“Seven Brave Men”

By Ritesh Shirpurkar

(Parataprao Gujar’s* Sacrifice – year 1674) +

Prataprao was aggrieved,

For his master was not pleased.

What he thought as a noble act,

Shivaji completely disapproved of.

He had the mighty Bijapuri general well in his grasp,

The whole army of Bahalol Khan ready to be disposed off.

But he yielded to the Bijapuri’s prayers of never to return,

And let him off the hook,

Without any favours.

Bahlol Khan however, did return,

And broke the promise to Prataprao Gujar.

Shivaji on learning of this,

Shot-off a letter to express his anger and grief.

Wrote he to his commander,

“Don’t show your face,

Till you catch the Bijapuri general.”

Stung by the sharp words of his master,

The general felt rage rising in his bosom.

And off he went in search of his enemy,

To undo an act and to redeem his honour.

And surely, he found the enemy,

A mighty swarm of thousands of Bijapuri cavalry and infantry.

And without even thinking for a second,

Parataprao impetuously galloped with full speed,

To do the impossible.

Stunned by their leader’s action,

Six loyal soldiers followed their master in a fraction.

The remaining army some distance behind,

Completely unaware of Prataprao’s spontaneous design.

The seven rode towards the enemy,

Facing eminent death that appeared so obvious to any.

The remaining army completely in dark,

As the seven rode to a lost cause.

The enemy equally stunned,

At what they thought was madness upfront.

But such was Shivaji to his men,

That even a word of his displeasure,

Meant a loss of world to them.

The seven unsheathed their swords,

Their fate written on them as clear as the edge of the sword.

When last seen, they disappeared in the sea of enemy,

With their heads held high,

And the “Bhagwa” ** fluttering in the sky.

What may have appeared as madness to the enemy,

Was a full display of courage and disregard for life, for the sake of their “Dhani” # .

This was how “Swaraj” was built,

By the blood and sacrifice of many a steel.

Of course, Shivaji repented writing that letter,

And regretted a lot losing a brave general.

Blessed is this land on which rode Shivaji,

Along with his band of brave cavalry.

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*Commander-in-chief of maratha army

+ This event took place at a place called Nesari in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra in 1674 C.E.

** The ochre-coloured flag of marathas

# Marathi word for master

By Ritesh Shirpurkar