already made up his mind, and he ordered his troops to launch the attack. The fight proceeded. Tanaji lost many men, but his men caused heavy losses on the Moghul forces.
Tanaji repeatedly sang to keep the spirits of his soldiers high. After some hours, the Moghul commander Uday Bhan was engaged in a fight with Tanaji. The odds were against the Maratha. The long night march, the anxiety of the mission, scaling the fort and the vigorous fight Tanaji had already been engaged in before, had made him weak completely. Hence, after a lengthy fight, Tanaji fell, never to get up.
However, the fight continued under the leadership of Suryaji, Tanaji's brother. The soldiers who were at the bottom of the fort reached the fort and continued fighting. The Mughals bit the dust. The Maratha soldiers brought the fort under their control. It was a great victory for the Marathas! But there was no mood of joy of victory in their camp. The news of the victory reached Shivaji. He rushed to the fort eagerly to congratulate Tanaji. To his shock, he saw the brave Tanaji lifeless. The Ballad of Sinhagad describes the grief as such:
Twelve days the king wept over him for the great love that he bore him. The sorrow of Jijabai was also described: The scarf removed, she saw his face, No worthier chief of the race, it was thus she wailed and drew a sword, before the armies of his Lord:"Shivaji son and king today, Your right hand has been chopped away". When Shivaji learned of his friend's death, he remarked.
"Gad ala pan Sinha gela".| Glossary |
ballad (n)a narrative song/poem of popular origin
comrade (n)companion, fellow, associate
summoned (v)asked to come
scarf (n)a garment worn around the head or neck or shoulders