Battle of Banavar was a land battle fought between the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

and the

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in South India, southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary allia ...

in the year 1682. The Mysore forces under King

Chikka Devaraja Devaraja Wodeyar II (22 September 1645 – 16 November 1704) was the fourteenth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1673 to 1704. During this time, Mysore saw further significant expansion after his predecessors. During his rule, centralise ...

defeated the Maratha forces and their allies under

Sambhaji Sambhaji Bhosale (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, ruling from 1681 to 1689. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing ...

, forcing him to retreat temporarily.

Background

Sambhaji's grandfather

Shahaji Shahaji Bhonsale (Pronunciation: �əɦad͡ʒiː c. 1594 – 1664) was a military leader of India in the 17th century, who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a membe ...

had conquered territories in the modern state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur Mohammed Adil Shah was the seventh ruler of Bijapur, ascending the throne in 1627. During his reign, he assisted the Mughals with their campaigns against the Ahmednagar Sultanate and signed a peace treaty with them in 1636. He died in 1656 and ...

granted him the Jagir of

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. This was the entry of the Marathas in the

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

had established Maratha territories in the Southern India in his two-year-long campaign of 1676–78. The Maratha Empire and the Kingdom of Mysore were the main contenders to dominate the region. The relationship between the two kingdoms was hostile. Marathas attacked

Srirangapatna Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Tehsil, Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian States and territories of India, State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Ranganthaswamy ...

in 1681, but they were defeated. Trichinapoly, which was under Chokkanath, the ruler of Madurai, was coveted by Chikkadevaraya. Chokkanath called for the help of Jinji's Maratha commander Harji Mahadik. Kumarayya, the Mysore commander, with a view to isolating Chokkanath from the Marathas tried to bribe Harji Mahadik liberally thinking that he would prove disloyal to Sambhaji and give as assurance of leaving Jinji. Meanwhile, Kumarayya had stealthily written to Chikkadevaraya requesting him to send reinforcements immediately. But his letter fell into the hands of Marathas. When Haraji learnt all this, he was furious and was determined to attack the Mysore capital Srirangapattana itself with all his might. He despatched a big force under the command of Dadaji Kakade, Jaitaji Katkar and others against Srirangapattana. Entering the Mysore territory these commanders encamped at Kottatti and Kasalagere situated in the modern Mandya district. Chikkadevaraya immediately ordered Kumarayya to attack Harji. Maratha Sardar Harji Raje Mahadik then defeated the Mysore general Kumaraiya. Both forces had tried to subdue each other resulting in a stalemate.

meanwhile tried to form a Deccan alliance against the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Chikkadevaraya allied himself with

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

and executed the Maratha generals Dadaji Kakade, Jaitaji Katkar and Santaji Nimbalkar. This enraged Sambhaji and he attacked the Kingdom of Mysore in June 1682 with his allies the

Nayakas of Keladi Nayakas of Keladi (1499–1763), also known as Nayakas of Bednore and Ikkeri Nayakas, were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in post-medieval Karnata ...

and

Qutb Shahi dynasty The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate (Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the coll ...

. Allied forces reached Banavar in June 1682. Lingappa, the Mysore officer at Banavar told this news to Chikkadevaraya.

Battle

Upon hearing the news, Chikkadevaraya left Mysore his strong contingent of 15,000 expert archers. He wanted to attack before the allies settled in the region. Both sides prepared for the battle. And the battle began with small skirmishes. Soon, Chikkadevaraya realised that the allied forces did not have archers. He arranged his archers in a semicircular formation and started showering arrows on the allied army. The Marathas did not expect this and the arrows started mounting casualties In the allied army. Maratha commanders tried but were unable to stop the rout. Some more reinforcements joined the Marathas during the battle, but they suffered heavy casualties in the battle. The Mysore archers took a break for dinner in the night. Sambhaji decided to change directions to avoid more casualties and he retreated towards

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

in the east to get more supplies. He returned with contingents equipped with oil coated shot-proof leather jackets, and explosive arrows to counter the Mysore archers.

Aftermath

This was a significant victory for Mysore forces and Chikkadevaraya marked it with an inscription. Sambhaji then defeated Chikkadevaraya in the ensuing battles with his new innovations. Sambhaji captured several fortresses in northern Madurai region.

References

{{reflist Conflicts in 1682 Battles fought by Marathas under Sambhaji Battles involving the Maratha Empire