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Clash with the Mughals

Shaista Khan

In January, 1660, Aurangzeb sent his maternal uncle Shaista Khan, with a large army to defeat Shivaji. He was an experienced commander who had defeated Shahaji in the same region in 1636. Within three years Shivaji had lost most of his conquests to a relentless attack by Shaista Khan and his army numbering over 100,000.

Shaista Khan, seized Pune and the nearby fort of Chakan. Although he held Pune for almost a year, he had little further success. He had set up his residence at Lal Mahal, Shivaji's palace, in the city of Pune.

Shaista Khan kept the security in Pune very tight. Shivaji planned a daring attack on Shaista Khan amidst tight security. In April 1663, a wedding party had obtained special permission for a procession; Shivaji planned an attack using the wedding party as cover. The Marathas disguised themselves as the bridegroom's procession and entered Pune. Shivaji, having spent much of his youth in Pune, knew his way around the city and his own palace of Lal Mahal.

After overpowering and slaying the palace guards, the Marathas broke into the mansion by breaking through a wall. Shivaji confronted Shaista Khan and severed three of Shaista Khan's fingers with his sword as he fled through an open window. Shaista Khan narrowly escaped death; lost his son, many of his guards and soldiers in the raid.

Within twenty-four hours of this daring attack, Amir-ul-Umra, Shaista Khan left Pune and headed North towards Agra. An angered Aurangzeb transferred him to distant Bengal as a punishment for bringing embarrassment to the Mughals with his very personal and ignoble defeat in Pune.
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