, and the story of Tanaji Malusare's sacrifice is remembered every year, particularly around the anniversary of the battle, as a defining example of loyalty, courage, and selfless duty in Maratha history.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think Tanaji chose to lead the mission instead of attending his son's wedding?
2. What does Shivaji Maharaj's reaction to Tanaji's death tell us about their relationship?
3. Why do you think the fort was renamed in Tanaji's honour instead of keeping its original name?

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