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It was 1683. Jihadi Aurangzeb had decided to strangulate Swarajya by tightening his grip from all sides of the Maratha Kingdom. He had sent his enoy to meet viceroy Francisco de Távora at the Portuguese stronghold - Panaji.
The Portuguese were no friends of Marathas and they considered this to be a God sent opportunity to vanquish the growing influence of Marathas in Goa and the konkan region.
The deal was signed and the Portuguese allowed a free passage for the Mughal naval ships at strategic locations in the sea and also supplied them with cannons and other ammunitions.
The far sighted king - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, knew of the impending threat of the Portuguese and to keep a check on them, he had already secured Ponda Fort in Goa.
The small but strategically important fort was guarded by the brave Yesaji and Krishnaji Kank, the father-son duo along with 600 other Mavlas.
Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj had already received complaints from the local Hindus of the forceful religious conversions done by the Portuguese in Goa. He had to settle this score, and now with the Portuguese joining hands with Mughals was the last straw.
Assuming that the Marathas would cow down to the Mughal threat, the Portuguese decided to go on the offensive. Francisco de Távora marched towards Ponda fort with 8000 soldiers and long range artillery cannons.
Francisco de Távora was an experienced and brave general. He had successfully led various military operations in Spain and was also appointed as a Governor at Ankola, before taking charge of Panaji, Goa. To accurately attack the defense of Ponda Fort,
he ordered his men to station the cannons atop an adjacent hilltop & then open fire. The continuous assault of the cannons caused the outer wall of the Ponda fort to crumble. Just like river water would gush through an opening, similarly the Portuguese army stormed into the fort.
However Yesaji Kank and his son Krishnaji Kank were standing in front of them like death personified. Seeing their leader giving a brave fight to the charging enemy the 600 Mavlas got surcharged and fought like lions. The Portuguese outnumbered the Marathas,
yet they were left with no option but to retreat from the fort because of the fatal attack launched by the Marathas. The Marathas continued to repel the Portuguese attack for 8 consecutive days and nights.
Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was at Rajapur when he heard the news of Ponda coming under the Portuguese attack. At once the valiant King decided to teach the arrogant Portuguese a lifelong lesson and left for the rescue of Ponda with his 2000 horsemen.
The 8 days of fight given by the Marathas led by Yesaji Kank helped Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj reach Ponda on time. The description of the onslaught of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj on the Portuguese army is recorded by the viceroy himself.
He said, 'We can withstand a storm or a cyclone but not the raid of Sambhaji. Just like grasses get uprooted and flown away when a mad elephant enters a garden, similarly our army flew apart by the charging army of Sambhaji.'
Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was fighting as if possessed. His eyes raged with anger was searching for the Viceroy who dared challenge his supremacy. While slaying the enemy flanks and making his way through, he spotted the viceroy.
Galloping towards his adversary and crying out "Har Har Mahadev!!", he raised his sword and crushed it towards the Portuguese general. SWISH!!!!!! Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj missed him by an inch and the sword landed on the neck of Francisco de Távora's horse.
Francisco de Távora was trembling in fear looking at the mutilated body of his horse, contemplating what would have happened if Sambhaji wouldn't have missed his target. Francisco further writes, 'He had never seen such a warrior nor such bloodshed in his life.'
Neither the 8000 strong army nor the powerful cannons could face the wrath of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The Portuguese started running berserk leaving behind their weapons and artillery. Franciso writes, 'That day no one came to our rescue except the Mandovi river.'
The panic-stricken Portuguese crossed the Mandovi river and seeing Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and his men following them, the Viceroy ordered his men to blow the dam. The river water came down gushing, but the impassioned Maratha King paid no heed to it.
The violent flowing river swayed away the Maratha King along with his horse. The horse toppled and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj's leg got entangled in the saddle. The Maratha King was getting drowned, while he was struggling to let loose his leg.
Seeing the precarious condition of his King, Khando Ballal jumped into the river and rescued Sambhaji Maharaj from a certain death.
If it was not for the Mandovi river, Goa would have been freed from the Portuguese in 1683, long before the Goa Liberation Day - December 19, 1961. But alas, destiny had some other plans and the wait for the Liberation of Goa got delayed by 278 long years.
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