Siddi Jauhar lays siege to Panhala Fort with Shivaji inside

Stung by humiliating back-to-back military defeats at Pratapgad and Kolhapur, the court of Bijapur took drastic measures to eliminate Shivaji Maharaj. Sultan Ali Adil Shah II appointed Siddi Jauhar, an experienced Abyssinian military commander and governor of Kurnool, to head a massive campaign against the Maratha leader. Siddi Jauhar, accompanied by Fazal Khan and a heavily equipped force of over 15,000 troops, marched into South Maharashtra in early 1660. Shivaji retreated into the formidable hill fortress of Panhala near Kolhapur, preparing to sustain an extended siege.

On March 2, 1660, Siddi Jauhar’s army established a tight, comprehensive blockade around the perimeter of Panhala Fort. Siddi Jauhar deployed artillery batteries around the base of the hill and systematically cut off all supply routes into the citadel. Shivaji had anticipated that the onset of the heavy monsoon rains in June would force the besiegers to abandon their encampment. However, Siddi Jauhar demonstrated extraordinary persistence, maintaining tight siege lines through the torrential downpours of June and July, refusing to retreat or loosen his grip despite severe weather conditions.

By July 1660, food supplies inside Panhala were dangerously depleted, and direct relief attacks led by Maratha cavalry under Netaji Palkar were repulsed outside the siege lines. Recognizing that remaining inside meant eventual starvation or surrender, Shivaji devised a daring plan to break out under cover of darkness. On July 13, 1660, Shivaji initiated fake surrender negotiations to lull Siddi Jauhar's guards into complacency, while secretly preparing an elite contingent to slip out through a hidden ravine.

Although Panhala Fort was surrendered shortly after Shivaji’s famous night breakout toward Vishalgad—made historic by Baji Prabhu Deshpande’s heroic rearguard defense at Pavan Khind—the siege itself was a crucial test for the young Maratha state. It highlighted the relentless military pressure exerted by Bijapur and tested the extraordinary resilience of Shivaji's military organization under high siege stress.