All the Marathi minds have a desire to know about the descendants and ancestors of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. One such place that bears witness to history is Bhambore village in Karjat taluka of Ahmednagar district. The wada (old mansion) of the descendants of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja’s cousin Vithojiraje Bhosale is in this village. Bhambore village is 22 km from Bhigwan on Pune - Sholapur highway and 28 km from Shrigonda. With the passage of time, this wada has fallen and now only a part remains. The remaining part is like a bastion and its two parts are lying down. The construction of the bottom is made of stone and the construction above it is made of rough stones. The entire remaining structure is about 25 feet high. To enter it, there is a small door of 3 x 5 feet size at a little height and steps are now built in front of it. After entering through this door, there are three closed rooms on the right, left and the one we entered. ... There is a small path (secret way) which is small enough to go out by sitting in the hall on the left, now this path has been closed by putting a wall inside the hall, but this secret way can still be seen from the outside. At the time we visited, the road was lined with pipes. If you go in front of the hall and turn right, there is a way to go to the upper part of the wada. Only so much part of the wada is left now that this part must have been a storage place. As no other part of the mansion remains today, 10 minutes is enough to see this part. Vithoji Bhosle's descendant Praveen Bhosle currently resides here and one can see the book Bhamborkar Bhosle Dafter. Both Malojiraje and Vithojiraje were employed by brothers Vanangpal Nimbalkar. At the age of 17-18 years, both brothers were given good horses and 1200 troops were deployed and kept as servants. He went with 12000 troops to ride into Kolhapur province. Maloji and Vithoji excelled in riding. He got 1500 Mansabdari and Junnar. Later, Maloji and Vithoji supported Malik amber during the Nizamshahi. Between August 1606 and June 1607, the Malojiraje fell in the battle of Indapur. Specially, Malojiraje and Vithojiraje restored the Ghrishneshwar temple. In that temple there is an inscription saying Das Maloji Babaji and Vithoji Babaji Bhosale. It is mentioned that Malojiraje built a tank at Shikhar Shingnapur. It is in the donation letter of Sambhaji Maharaj. Vithojiraje had eight sons and one daughter. The girl's name is Ambikabai. She was senior. Their first son Sambhaji. He was killed by Jadhavrao in the battle of Mirjumla. The second son Khelaji, the third son Maloji, the fourth Kabaji went to Thanjavur with Shahaji Raja. Fifth Nagojiraje, sixth - Parsojiraje and seventh son Trimbakji went to Thanjavur. Descendants of sixth son Parsojiraje live in Bhambore. Parsoji Raje was posted by Shahaji Maharaj in Nizamshahi. He gained a good reputation by performing good feats there by settled the rebels in Warhad, Khandesh. He got a charter of land at Jalgaon Jamod for that. After Parsorji's son Sayaji Nizamshahi fell, Mughal came into power. Sayaji's two sons Rajrup and Rustumji. Rajaruparaj lived in the fort of Nandanaj and performed the imperial duties with great loyalty. Rustumji was a great doer and intellectual. Rustumji's elder Khelojiraje stayed with him at his grandfather's Jahagiri in Nandanaj. Chhatrapati Shahumharaj escaped from captivity and came to Satara. Kheloji was with them. Mokasa gazettes of Nandavaj and Bhambore were given to them. Since then Kheloji Raje came to the service of Swaraj. He was ordained to stay in Satara. Four children of Kheloji Raja - 1) Shahaji 2) Kakkaji 3) Rustumji 4) Subhanji. Subhanji and Janoji were serving in the army of Nagpurkar Bhosale. He was in the battle of Rakshasabhuvan (1753). Sri Kakkaji Raje stayed with his family at Bhambore. They had two children. One is Chimanaji Raje and the other is Appaji Raje.
© Suresh Nimbalkar