Daring night attack on Shaista Khan inside Lal Mahal in Pune

In 1660, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb appointed his maternal uncle, Shaista Khan, as the Viceroy of the Deccan and dispatched him with a massive army exceeding 77,000 troops to dismantle Shivaji Maharaj’s growing Maratha kingdom. Shaista Khan advanced into the Desh region, captured Chakan after an arduous siege, and eventually occupied Pune, taking up residence in Lal Mahal—the very palace where Shivaji had spent much of his childhood. For nearly three years, Shaista Khan’s forces occupied Pune and devastated the surrounding countryside, severely squeezing Maratha revenues and restricting Shivaji’s operational mobility. Direct military confrontation against the vastly superior Mughal army in open pitch battle was suicidal, forcing Shivaji to devise an audacious asymmetric counter-strategy.

On the night of April 5, 1663, during the holy month of Ramadan, Shivaji executed one of the most audacious commando operations in Indian military history. Accompanied by a select group of approximately 200–400 stealthy Maratha Mavala infantrymen, Shivaji gained entry into Pune under the cover of darkness. They disguised themselves as members of a local wedding procession and claimed to be Mughal soldiers bringing in prisoners. Navigating through the familiar layout of Lal Mahal, which Shivaji knew intimately from his youth, the Marathas bypassed the sleeping Mughal guards and breached the inner palace walls through a kitchen window.

Taking the garrison completely by surprise, Shivaji and his men engaged in swift hand-to-hand combat inside the residential quarters. In the ensuing chaos, Shaista Khan was alerted by his female attendants and attempted to escape through a window. Shivaji slashed at the Viceroy with his sword as he fled, severing three of Shaista Khan's fingers. Shaista Khan's son, Abul Fath, along with several women and attendants, was killed in the melee while trying to defend the Viceroy. Before the full Mughal garrison could assemble and react, Shivaji and his party retreated into the darkness toward Sinhagad fort, leaving lighted torches tied to trees along a different path to confuse their pursuers.

The psychological blow to Mughal prestige was immense. A royal uncle and veteran general of the Mughal Empire had been humiliated inside his own heavily fortified headquarters by a local chieftain whom Aurangzeb belittled as a 'mountain rat.' Deeply embarrassed and suspicious that Shaista Khan had colluded with the Marathas or lost his nerve, Aurangzeb summarily transferred his uncle to the distant and humid province of Bengal. The successful night attack not only freed Pune from Mughal occupation but also dramatically boosted Maratha morale, demonstrating that strategic daring, terrain knowledge, and intelligence could overcome overwhelming imperial strength.