Battle of Sinhagad
{{Short description|1670 battle between Maratha and Mughal forces}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Sinhagad (Kondhana)
| partof = The Maratha rebellion
| image = Sinhagad.jpg
| image_size = 300
| date = 4 February 1670
| place = Fort Sinhagad, near Pune, India
| territory = Fort Sinhagad (then, Kondhana fort) captured by Marathas
| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.png}} Maratha kingdom
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Mughal Empire.png}} Mughal Empire
| commander1 = File:Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Tanaji Malusare{{KIA}}
| caption = The Fort of Sinhagad
}}
{{Campaignbox Later Mughal-Maratha Wars}}
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.
Battle
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.{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Stewart|title=The Marathas 1600-1818|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C&pg=PA79|volume=2|year=1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=79|isbn=9780521033169|quote=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.}}
Aftermath
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.{{cite book|title=Forts of India|last=Verma|first=Amrit|publisher=The Director, Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India|pages=83–86|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-230-1002-8|date=2003}}
In popular culture
- Tanhaji - a Hindi movie of 2020, starring Ajay Devgan, depicted the battle of Kondhana.
- Raja Shivchatrapati - a Marathi TV serial of Star Pravah had episodes about this battle.
- Subhedar - a Marathi movie of 2023, starring Chinmay Mandlekar, depicted the battle of Kondhana
References
{{Reflist}}{{MarathaEmpire}}
{{coord missing|Maharashtra}}