Sambhaji
Second Maratha king of the Maratha Empire, also a writer, philosopher and successor of Shivaji (1657-1689)
Sambhaji (Sambhajiraje Shivajiraje Bhonsle, Marathi pronunciation: [saːmˈbʱaːdʑiː ˈbʱos(ə)le]; 14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689), also known as Shambhuraje, ruled from 1681 to 1689 as the second king (Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Empire, a prominent state in early modern India. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire.
At the age of nine, Sambhaji was taken as a political hostage of the Mughal Empire, to guarantee his father's compliance with the treaty of Purandar. He later accompanied his father to Agra where both were placed under house arrest by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb; they subsequently escaped. He was later confined by his father at Panhala Fort, with some theories suggesting that it was due to his addiction to "sensual pleasures" or for violating a Brahmin woman. He subsequently defected to the Mughal Empire and served under Diler Khan in the Battle of Bhupalgarh against his father. He ascended the throne following his father's death, with his rule being largely shaped by the ongoing wars between the Marathas and the Mughal Empire, as well as other neighbouring powers such as the Siddi of Janjira, the Wadiyars of Mysore and the Portuguese Empire in Goa.
Early in his rule, Marathas under Sambhaji attacked and disrupted supply lines and raided into the Mughal territory, although they were unsuccessful in taking over main forts. In 1683, Sambhaji executed 24 members of influential families including top government ministers after discovering a plot to poison him. By 1685, Mughals had gradually pushed back Sambhaji's forces by taking over their strongholds.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Sambhaji” is second Maratha king of the Maratha Empire, also a writer, philosopher and successor of Shivaji (1657-1689). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Sambhaji, Second and Maratha, not as a finished interpretation.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2737041. VIAF identifies the subject as 281543772. The Library of Congress control number is n81033031. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1657, 1689, 1681 and 1683.
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This entry incorporates text from “Sambhaji” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.