Tanaji Malusare

Tanaji Kaloji Malusare^[4] or Subedar Tanaji Malusare was a military commander of the Maratha kingdom and a companion of Shivaji Maharaj.

Tanaji Kaloji Malusare
Bronze bust of Subhedar Tanaji Malusare at Sinhagad
Born	Godavli, Mahabaleshwar taluka , Satara, Maharashtra[citation needed]
Died	4 February 1670 Sinhagad, Maharashtra, India
Allegiance	Maratha Empire
Branch	Maratha Army
Years of service	c. 1646–1670
Rank	Subedar[1]
Known for	Battle of Sinhagad
Battles / wars	Capture of Torna fort[2] Battle of Pratapgarh Battle of Jawali[3] Battle of Sinhagad †
Relations	Kaloji Malusare (father) Savitri Bai (wife) Raybaji Malusare (son)

local poet Tulsidas,^[a] wrote a powada describing Subhedar Tanaji's heroics and sacrifice of life in the Battle of Sinhagad, which has since made him a popular figure in Indian folklore.^[5][6][7][b]

Background

According to the historian David Hardiman, Kolis were the early helpers of Shivaji in a revolt. Tanaji Malusare is one such prominent example whose name is memorizalized due to his act of capturing the fort of Singhad and handing it to Shivaji.^[9] Tanaji's father's name was Kaloji Malusare.^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture

An early 20th century depiction by M.V. Dhurandhar of Tanaji's vow to Shivaji and Jijabai in the presence of his son and uncle before the campaign for Kondana fort.

• Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had written a ballad on him, which was banned by the colonial British government.^[10]
• Gad aala pan sinh gela (Marathi: गड आला पण सिंह गेला) (transl. We won the fort but we lost the lion) a Marathi novel by Hari Narayan Apte was written in 1903, based on his life.^[11][12]
• In 1922 Bengali poet Jatindramohan Bagchi wrote a poem named Singhagarh stating the heroic death of Tanaji Malusare while recapturing the fort.^[13]
• Sinhagad, a 1933 Marathi film was produced by Baburao Painter, based on the 1903 novel.^[14][15]
• Bengali writer Saradindu Bandyopadhyay wrote the Sadashib series where the younger version of Tanaji was mentioned as a close associate of Shivaji.
• In 1971 Amar Chitra Katha released a comic book called Tanaji, written by Meena Talim and illustrated by Vasant B. Halbe.^[16]
• Tanaji's character is portrayed by an actor in Raja Shivchatrapati serial of Star Pravah.
• In the 2018 Marathi-language epic Farzand, Tanaji Malusare is portrayed by Ganesh Yadav.
• In the 2019 Marathi-language epic Fatteshikast, Tanaji Malusare is portrayed by Ajay Purkar.
• Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn produced and played the role of Tanaji Malusare in Tanhaji. It was based on the Battle of Kondhana, Tanhaji film theatrically released on 10 January 2020. It was a box-office hit.^[17]
• In the 2023 Marathi-language epic Subhedar, Tanaji Malusare is portrayed by Ajay Purkar.

See also

• History portal

• Baji Prabhu Deshpande
• Murarbaji
• Bahirji Naik
• Suryaji Malusare

Notes

1. not to be confused with Goswami Tulsidas
2. The text has not been dated conclusively. It is popularly accepted to be written not long after the Battle; however, some scholars have claimed the text to have been written in the eighteenth century.^[8]