Afzal Khan was a General loyal to the Adil Shahi dynasty, rulers of Sultanate of Bijapur (Karnataka). He was known for his strength, with his 7 ft tall bulky frame,shrewd and treacherous thinking.
He called himself “Destroyer Of idols and Idol worshippers”. He was a known enemy of the Hindu warrior King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Of the Maratha clan.
Afzal Khan had killed Shivaji’s brother, Sambhaji, treacherously. He was also responsible for the arrest of Shivaji’s father, Shahaji Bhonsale.
Afzal Khan tried every possible way, from trying to woo Maratha Sardars to destroying Hindu temples and killing Hindus, in an attempt to intimidate Shivaji into surrendering.
When he realised none of his ploys worked, he decided to play the famous “Taqqia”, by asking for a diplomatic meeting with Shivaji.
Afzal Khan sent his envoy Krushnaji Bhaskar Kulkarni to Shivaji, to convince him to meet Afzal Khan for peace talks.
The meeting was to be between an unarmed Shivaji and unarmed Afzal Khan, with each bringing 10 armed bodyguards, out of which only 2 bodyguards from each side could stand just outside the tent and the rest would stand far away from the tent.
Only Shivaji and Afzal Khan would enter the tent for diplomatic talks.
Shivaji was aware of the treacherous ways of Afzal Khan, so in turn he pretended to be afraid of Khan and requested they meet near Pratapgad, where Shivaji would surrender.
The warriors of Shivaji were familiar with the unforgiving terrain surrounding Pratapgad while the Adilshahi army was not.
Afzal Khan agreed to it and came to Machsond, a place close to Pratapgarh, for the meeting.
Shivaji’s army hid in the jungles surrounding the meeting site.
Afzal Khan had his 1500 soldiers ready and even tried to take them with him to the meeting site, but was reminded by Shivaji’s envoy, Panaji Gopinath, that it would violate the meeting agreement.
So Afzal Khan left for the meeting with 10 of his chosen armed bodyguards, who excelled in all forms of combat. He also had a dagger hidden in his vest, when he was supposed to be unarmed.
Since Shivaji was familiar with Afzal Khan’s ways, he had chosen equally proficient warriors as bodyguards, and he had worn a body armour and hidden a Katyar (dagger) and waghnakh (a weapon shaped like tiger claw and fits over knuckles), under it.
When the two met, as per the custom, Afzal Khan embraced Shivaji. Since Afzal was a very tall man, he embraced Shivaji very tightly and tried to suffocate him while simultaneously stabbing him in the back with the dagger hidden in his vest. But Shivaji’s body armour deflected the dagger!
Shivaji was too intelligent and shrewd and had come prepared for this treachery. He swiftly hit Afzal Khan in the abdomen with the baghnakh and disemboweled him.
The stunned and profusely bleeding Afzal Khan started to shout “Daga Daga! (Treachery!)” which alerted the bodyguards from both sides. While the bodyguards started to fight, Afzal Khan decided to escape, the bodyguard Sambhaji Kavaji, known for his enormous strength, beheaded Afzal Khan.
Simultaneously, Shivaji’s soldiers that were hiding in the forest, ambushed the 1500 soldiers of Adilshahi, shouting “Har Har Mahadev” and defeated them.
This date, NOV 10th 1659, was the beginning of the end of AdilShahi reign and terror.
