Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was the eldest son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was a brave and scholarly king who ruled the Maratha Empire for nine years, from 1681 to 1689. He won He mastered Sanskrit, Persian, Hindi, Braj, Portuguese, Arabic, Kannada, and English languages. In his short life-span of 31 years, he wrote books and composed poems in Sanskrit, Hindi, and Braj. He is remembered for his patriotism and unwavering faith.
Though he won several battles with Mughals, Sambhaji Maharaj was captured by the Aurangzeb on 1 February 1689. Upon capture of Sambhaji, Aurangzeb demanded that he: (a) Surrender all forts to the Mughals (b) Accept Aurangzeb as his ruler and (c) Convert to Islam
Sambhaji Maharaj refused all demands and chose martyrdom. The Mughals tortured him brutally – cutting out his eyes with red-hot iron rods. They cut his tongue, and kept him without food and water for a week. He never gave up and remained steadfast in his beliefs. After 40 days of torture Sambhaji was executed by beheading on 11 March 1689 at Tulapur on the banks of the Bhima river near Pune.
