Marathi - Latche marathi Aetihasik Lekh Part 01

Author(s): Vidyanand Swami Srivastava
Publisher: Aietihasik Gaurava Granthmala

Page 19

lacking in their sympathy, zeal and active support to the founder of the Maratha Empire and to his generals; rather they were instrumental for the success of some of the Maratha expeditions in Gujarat.
28. Hitherto the co-operation of the Bansda Chaulukyas with the great Shivaji and the misery that followed in the trail in this connection with the Marathas were matters of mere Bardic tradition. But recent researches reveal the important part played by Bansda at the time of Shivaji's first and second expeditions of Surat and also at times when other Maratha generals invaded Gujarat.
29. According to these researches the first Prince of Bansda who helped Chhatrapati Shivaji at the time of his Surat expedition: was Rawal U diabhan. Of course, there is no direct evidence to that effect but the indirect one is also of no mean value. Moropant the commander-in-chief of Shivaji's forces writes in one of his letters addressed to his companion Prataprao Gujar as early as 1671 and asks him to proceed further from Kobvan through the Ghotmal Ghat and to enlist the help of Rawal Mulraj of Bansda. He asks Prataprao to remind Mulraj of the friendship of his father with Shivaji, while asking him to join his forces with Marathas against Mughals.
30. This indirect evidence is of great value and is conclusive of Rawal Udaibhan's friendship with Shivaji and his part in aforesaid Surat expeditions. Shivaji sacked Surat first in 1664 and second time in 1869. We can easily conclude that Rawal Udaibhan died some time after 1669 and before 1871, and was succeeded by his son Rawal Mulraj. If we give even 25 years for Rawal Udaibhan the average of this family and the contemporary ruling families, the time of Udaibhan's succession will go back to 1645 A. D. Thereby Rawal Udaibhan appears to be contemporary of Shivaji from the very beginning of his rige.
31. As our present concern is to deal solely with those papers incorporated in our present volume, we refuse to enter into the discussion of Bansda's more ancient history.
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara Surat