{{Infobox royalty , succession = ''Senapati'' Flag of the Maratha Empire

to the Chhatrapati

Sambhaji II Sambhaji II or Sambhaji I of Kolhapur (1698 – 18 December 1760) was a Raja of Kolhapur from Bhonsle dynasty. He was a grandson of Shivaji and the second son of Chhatrapati Rajaram with his second wife, Rajasbai. After defeat by Shahu, Samb ...

of the

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

, name = ''Udaji Chavan'' , image = Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg , reign = 1716 - 1742 , title = Himmat Bahadur , birth_date = 1692 , death_date = 1762 , death_place = Andur , predecessor= Piraji Ghorpade , spouse = , issue = {{ubl, Vithoji II, Pritirao , house = Chavan , father = Vithoji Chavan , mother = , religion =

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, titles = Udaji Chavan (1692-1762), was one of the main supporter and

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 ...

. He had the title of 'Himmat Bahadur'. At first he was partisan of

Tarabai Maharani Tarabai Bhonsle ( Marathi: ̪aːɾabaːi; ; 1675 – 9 December 1761) was the regent of the Maratha Empire from 1700 until 1708. She was the queen of Rajaram I, and daughter-in-law of the kingdom's founder Shivaji I. She is acclaim ...

. Afterwards, he became the supporter of Samhaji of Kolhapur. He brought territory of Shirol, Raibag under Kolhapur's control from Gharge-Desai-Deshmukh's. He made 'Battis Shirala' on the bank of Warna his chief headquarters. He successfully launched many campaigns against Shahu with the help of

Yashwantrao Thorat Yashwantrao Thorat or Yesaji (Marathi : यशवंतराव थोरात or येसाजी) was a military commander and the main supporter of Sambhaji II of Kolhapur from 1717 to 1719. Before 1717, he served Shahu I, Shahu for a br ...

Early life

Appointed as Senapati

When

became Chhatrapati of Kolhapur

Ramchandra Pant Amatya Ramchandra Neelkanth Bawadekar (1650–1716), also known as Ramchandra Pant Amatya, served on the Council of 8 (''Ashta Pradhan'') as the Finance Minister (''Amatya'') to King (''Chhatrapati'') Shivaji, dating from 1674 to 1680. He then served ...

was his chief minister. After the death of Amatya in 1716, Udaji support Sambhaji in his territory. So Sambhaji gave Udaji Chavan the saranjam of Rs.4,00,000 lakh in

Shirol Shirol is a historic place. In a great war between Shivaji, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Mughal Empire, the Mughals were defeated and the heads of Mughal soldiers were hanged at the main gate of city. So the name Shirol: ''Shir'' (heads) ...

and make him

of his territory in 1716.

March on Shahu's territory

After becoming

he became aggressive in Shahu's territory. He March on Shahu's territory with the help of

from 1718 to 1719.

Battle of Shirol

Facsimile of the handwriting of Udaji Chavan

Udaji Chavan created trouble in the territory of Shahu as per the instructions of Sambhaji and collected 'Chavan Chauthai'. So Shahu sent Shripatrao Pantpratinidhi to help Gharge-Desai-Deshmukhs with heavy artillery to

. Chavan faced Shahu's troops for two and half months and afterwards wrote letter to

and requested him to come with his troops. Samhaji came with his troops. The battle was fought between Pratinidhi and Udaji Chavan at Shirol. At last, Udaji was defeated. So they escape to

Panhala Panhala (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ənʱaːɭa is a city and a Hill station Municipal Council (3177 feet above sea level) 18 km northwest of Kolhapur, in Kolhapur district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of M ...

. This battle is known as the 'Battle of Shirol'.

Attack on Rahimatpur

Rao Rambha (Rambhaji) Nimbalkar and his son Janoji Nimbalkar attacked on Satara territory. At that time Udaji Chavan attacked

Rahimatpur Rahimatpur is a city and a municipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Rahimatpur has an average elevation of 657 metres (2155 feet). Demographics India census, Rahimatpur had a population of 25,539. ...

in August 1726. Shahu ordered his chief Rayaji Jadhav and Jigasinghraje Gharge-Desai-Deshmukh to make a counterattack on Udaji. But Rambhaji Nimbalkar came with his troops to Udaji's help. Rayaji and Jigasinghraje was defeated and Rayaji was killed in this fight.

Second battle of Vadgaon

Shahu and

prepared themselves for war. Shahu himself remained encamped at Umbraj. His sardar created trouble in the Sambhaji's territory. To face this situation Sambhaji and Udaji Chavan organised their troops. Bhagwantrao Amatya, Krishnaropant Pratinidhi, Vyankatrao Ghorpade Ichalkaranjikar, Torgalkar Shinde, Shidoji Ghorpade, Sidoji Thorat and others came with their troops around 25,000 troops. Sambhaji decide to march towards Satara. By crossing river Warna they besieged a thana of Shahu. Sambhaji was at Vadgaon on the bank of Warna. Pratinidhi, the commander of Shahu's force made sudden attack on Sambhaji. Udaji Chavan faced them. But, at last they was defeated by Shahu's force. Many of his troops were killed or taken as prisoners. Udaji and Sambhaji escaped to

Panhala fort Panhala fort (also known as Panhalgad and Panhalla ( literally "the home of serpents")), is located in Panhala, 20 kilometres northwest of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India. It is strategically located looking over a pass in the Sahyadri mountain ...

. This battle was fought in 1730. This battle is known as 'The Second Battle of Vadgaon'.

After 1731

Letter wrote by Udaji Chavan to Chimaji Appa

In 1731, the 'Treaty of Warna' was signed between

Shahu I Shahu I (Shivaji Sambhaji Raje Bhonsale; ; 18 May 1682 – 15 December 1749) was the fifth Chhatrapati or head of state of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shivaji I. He was born into the House of B ...

and

. Now the importance of Udaji was decreasing. At the end of 1737 he tried to go to Peshwa's side. In 1738 he wrote a letter to

Chimaji Appa Chimaji Balaji Bhat (c. 1707 – 17 December 1740), born as Antaji more commonly known as Chimaji Appa, was a military commander and statesman of the Maratha Empire. As the younger brother of Peshwa Bajirao I and the son of Peshwa Balaji Vishw ...

to assure him of his loyalty.

Personal life

Udaji Chavan was son of Himmat Bahadur Vithoji Chavan who take important role in the war against

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 ...

during the reign of Chhatrapati

Rajaram I Rajaram I (Rajaram Bhonsale, ; 24 February 1670 – 3 March 1700), also known as Ram Raaje, was the third king ( Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Kingdom, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of Shivaji, the founder of t ...

. For his bravery Rajaram Maharaj gave him the title of 'Himmat Bahadur'. Vithoji Chavan worked under the Senapati

Santaji Ghorpade Santaji Ghorpade (Santaji Mhaloji Ghorpade, ; 1660–1696) was a Maratha (caste), Maratha general and statesman who served as the 7th Senapati of the Maratha Empire during the reign of Chattrapati Rajaram I. He is widely regarded as one of the ...

and

Dhanaji Jadhav Dhanaji Jadhav (1650–27 June 1708) also known as Dhanaji Jadhav Rao, was a prominent Maratha general and served as the Senapati of the Maratha Empire during the reigns of Rajaram I, Tarabai, and Shahu I. Alongside Santaji Ghorpade, he condu ...

. On 25 May 1696, Vithoji died in the battle against the Mughals near Bangluru.

Death

In November 1762, there was a conflict between Akkalkotkar and Udaji Chavan because of a village. In that fight Udaji Chavan died. At that time his son Vithoji II and Pritirao was at Naldurg. They take the body of Udaji to Andur at Naldurg and build a Samadhi of Udaji.

References

* Chapter 3 — ''

–

Relation up to 1730'', Pg 79, 82, 83, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95. * ''Marathyanchya Itihasachi Sadhane'' – V.K.Rajwade * ''Advanced Study in the History of Modern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

1707-1813'' — Jaswant Lal Mehta * ''

Rayacha Itihas'' - Prof. B.P. Modak * ''The

Marathas 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 ...

'' – Prof. A. R. Kulkarni People from the Maratha Empire 1692 births 1762 deaths