As Chhaava Rules Box Office, X User Shares How Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s Death Was Avenged

Last Updated:February 28, 2025, 16:06 IST

The thread on the social media site explores how the Marathas responded to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s brutal execution by Aurangzeb

What happened after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s brutal execution? As the Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava, which tells the compelling story of the Maratha legend, is setting new box office records every day, X user Sumita Shrivastava has shared a thread on how Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s death was avenged.

According to her, after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s brutal execution, Aurangzeb’s general, Zulfiqar Khan, captured Raigad Fort and imprisoned Sambhaji’s wife, Yesubai, and son. Sambhaji’s younger brother, Rajaram Maharaj, then ascended the Maratha throne.

Aurangzeb had tortured Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj for 40 days before killing him. This inhumane act ignited a fire in the hearts of the Marathas. All their internal differences disappeared, and only one goal remained: the destruction of Aurangzeb.

During the battle at Sangameshwar Fort, where Chhatrapati Sambhaji fought bravely with 200 warriors against 10,000 Mughal soldiers led by Muqarrab Khan, a fearless warrior named Malhoji Ghorpade stood by his side.

Malhoji attained Veergati (martyrdom) alongside Sambhaji, but his son, Santaji Ghorpade, avenged his father’s and Sambhaji’s deaths by humiliating and terrorising Aurangzeb like never before.

Santaji was not alone. Another legendary warrior, Dhanaji Jadhav, joined him in this mission. Aurangzeb had thought that Sambhaji’s execution would break the Marathas, but he was shocked when Santaji and Dhanaji launched a surprise attack at Tulapur.

This was the same place where Aurangzeb had executed Sambhaji Maharaj. The Marathas, masters of guerrilla warfare, attacked Aurangzeb’s massive Mughal army with just 2,000 warriors.

Santaji and his Marathas struck like raging lions, slaughtering the Mughals mercilessly.

During the attack, the Mughal soldiers screamed in fear: “Huzoor! The Marathas are here!”

As Mughal soldiers desperately tried to save Aurangzeb’s life, the Marathas piled Mughal corpses one after another.

The Marathas even breached Aurangzeb’s personal tent, and such was the devastation that Aurangzeb had to flee for his life! Though he barely escaped, his empire’s pride was shattered, and he was forever branded a coward.

As a symbolic victory, the Marathas took the two golden spires from Aurangzeb’s tent and placed them atop Sinhagad Fort.

The next morning, when Aurangzeb saw the battlefield littered with Mughal corpses, he muttered in disbelief:

“Ya Allah! What are these Marathas made of? They neither tire, nor bow, nor retreat. Will we perish while trying to destroy them?”

Aurangzeb never recovered from this humiliation.

Two days later, Santaji led an attack on Raigad Fort, where Mughal commander Zulfiqar Khan had imprisoned Yesubai. The Marathas slaughtered the Mughal army, seized the Mughal treasury, and captured five elephants before returning victorious to Panhala.

The next target was Muqarrab Khan, the traitor who had tricked and captured Sambhaji Maharaj. Aurangzeb had rewarded Muqarrab Khan with the governorship of Kolhapur and Konkan for his deceit.

But the Marathas had sworn that Muqarrab Khan would not live.

In December 1689, Maratha forces surrounded his massive army and unleashed hell.

During the fierce battle, Santaji Ghorpade personally hunted Muqarrab Khan down and butchered him. His wounds were so grievous that his surviving soldiers carried him into the forests, where he died a painful death.

With Muqarrab Khan’s death, the Marathas avenged Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s martyrdom.

In 1691, impressed by his bravery, Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj appointed Santaji Ghorpade as the supreme commander of the Maratha army.

As Sar Senapati (Commander-in-Chief), Santaji unleashed destruction upon Aurangzeb’s Mughal Empire.

From Karnataka to the Krishna River, he led 15,000–20,000 Maratha warriors on relentless campaigns, shattering Mughal strongholds one after another.

Aurangzeb, terrified, hid in the Sahyadri mountains, constantly moving to escape the Marathas. For 27 long years, the Marathas relentlessly hounded Aurangzeb, exhausting him completely.

Defeated and humiliated, Aurangzeb ultimately died in Maharashtra, tormented by his failures.