By 1672, the Maratha state was locked in a full-scale, multi-front war against both the Mughal Empire and the Adilshahi Sultanate of Bijapur. Having successfully recaptured the fortresses lost in 1665, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj shifted to an expansionist strategy aimed at securing the strategic borderlands of Baglan, Khandesh, and Southern Gujarat. It was during these intense campaigns that fifteen-year-old Prince Sambhaji entered active military service, transitioning from royal heir to field commander under the tutelage of senior Maratha generals.
Throughout early 1672, Sambhaji accompanied Maratha forces led by Peshwa Moropant Trimbak Pingle and Senapati Prataprao Gujar in dynamic regional military sweeps. These operations focused on capturing heavily fortified hilltop fortresses along the Sahyadri range that guarded crucial trade routes connecting northern India to the Arabian Sea ports. Sambhaji participated in troop movements, field communications, and managing regional logistics, learning the art of mountain warfare and high-speed cavalry maneuvers firsthand.
The strategic campaign culminated in the historic Battle of Salher in early 1672. When a massive Mughal army under commanders Ikhlas Khan and Bahlol Khan besieged the strategic mountain fort of Salher in Nashik, Shivaji dispatched a combined force of over 40,000 Maratha cavalry and infantry to relieve the garrison. The ensuing battle was historic: unlike traditional Maratha guerrilla warfare (Ganimi Kava), Maratha forces engaged the heavily armored Mughal imperial army in a direct, large-scale pitched battle on open terrain below the fort.
The Maratha army achieved a decisive and resounding victory at Salher, routing the Mughal forces, capturing thousands of horses, elephants, and vast military stores, and taking senior imperial officers prisoner. Participating in and witnessing this monumental campaign proved foundational for young Sambhaji. It demonstrated to veteran Maratha commanders that the Crown Prince possessed physical courage, stamina, and strategic awareness. This exposure to high-stakes campaign warfare prepared Sambhaji for independent commands later in his youth, fostering the military resilience he would show as Chhatrapati during his nine-year war against Aurangzeb.
Why it matters
Sambhaji's active participation in the 1672 northern campaigns marked his emergence as an active military commander. The surrounding campaign, highlighted by the open-field victory at Salher, shattered the myth of Mughal invincibility in open battle and established the Marathas as a major field army.
Interesting fact
The Battle of Salher in 1672 was the very first large-scale pitched battle fought on open ground between the Marathas and the Mughals where the Marathas won a decisive victory without relying primarily on mountain ambushes.
People
- Sambhaji MaharajCrown Prince and Junior Field Commander
- Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajRuler of the Maratha Empire
- Moropant Trimbak PinglePeshwa (Prime Minister) of the Maratha Empire
- Prataprao GujarSenapati (Commander-in-Chief) of the Maratha Army
- Ikhlas KhanMughal Imperial Commander
Location
Salher Fort · Nashik · India
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