Battle of Rakshasbhuvan

 It was evening, after planning the strategy for the following day , Raghunath rao stepped out of Peshwa Madhavrao's tent when ,suddenly like a flash right in front of Raghunathrao,before he could realise what had happened ,an armed man stood in front of him. The sharp blade of his sword glistened in the twilight.Before he managed to escape his blade managed to slice through his shoulder. He was taken to his tent where was examined by the Royal physician. The wound was not too dee, medicine was applied and it was dressed. The next morning, clouds had gathered in the sky. The base camp was idle. Suddenly conches started blaring.  Recognising the summons, the soldiers started getting ready as fast as they could.

In the next few hours Peshwa's troops charged towards the Jhadav camp, Jhadav's camp was utterly taken back by this sudden attack. Shrimant Madhavrao was sitting in Raghunath's camp when Jhadav was brought in captive. Raghunathrao expressed his discontentment upon seeing him and ordered that Jhadav be put to death for his treachery, on the contrary Madhavrao asked the soldiers to keep him in jail in the Daulatabad fort , for he was a traitor but after all a Marathi man who would them help in times of distress. Raghunathrao did not say anything but deep creases on his forehead conveyed his  displeasure on Rao's decision. Meanwhile Sakharam Bapu entered the tent ,looking at his crestfallen face , Shrimant asked him "What is it bapu"? Bapu said "It is so sad that in a land where Chattrapati Shivaji established the glorious Swarajya ,today we have such short-sighted individuals who in-spite of their experience do not want to help the empire in stressed times. Madhavrao however did not prolonge the conversation as his enemy - Nizam of Hyderabad was on the doorstep, he expressed to Raghunathrao his inability to take on such a huge force in a full fledged battle. 'Then what do you suggest ? asked Raghunath. ' Just as Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj brought the powerful Aurangzeb to his knees through guerilla warfare , we need to do the same' said Madhav and suggested the necessity of Holkars in such times.The next day with much satisfaction Madhavrao announced the joining of Holkar troops in theirs'.  One evening ,while Madhavrao,Raghunathrao were planning the next move of  the troops ,  Mahipatrao Chitnis entered their tent and presented a letter to Madhvrao , which came from Pune, it read -

Madhavrao's face turned red with rage , so did Raghunath's. Raghunath ordered to direct all his troops towards Pune . 'Kaka this is all Nizam's cunning, he wants us to come to Pune , if we go to Pune at this hour he can easily conquer us' said Madhavrao. A heated discussion took place between the two however Rao explained Raghunath that Nizam had nothing to do with their religion but was a malicious political act

of Nizam and the puppeteers of this act was of none other than experienced generals Janoji and Vitthal Sundar who know that touching Pune is like touching their heart, they were well aware of the fact that if any hazard befall Pune they would come running to save it and that's precisely what they want. 'Shrimant is right', affirmed MalharRao Holkar (chief of Holkar's). He requested Raghunath to be patient, he assured him that Nizam would soon fall in his own web.Malharrao and Madhavrao left Raghoba’s tent. 

As Madhavrao reached his tent, Malharrao took his leave. But Madhavrao halted, saying, ‘Malharba, please wait. I wish to talk to you.’ The two men walked into Madhavrao’s tent. ‘Malharba, the situation is indeed tricky. We need to find a way out of it soon,’ continued Madhavrao.‘Please do not worry, Shrimant. If you allow it, we shall charge on the Nizam today itself. Then let him see the dance of fury this sword can perform. Holkar was doing everything in his capacity to get the generals to compromise. The monsoon was about to set in. Madhavrao was wondering whether to take the next step or not. The troops had been away from their homes and families for many months now; understandably, they were weary. While there was confirmed news that the Nizam was going to set up camp at Bedar, he was not doing anything proactively. Rumour had it that he had also sent a part of his troops back. Madhavrao was also thinking of sending some of his troops back. Malharrao’s efforts were gaining fruition. He knew Bhosale’s weak points. First of all, he tried breaking off Janoji’s brother, Madhoji. That idea was successful. Naturally, Janoji was getting nervous. In recent times, the Nizam had also started behaving hastily with him. After plundering Pune, the Nizam had not sought Janoji’s advice again. Janoji was feeling resentful. He was left with no option but to compromise with Madhavrao. Unbeknownst to him, the Nizam was getting slowly hollowed out from within. One day, the Bhosales sent a letter to Madhavrao. Seeing the contents of the letter, Madhavrao immediately went to see Raghobadada and called for Malharrao too. As soon as Malharrao arrived, Madhavrao announced the arrival of the letter and said, ‘The Nizam is getting ready to cross the Godavari river and reach Aurangabad. He has to be intercepted immediately. Bhosale has kept his troops ten to twelve miles away from the Nizam’s. Other generals are also on our side. The day that we have waited for has finally arrived Malharba, now there should be no delay from our side; otherwise, we will have to repent our whole lives. Bhosale has taken your advice and made the Nizam change his plans; that is why he is setting up camp at Aurangabad.

Raghunathrao was thrilled with the development. He was working with renewed vigour at the thought of the Nizam finally being trapped. Madhavrao had issued commands to all the generals and senior officials. The troops were explained the strategy of the attack. In spite of their increased strength, it was not going to be easy for the Peshwas to attack the Nizam headlong. They had to entrap him from all sides and get him to his knees. The rain had become relentless. However, that had not stopped the Peshwas from tailing the Nizam. The Godavari was flooded. The Peshwas aimed to catch the Nizam there because they knew that the Nizam would maintain his camp at the banks of the Godavari till the floods subsided.development. He was working with renewed vigour at the thought of the Nizam finally being trapped. Madhavrao had issued commands to all the generals and senior officials. The troops were explained the strategy of the attack. In spite of their increased strength, it was not going to be easy for the Peshwas to attack the Nizam headlong. They had to entrap him from all sides and get him to his knees. The rain had become relentless. However, that had not stopped the Peshwas from tailing the Nizam. The Godavari was flooded. The Peshwas aimed to catch the Nizam there because they knew that the Nizam would maintain his camp at the banks of the Godavari till the floods subsided. They reached Rakshasbhuvan next morning. Vitthal Sundar was shocked by the sudden attack but managed to launch a counterattack. However, the Peshwas’ ace generals, Aba Purandare and Vitthal Shivdev, managed to stand strong against Vitthal Sundar’s cannon attacks and defeated him. At a crucial juncture, Raghobadada entered the battlefield and drove Vitthal Sundar to greater despair. Madhavrao observed the ongoing battle while perched on his horse .The next morning, when Madhavrao came out of his tent, his gaze turned towards the opposite bank of the Godavari. He was surprised to see that the area that held the Nizam’s base camp till last night was completely empty. Madhavrao rushed to get his binoculars to inspect the area closely. There was not a single person. Apart from a couple of abandoned cannons that lay around, it seemed as if the entire camp had been wrapped up in a hurry, leaving behind whatever could not be taken along. Nizam had begun talks for a treaty, he had grown restless with the conditions put forth by Madhavrao. Madhavrao had asked for the province worth eight-five lakh rupees that had gone to the Nizam in the treaty of Udgeer. He had asked for Sherjung to be given back his jagir. The Peshwa had also put forth the condition that the Nizam should come to the Peshwas’ aid whenever the need arose. He had also threatened that if the Nizam did not agree to these conditions, he would be replaced by Salabatjung on the throne. The Nizam had no option but to agree to all the condition Madhavrao and the Nizam had a formal meeting. The treaty was formalised. ‘We hope you will not contravene the agreement of this treaty.’ Said Madhavrao. ‘Pandit Pantpradhan, I stay true to my word,’ replied Nizamalli. ‘I have one more request.’ ‘Please go on,’ the Nizam replied humbly. ‘I request you to make your Nazeem-e-harkar, Meer Musa Khan, your chief minister. He should be made the Madar-ul-maham.’ The Nizam was taken aback. He coldly said, ‘Pandit Pantpradhan, whom we appoint as our chief minister is entirely our prerogative. You have no business speaking on this matter.’ Madhavrao steadied his grey eyes on the Nizam and replied in a firm voice, ‘Bandagaane Ali Aala Hazrat should take cognisance of the delicate situation he is in. Meer Musa Khan shall be your chief minister. You shall not go beyond his advice. Is that clear?’The Nizam swallowed his words. He called for the ceremonial robe made Meer Musa Khan his chief minister. Musa Khan was given the title of Rakna-ud-doula. After signing the treaty with the Nizam, Madhavrao left Aurangabad for Pune. Raghobadada refused to come along and, instead, went ahead to Anandavalli.

I bow down to such heroes of our country who are less known but made huge contributions in building of the nation as we know it today. Shrimant Peshwa Madhavrao ko Koti Koti Naman.