Prataprao Gurjar (–24 February 1674) was the

Senapati Senapati (Sanskrit: सेनापति; ''sena-'' meaning "army", ''-pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of military commander or general of the army. It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the Marath ...

of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army. He was an aristocratic general who enjoyed the trust of the king and the loyalty of his troops. He defeated a large

Mughal Army The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, ...

at the

Battle of Salher The Battle of Salher was a battle fought between the Marathas and the Mughal Empire in February 1672 CE. The battle was fought near the fort of Salher in the Nashik district. The result was a decisive victory for the Marathas. This battle is c ...

. The victory of the Marathas at Salher is seen as a definitive turning point in their military process against the Mughals. A few months before Chatrapati Shivaji's coronation in 1674, Prataprao Gujar was sent to deal with an invading force led by the

Adilshahi The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's ...

General, Bahalol Khan. The Maratha Army surrounded the camp of Bahalol Khan at the village of

Nesari Nesari is a village in Gadhinglaj Taluka of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra, India. As of 2011, it had a population of 21,000. It is about 20 kilometres from Gadhinglaj, and 30 kilometres from National Highway 48 (NH48). Geography Nesari i ...

. Prataprao's forces defeated and captured the opposing general in the battle. In spite of specific warnings against doing so by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Prataprao released Bahalol Khan, along with troops and the seized war material, when Bahalol Khan promised not to invade Maratha territories again. Days after his release, Bahalol Khan started preparing for a fresh invasion. When Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj heard of Prataprao's decision, he wrote an angry letter to Prataprao, refusing permission to see him until Bahlol Khan was re-captured. On 24 February 1674, Prataprao learned that Bahlol Khan was camping nearby. He decided to take a stand against Balol Khan at Nesari. Prataprao Gujar with 1,200 troops was against Khan with 15,000. Prataprao reasoned that there was no point in taking 1,200 men to suicide with him. He left alone without asking his cavalry to charge. It was his personal honour at stake, not his army. Seeing their leader head to certain death, six other Maratha sardars joined him in the charge. They attacked the enemy camp and were slaughtered by the Mughal Army. Anandrao and Hansaji Mohite stayed back. It was an impulsive decision, and the loss of Prataprao Gujar was a significant loss to the

Marathas The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

. Anandrao Mohite managed to take the Maratha Army to safer areas. The

Maratha Army The Maratha Army was the land-based armed forces of the Maratha Empire, which existed from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries in India. 17th century Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of Maratha Empire, raised a small yet effective l ...

avenged the death of their general by defeating Bahlol Khan, and looting his jagir (fiefdom) under the leadership of Anandrao and

Hambirrao Mohite Hambirrao Mohite was the chief military commander of Chattrapati Shivaji's army. An able military general, he executed several campaigns for Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj and later served under Chattrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Early life Hambirra ...

became the new ''Sarnaubat'' (Commander-in-chief of the Maratha forces). Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was deeply grieved and saddened on hearing of Prataprao Gujar's death at the hands of the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

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