Thanjavur Big Temple inscriptions bring alive the fierce fight between Shivaji and  Afzal Khan

Among the many inscriptions in the Thanjavur Big Temple, a marvellous creation of the imperial Cholas, the largest record dates to the Maratha period. These inscriptions, which trace the genealogy of the Bhonsala family of Thanjavur, narrate a story that unfolds like a thriller. Bhonsala Vamsa Charitra, published by the Sarasvati Mahal Library, vividly recounts the encounter between Chhatrapati Shivaji, wearing tiger-claws, and Afzal Khan, one of the most gripping episodes in history. “The inscriptions are found on the south-western walls near the Vinayagar Temple. Written in Marathi, this is the largest inscription of Serfoji II. It describes the history of the Maratha kings and also contains praise for the Danish missionary, Rev. Friedrich Christian Schwartz. The account further records how Serfoji sent his army and offered financial assistance to the British during the war against the Marudu brothers,” M. Nalini writes in her book Rajarajisvaram.

V. Srinivasachari and S. Gopalan, editors of Bhonsala Vamsa Charitra, have documented the entire history in Marathi and Tamil, besides presenting a brief version in English. Through the book, not only does the confrontation between Shivaji and Afzal Khan — a general of the Adil Shahi dynasty of the Bijapur Sultanate — unfold vividly before the reader but also the events that followed Afzal Khan’s death. Krishnaji Pant, a Brahmin and minister of Afzal Khan, continued the fight with Shivaji after the fall of his master.