Prataprao Gujar (also ''Kudtoji Gujar'', ; – 24 February 1674) was a

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

general who served as the 3rd

Senapati Senapati ( , ''sena'' meaning "army", ''Pati (title), pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of general (military), General. It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the Maratha Empire. During wartime, a ''Sar ...

of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji. He commanded the

Maratha Army The Maratha Army was the land-based armed forces of the Maratha Confederacy, which existed from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries in the Indian subcontinent. 17th century Shivaji, The great the founder of Maratha Kingdom, raised a small ...

until 1674.

Military career

Prataprao Gujar raided

Khandesh Khandesh is a geographic region in Maharashtra, India. It was made up of present Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandurbar districts. It also said that Burhanpur District of Madhya Pradesh was also its part. The region have seen many geographical ch ...

in 1670 and captured some forts from the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

in Baglan. He plundered Bahadurpur and, riding into Berar, looted the city of Karanja. From this time, Shivaji began levying

chauth Chauth (from ) was a regular tax or tribute imposed from the early 18th century by the Maratha Empire in the Indian subcontinent. It was an annual tax nominally levied at 25% on revenue or produce, hence the name, on lands that were under nominal M ...

from the Mughal territories through which he passed.

Victory at Salher

At the Battle of Salher, Prataprao Gujar routed a sizable Mughal army. The Maratha victory at Salher is seen as a watershed in their military campaigns against the formidable Mughal army.

Confrontation with the Adil Shahis

Prataprao Gujar was later dispatched to confront the Adil Shah's invading army under the command of Bahlol Khan. During the battle, Bahlol Khan was besieged by the Maratha army and taken as a prisoner. However, upon Khan's promise not to invade Maratha territory again, Prataprao released Bahlol Khan (around 15 April 1673). However, Bahalol Khan returned again with a larger army which enraged Prataprao Gujar and he decided to attack Bahalol Khan on 24 February 1674. According to the description given by Krishnaji Ananta and the letter of the English interpreter Narayan Shenvi, dated 4 April 1674, "Prataprao attacked Bahalol Khan's camp in Nesari with only six of his trusted battle-hardened commanders. It was a daring surgical strike which killed many in the enemy camp and demoralised the Bahlol's army. During this daring raid, Prataprao and his six lieutenants also got martyred but only after inflicting huge damage to the enemy camp".

Popular culture

Vedat Marathe Veer Daudale Saat Drama 1st Show 1977

Them Marathi poet Kusumagraj wrote the song "" about this heroic battle, which was sung by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

. The commercial drama written by Bashir Momin ("Kavathekar") was also based on it. The inaugural performance of the play was staged by Malganga Natya Niketan on 19 May 1977. Seeing the encouraging response to the play, Kavathekar converted the play into a shorter version called , which was then performed and popularized by various Tamasha Troupes in rural Maharashtra.अवलिया लोकसाहित्यिक
''Sakal'', "a leading Marathi Daily", Pune, 20 November 2021

References

{{Authority control Indian military leaders Marathi people People from Maharashtra 1610s births 1674 deaths Warriors from the Maratha Empire