Chhatrapati Sambhaji's Forgotten War on the Portuguese Inquisition
Discover the untold story of how Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj fought a two-front war against the brutal Goa Inquisition and the mighty Mughal Empire. A tale of defiance and strategy.
How Chhatrapati Sambhaji’s audacious war against the Portuguese Inquisition and the Mughal Empire forged a new chapter in Indian resistance.
Before the British, another European power ruled India’s coasts—not just through trade, but through terror. The Portuguese, entrenched in Goa, unleashed a brutal campaign of forced conversions and cultural destruction. They destroyed temples, banned Hindu festivals, and enforced their will through the horrifying Goa Inquisition.
For decades, this reign of terror went largely unchallenged. But then came Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.Unlike any ruler before him, he didn’t just resist—he took the fight directly to the Portuguese. At the same time, he found himself locked in a desperate struggle against the world’s most powerful ruler, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
Forced to battle a European colonial empire and a vast Islamic dynasty simultaneously, Sambhaji Raje made a choice that would define his reign. Was it a bold act of defiance or a reckless military gamble?
The Portuguese "Reign of Terror" in Goa
In the 15th century, a series of papal decrees gave Portugal the "divine right" to conquer, enslave, and convert non-Christian lands. When Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut in 1498, his mission was clear: shatter Islamic dominance over the spice trade and expand Christendom. By 1510, Afonso de Albuquerque had captured Goa, establishing the first European colonial foothold on the Indian subcontinent.
Initially, the Portuguese promised religious freedom to the local Hindu population. But this tolerance was short-lived.
By the 1540s, a policy of "Rigor of Mercy" began. Guided by Jesuit missionaries, the Portuguese:
Demolished Hindu temples, using their materials to build churches.
Outlawed Hindu festivals and banned the construction of new temples.
Expelled Brahmins and declared Christianity the only legal religion.
It was about to get much worse. St. Francis Xavier, a founder of the Jesuits, lobbied the King of Portugal to establish a formal Inquisition in Goa to purify the land of "heretics." In 1560, the Goa Inquisition was established. It became one of the most brutal religious tribunals in the world, targeting not just Jews and Muslims, but also the Hindu majority
“The second necessity for the Christians is that Your Majesty establish the Holy Inquisition… because there are many who live according to the Jewish law and according to the Mahomedan sect, without any fear of God or shame of the world.”
Chhatrapati Sambaji Maharaj
A New King, A Gathering Storm
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji's Raje’s father, had recognized the Portuguese threat and built the Maratha Navy specifically to challenge them. His sudden death in 1680, however, left a power vacuum. The Portuguese Viceroy celebrated, remarking that Shivaji was "far more dangerous in peace than in war.”
When Chhatrapati Sambhaji ascended the throne, he faced internal court politics and knew his father's tense relationship with the Portuguese. He initially sought peace. But the Portuguese, seeing an opportunity, preemptively occupied the island of Anjadiv in 1682 to fortify it against the Marathas.
The fragile peace was about to be shattered by events unfolding hundreds of miles to the north.
The Mughal Wildcard: A Prince on the Run
The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, a staunch Islamic orthodox, had alienated his Rajput vassals by re-imposing the jizya tax on non-Muslims. This sparked a massive Rajput rebellion. Aurangzeb sent his own son, Prince Akbar, to crush them.
But in a stunning twist, Prince Akbar rebelled against his father's harsh policies and declared himself Emperor with Rajput support. Aurangzeb, a master of deception, forged letters to make the Rajputs believe Akbar was betraying them. The alliance crumbled.
Disgraced and hunted, Prince Akbar fled south and sought asylum with the one man he knew Aurangzeb feared: Chhatrapati Sambhaji.
By sheltering Aurangzeb's rebellious son, Sambhaji had painted a giant target on his back. The Mughal emperor now had the perfect excuse to turn his entire military might toward crushing the Marathas. He immediately opened diplomatic channels with the Portuguese, forging an alliance against their common enemy.
The Portuguese secretly agreed to help, allowing Mughal warships to use their ports and supplying them with grain and intelligence. The trap was set.
In late 1682, a massive Mughal army laid siege to the Maratha fort of Kalyan. But Sambhaji, using brilliant guerrilla tactics, crushed the Mughal supply lines and forced them into a humiliating retreat. The Portuguese betrayal was now exposed.
Sambhaji had a choice: tolerate this treachery, or declare war on a global colonial power while the Mughal Emperor was marching toward him.
He chose war.
The Maratha Blitzkrieg
In July 1683, Chhatrapati Sambhaji launched a multi-front war that stunned his enemies.
The Siege of Cheul: Maratha forces launched a surprise attack on the Portuguese fort of Cheul under the cover of monsoon rains. Simultaneously, Sambhaji unleashed his navy against the Siddis of Janjira, the semi-independent naval arm of the Mughals.
Northern Devastation: The Maratha Peshwa, Nilkanth Moreshwar, swept through the northern Portuguese provinces, capturing key territories like Salsette Island and Chembur. They burned villages and destroyed crops, bringing the Maratha army to the doorstep of Bombay. The terrified English, watching the destruction, secretly entered negotiations to sell Bombay to Sambhaji.
The Battle for Ponda: To relieve the pressure on Cheul, the Portuguese Viceroy, Tavora Conde De Alvor, opened a second front in the south, laying siege to the Maratha fort of Ponda. The fort's commander, the elderly Yesaji Kank—a childhood friend of Shivaji—was badly injured, and the fort was on the verge of falling.
In a move of incredible personal bravery, Sambhaji Raje personally marched his army directly to Ponda. His forces punched through the Portuguese lines to reinforce the besieged garrison. Rejuvenated by their king's presence, the Marathas launched a ferocious counter-attack, forcing the Portuguese into a chaotic retreat. The Viceroy himself narrowly escaped death twice.
Humiliation at Santo Estevão
The war reached its climax in November 1683. In a daring covert operation, 40 Maratha soldiers infiltrated the island of Santo Estevão, a key defense for Goa. They killed the Portuguese commanders and seized their artillery. A single cannon blast was the signal.
Sambhaji's army, waiting across the river, began its assault.
The Viceroy rushed in with 400 men, marching toward a hilltop church, but it was a trap. Maratha cavalry ambushed him, striking him from his horse. As Portuguese soldiers fled in panic, many drowned in the river, their bodies floating past the horrified onlookers in Goa.
The mighty Portuguese army had been disgraced in full view of the public.
With his forces shattered and Goa's defenses breached, the Viceroy ran to the Church of Bom Jesus. In a final act of desperation, he placed his scepter in the hands of the corpse of St. Francis Xavier, surrendering the fate of Portuguese India to a dead saint.
A Twist of Fate
Just as Chhatrapati Sambhaji prepared for the final assault on the city of Goa, news arrived that Aurangzeb’s son, Shah Alam, had entered the Konkan with a colossal Mughal army of 100,000 men.
Caught between two powerful enemies, Sambhaji could not risk encirclement. He made the strategic decision to withdraw his forces from Goa.
Though he did not capture the city, his campaign was a resounding success. He had shattered Portuguese military pride, inflicted devastating economic losses, and delivered a powerful message: the Marathas would not tolerate any betrayal or interference. The Portuguese dream of expanding their empire along the Konkan coast was permanently broken.
Sambhaji’s war was not a reckless gamble; it was a calculated masterstroke of defiance that asserted Maratha sovereignty against two of the world's most formidable powers.