Second Sack of Surat inflicting severe economic damage on Mughal trade

In October 1670, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj executed his second major economic raid on Surat, the Mughal Empire's most prosperous international port city in Gujarat. Following the breach of peace between Shivaji and Aurangzeb earlier that year, the Maratha state required massive financial capital to rebuild its army, fortify conquered footholds, and sustain military operations against imperial forces. Surat, as the main trade hub for cotton, spices, precious metals, and pilgrimage traffic to Mecca, was an ideal strategic target.

On October 3, 1670, Shivaji arrived at the gates of Surat with a swift cavalry-heavy force of approximately 15,000 men. The Mughal governor of Surat, Junjar Khan, fled inside the city's inner castle, abandoning the rich mercantile districts and sprawling suburbs. Unlike the chaotic plunder common in regional warfare, Shivaji's operation was executed with structured discipline over three days, specifically targeting the treasuries of corrupt Mughal officials and wealthy elite loyalist merchants.

Foreign trading companies, including the British East India Company under Governor Gerald Aungier and the Dutch East India Company, defended their fortified factories with artillery fire. Shivaji avoided costly direct assaults on these foreign enclaves, focusing instead on systematically requisitioning wealth, gold, silver, pearls, and trade goods from imperial warehouses. The Maratha forces collected loot valued at over 66 lakh rupees, inflicting massive economic disruption on the Mughal fiscal machinery.

When imperial commander Daud Khan Qureshi attempted to intercept the heavily laden Maratha rear guard on their return journey at Vani-Dindori near Nashik, Shivaji turned to face him in open battle. In a brilliant display of mobile battlefield tactics, the Marathas decisively defeated the Mughal force, proving that they could overcome imperial armies not only in mountain guerrilla warfare but also in open field combat. The revenue secured from Surat financed the Maratha war effort for years, culminating in Shivaji's grand coronation in 1674.