Waghya (meaning tiger in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

) was a mixed-breed pet dog of

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 ...

king

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit used to denote a king. The word "Chhatrapati" is a Sanskrit language compound word of ''Chatra (umbrella), chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''Pati (title), pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). T ...

, known as the epitome of loyalty and eternal devotion. After Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's death, he is said to have jumped into his master's funeral

pyre A pyre (; ), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the pyre, which is then set on fire. In discussi ...

and immolated himself. A statue was put up on a pedestal next to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's

samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

Raigad Fort Raigad, seen in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India, is a hill fort located in the city of Mahad. It is one of the strongest fortresses on the Deccan Plateau and was historically referred to as Rairee or Rairy fort. Chhatrapati Shivaj ...

. In 2011 the statue of Waghya was removed by alleged members of the

Sambhaji Brigade Sambhaji Brigade is a Maratha (caste), Maratha outfit, based in Maharashtra, India. It is a branch of the Maratha Seva Sangh. The Brigade is named after the Maratha empire, Maratha king Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj son of the first Maratha king C ...

as a protest but was later reinstalled.

Monument

In memory of Waghya, a memorial was built next to

Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...

Maharaj's samadhi at

with a donation by

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

’s Prince Tukoji Holkar in 1906, who gave towards the dog's statue. Reportedly by

Mid-Day ''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper. Editions in various languages including Gujarati and English have been published out of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune so far. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore ...

, the statue of Waghya was erected on a

Samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

at Shivaji's memorial in 1936 under the banner of Shri Shivaji Raigad Smarak Samati (SSRSS) in leadership of

Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar (N. C. Kelkar), popularly known as Sahityasamrat Tatyasaheb Kelkar (24 August 1872 – 14 October 1947), was a lawyer from Miraj as well as a dramatist, novelist, short story writer, poet, biographer, critic, historia ...

Attack on Waghya's Statue on Raigarh Fort

In 2011,

, an extremist group was responsible for a protest and attack against Waghya's statue located on

next to Shivaji Maharaj's memorial. The group claimed that the dog was not real and there shouldn't be a memorial for it. This act was strongly opposed by local

Dhangar The Dhangars are caste of people found in the Indian states of Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh . They are referred to as Gavli Dhangars in northern Maharashtra ( Khandesh region) and the forested hill tracts of India's We ...

community for they believe that the dog was real.

In popular culture

Waghya's heroic story was portrayed in ''Rajsanyas'', a play by

Ram Ganesh Gadkari Ram Ganesh Gadkari (26 May 1885 – 23 January 1919) was a Marathi poet, playwright, and humorist from Bombay Presidency, India. Ram Ganesh Gadkari was one of the writers in the new age transformation in Marathi literature. He wrote poetry u ...

, a noted Marathi playwright.

References

{{reflist Indian folklore Maratha Empire History of Maharashtra Individual dogs Shivaji Dog monuments

Monument

Attack on Waghya's Statue on Raigarh Fort

In popular culture

Further reading

See also

References