Tanaji Malusare
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Tanaji Malusare, also known as Sinha ("the Lion"), was a renowned warrior and military leader in the army of Shivaji, a maharaja of Maharashtra in 17th century India.
Tanaji was one of the very close friends of Maharaja Shivaji, and the two had known each other since childhood. In 1672, Tanaji pledged to recapture the fortress of Sinhagad(earlier called Kondhana) (near Pune). Shivaji had earlier controlled Kondana between c. 1650 and 1660. After strengthening Kondana's defences and renaming it as Sinhagadh (i.e. 'The Lion's den'), Shivaji had been forced to cede it to the Mughals as part of the treaty of Purandar with Raja Jai Singh.
Sinhagadh was a well-defended stronghold located at the top of steep cliffs, and was considered to be nearly impossible to capture by force. It was garrisoned by about 1000 tough Rajput soldiers led by Uday Bhanu Rathod.
Tanaji mounted a surprise attack, escalading the fort on a moonless night from the steepest part of the cliffs. The Marathas suffered heavy casualties initially and Tanaji was himself killed in the initial part of the battle. After a pitched fight, the Marathas managed to open the gates of the fort from inside, allowing the remainder of their attacking force to get in and complete the capture of the fort.
When Shivaji learned of his friend's death, he remarked "gad ala pan Sinha gela", meaning "the fortress was won, but the Lion was lost".(It is often incorrectly believed that Kondhana was renamed Sinhagad in Tanaji's honour. As stated above, it was renamed much earlier than that.)
Today, Sinhagad is a major tourist spot, and a historical attraction. The fort itself is in bad shape but the cliffs are as imposing as they ever were.