Execution
On the appointed day, Tanaji Malsure joined the marriage party at
Katraj. He entered Pune in full enthusiasm with the marriage party. Yesji Kank
was allowed inside with his group on the bullock carts with hay without any
hindrance. One group of horses entered through the East gate, posing as
Jadhav's men. (One of Shahista Khan's commanders) It rained heavily in the
evening that day, but the weather had improved by sunset. It added to Shivaji's
overall advantage. By dusk, Mahadev, Shivaji's personal spy, reported all plans
for the day had gone through without a hitch. All parties were in place.
Shivaji's entry into Pune camp and Lal Mahal was dramatic. Ibrahim Khan, his
Sardar, dressed up as a Mughal commander on a security round, managed to get
Shivaji as his aide inside the camp. Nobody had any suspicion of Ibrahim Khan's
antecedents due to his personality.
Once inside, Shivaji took refuge in the gardener's hut near the kitchen
entrance. Early morning, Shivaji set out to get inside the Lal Mahal through
the kitchen, and a small path led to the ladies' quarters, from where they
entered the insides of the palace. In the kitchen, however, they had to slay
the cooks who were cooking the early morning meals, the 'Sehari'. The cooks
would have hindered their progress to the mahal. Even Shivaji's party knew that
they would lose surprise at some point of time in the raid, and they were ready
for it. When they reached the maid's quarters, the maids started screaming and
running helter-skelter. In the ensuing chaos, one of the wives of the Shahista
Khan blew out the lanterns in the palace. This led to pitch darkness and
further chaos. It resulted in the needless massacre of the staff, including
some women, as the Maratha soldiers cut anyone in the darkness who came in
front.
Shahista Khan panicked and took shelter in his wives' quarters called
the Jenan-khana. Since Shivaji was familiar with the layout of the Lal Mahal,
he went from one room to another to hunt for the Khan. Finally, he found him.
Seeing Shivaji, Shahista Khan ran to the window, but before he could jump out,
Shivaji struck. In the darkness, it was hard for him to see the result. Shivaji
believed he had struck his head, and because of the blow, Khan should be dead.
But in reality, he had only hit the three fingers of his right hand, severing
them completely.
Khan jumped out and survived, unknown to Shivaji, who signalled his men
to withdraw. Meanwhile, as per the Plan, Shivaji's men cut down any opposition
inside the palace, which included Khan's three sons. One died, and two were
wounded. As a ploy, they asked the drummers to beat the drums as a warning that
the enemy had invaded the palace. Everyone shouted to catch the enemy in the
darkness and confusion, but none knew who it was. Shivaji's soldiers took
advantage, screaming to ‘Catch the enemy’, and rushed out when the gate was
finally opened from outside. The entire camp was in utter confusion, with all
running helter-skelter. Shivaji's men shouted, 'The enemy is running; catch the
enemy' as a ruse created by their own troops. Soon, they all made their way to
their respective rendezvous points mixed amongst the scores of Mughals,
Marathas, and Rajput soldiers of Shahista Khan.
The trumpet was blown at the desired time, indicating that Vithaji
should light the torches on the cattle's horns and drive them towards Purandar
fort. This ruse worked, as the Shahista Khan pursuing forces thought that
Shivaji troops were running away in that direction. On the other hand, Shivaji
was making his getaway to Kondana with his men. When Shahista Khan's commanders
got close to the torches and realised it was a trick, Shivaji was safely on his
way to Sinhgad.
Shahista Khan lost 55 men in the raid, with many more wounded, including
himself. He lost one of his sons, and two were wounded. His son-in-law was
wounded, too. He lost one of his wives. On the other hand, Shivaji lost six
mavals and 40 injured, including, including two of his commanders. Shahista
Khan was devastated and wanted revenge, so he attacked Kondana the next day,
for which Shivaji was ready. Another deception and Mughal forces were caught
napping with elephants running back, trampling their own soldiers.
The shock of the raid, loss of his fingers, loss of his son and a wife,
and the subsequent failure at Kondana were too much for Shahista Khan to bear.
He vacated Poona and left for Aurangabad within three days of the raid. He lost
his prestige and his post due to his shameful defeat. He was sent to West
Bengal and Assam Suba, a punishment posting called 'Employment in Hell'.
The raid thus was a resounding success in meeting its objectives. A task
considered impossible to achieve was pulled off Shivaji and added another tale
to his legend.
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