Battle of Banavar
| Battle of Banavar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Maratha-Mysore War (1682) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Maratha Empire | Kingdom of Mysore | ||||||
| Golconda Sultanate | |||||||
| Nayakas of Hukkeri | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Sambhaji Kavi Kalash Harji Raje Mahadik Basappa Nayak |
Chikka Devaraja Kumaraiya | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
10,000 cavalry under Sambhaji 10,000 forces of Golconda Sultanate 5,000 forces of Basappa Nayak | 15,000 archers of Chikkadevaraya | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 25,000 | 15,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy | Negligible (Won) | ||||||
Battle of Banavar was a land battle fought between the Maratha Empire and the Kingdom of Mysore in the year 1682. The Mysore forces under King Chikka Devaraja defeated the Maratha forces and their allies under Sambhaji, forcing him to retreat temporarily.
Background
Sambhaji's grandfather Shahaji had conquered territories in the modern state Karnataka. Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur granted him the Jagir of Bangalore. This was the entry of the Marathas in the Southern India.[1]
Shivaji had established Maratha territories in the Southern India in his two-year-long campaign of 1676–78. The Maratha Empire and the Kingdom Mysore were the main contenders to dominate the region. The relationship between the two kingdoms was hostile. Marathas attacked Srirangapatna in 1681, but they were defeated. The Maratha Sardar Harji Raje Mahadik also defeated the Mysore general Kumaraiya.[2] Both forces had tried to subdue each other resulting in a stalemate. Sambhaji also tried to form a Deccan alliance against the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Chikkadevaraya allied himself with Aurangzeb and executed the Maratha generals Dadaji Kakade, Jaitaji Katkar and Santaji Nimbalkar. This enraged Sambhaji and he attacked the Kingdom of Mysore in June 1682 with his allies Qutb Shahi dynasty and the Nayakas of Hukkeri. Allied forces reached Banavar in June 1682.[3] Lingappa, the Mysore officer at Banavar told this news to Chikkadevaraya.
Battle
Upon hearing the news, Chikkadevaraya left Mysore his strong contingent of 15,000 expert archers. He wanted to attack before the allies settled in the region. Both sides prepared for the battle. And the battle began with small skirmishes.
Soon, Chikkadevaraya realised that the allied forces did not have archers. He arranged his archers in a semicircular formation and started showering arrows on the allied army. The Marathas did not expect this and the arrows started mounting casualties In the allied army. Maratha commanders tried but were unable to stop the rout. Some more reinforcements joined the Marathas during the battle, but they suffered heavy casualties in the battle. The Mysore archers took a break for dinner in the night. Sambhaji decided to retreat to avoid more casualties and he retreated towards Thanjavur. [4]
Aftermath
This was a significant victory for Mysore forces and Chikkadevaraya marked it with an inscription.[2] Sambhaji defeated Chikkadevaraya in the ensuing battles. Sambhaji captured several fortresses in northern Madhurai region.[5][6]
References
- ^ Bendre, V.S. (1967). Malojiraje ani Shahaji Maharaj. Kolhapur: Parshva Publications.
- ^ a b B, Muddachari (1969). The Mysore-Maratha relations in the 17th century. Prasaranga, University of Mysore.
- ^ Sawant, Indrajit. Marathyanche Swatantrayuddha Bhag 1- Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.
- ^ Shivde, Sadashiv (2001). Sambhaji Raja. Pune: Diamond Publishers.
- ^ Bertrand, Joseph. La Mission Du Madure. Vol. III. pp. 306–307.
- ^ Wodeyar, Chikkadevaraja. Chikkadevaraja Binnapam.