Afzal Khan, his Death and the Killing of Sixty-Three of his Wives

After murdering sixty-three of his wives, Afzal Khan met his death at the hands of the Maratha king- Shivaji and his body never found its home in the designated grave at Bijapur.

View of the sixty-three graves- ' Saat Kabar', Bijapur. Source- golgumbaz.com

Ruling from Bijapur, the centre of the Adil Shahi sultanate in the Deccan region of South India was Ali Adil Shah II. The 8th Sultan in a long line of rulers, his reign lasted from 1657 until his untimely death in 1672, due to paralysis. Apart from the troubles that stemmed from the sieges by Aurangzeb, it was the rebellion by Shivaji that became the ultimate source of issues for the young Sultan. A source that eventually killed his towering general- Afzal Khan and soon brought the curtain down on the Bijapur Sultanate.

Succeeding Khan Muhammed, as a general in the court of Ali Adil Shah II, Afzal Khan grew to be an important personality in the kingdom. He was of Afghan descent and had a towering physique, standing at 7 feet with immense strength and excellent commanding capabilities, all of which enabled him to play an integral role in the southern expansion of the Adil Shahi sultanate. Afzal Khan continued to live, enjoy his harem and be a formidable force in Adil Shah’s army until the time came to face a rebellion by another Bijapur general- Shahaji’s son- Shivaji. The 1650s saw Shivaji ramping up his rebellion against the sultanate, and the Bijapur ruler had nothing on his plate and decided to respond to this festering issue. The sultan decided to send an expedition to resolve the matter and Afzal Khan was selected to lead the same.

Afzal Khan’s departure from Bijapur started on an ominous note, just the beginning of a long line of unfortunate events that lay in his fate and intertwined with him was the fate of his wives too.

The astrologers warned the general that this would be his last battle and that he would not return alive. Having complete trust in their prophecy, he set into motion the construction of his cenotaph complex. He decided to murder his wives so that their fate is not left in the hands of the enemies or any other men. Few of the women managed to escape while sixty-three were drowned in a well that is part of his cenotaph complex. With the blood of sixty-three helpless innocent humans on his hands, Afzal Khan set out to defeat Shivaji. All through the journey, he destroyed temples, and even slaughtered a cow, before finally setting up camp at the town of Wai in Maharashtra, in November 1659.

In the absence of local support from Wai’s Hindu Deshmukhs, Afzal Khan decided to send his envoy and lawyer to meet Shivaji and pacify him. Shivaji, instead convinced the envoy and was able to get brief information that the general was planning to murder him. Finally, Shivaji and Afzal Khan agreed to meet at the foot of the Pratapgad Fort. The meeting took place in a luxurious tent that was set up by Shivaji. Aware of Khan’s intentions, Shivaji had come prepared wearing chainmail, armour under his clothes and concealed a sword in his right hand and tiger claws or metal hooks called Wagh nakh on his left arm. As was custom, Shivaji approached Afzal Khan, and the latter approached to embrace him. Afzal Khan then tried to attack him with his own concealed dagger and tightened his grip on the Maratha warrior. Protected by his under armour, Shivaji sensed this and instead struck him back with his Wagh nakah. Grievously injured, the general ran out. After this, sources differ on who exactly killed and beheaded Afzal Khan. In the end, his head and body were carried off to be presented to the goddess Bhavani and Shivaji’s mother. Finally, bringing closure to the tense encounter between the two factions, Afzal Khan’s head was buried under the 'Abdullah Tower’ and the body was buried respectfully as per customs, with a tomb at Javli, Pratapgad.

With the body miles away, Afzal Khan’s tomb still sits empty, on the highest ground at the village of Takki in Shahapur, close to Bijapur. The complex includes a well, ruins of his palace, and a mosque- the only two-storey mosque in or around Bijapur. To the southwest of the palace, above a large stone platform sit the eerie eleven rows of tombs. Sixty-three in number with one space left empty and two tombs empty. The tombs, now known as ‘Saat Kabar’ are under the Archaeological Survey of India, but are not popular. With the paths to this complex taken over by wild vegetation and reptiles, the innocent victims, their bodies and stories lie deserted and away from the masses.