The Mahurkar clan which is famous by the name of ‘ Sardar Mahurkar’ in the erstwhile princely state of Gwalior is a sept of the Solanki clan. It derives its surname from its ancestral village Mahur near fort Purandar in Pune district. Solanki is pronounced as Salunke in Marathi. Its Gotra is Bharadwaj like in the case of all Solanki Rajputs across India and its sacred bird is Common Myna, called Salunki in Marathi. The Kuldevta of the clan is Shri Khandoba ( Martand Bhairav ). In Maharashtra there are three main Solanki families – Patankars from Patan near Karad, who were Sardars under Kolhapur State, Mahurkars of Mahur near Purandar and Kathikar Deshmukh, a big landholding family. The first known Mahurkar to come into prominence was Sardar Bhikajirao ( 1740‑1800 ).
He served under Peshwa Balaji Bajirao and fought in the 3rd battle of Panipat in 1761 against the Afghan invader Ahmedshah Abdalli as a 20‑year‑old. He fought from the contingent of Sadashivrao Bhau, the supreme commander of Maratha forces at Panipat. He was injured in that famous battle. Later his son’s services were transferred to the great Maratha General Mahadji Shinde ( Scindia) who virtually ruled over entire North and Central India in the later part of the 18thcentury. Mahadji rose to become the Wakil‑e‑Muttaliq and protector of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam and did the great work of restoring Hindu worship to its old glory at important holy places of North India including Mathura and Vrindavan. After Emperor Akbar’s tolerant rule mSultanrao’s son, Jagdeorao Babasaheb Mahurkar (1812‑1872 ) , scaled greater heights of glory when he became the commander‑in‑chief of the Gwalior Army under Maharaj Jayajirao Shinde the great grandfather of Maharaj Madhavrao Shinde‑II , in whose unfortunate death in a plane crash in 2001 India lost a dynamic leader. Sardar Jagdeorao was honoured with the title of “ Laat Sahab “ by Gwalior Darbar.After Sardar Jagderorao , his son, Sultanrao‑II , and grandson, Ganpatrao, became Naib Diwan of Gwalior. Another prominent member of the clan before independence was Sardar Vinayakrao Balasaheb Mahurkar, who was closely related to Maharaj Madhavrao Scindia , great grandfather of Jyotiraditya Scindia, being his maternal cousin.
Thereafter members of the clan continued to serve the Gwalior Darbar and simultaneously rose in different fields after independence thus living up to the high reputation of their forefathers.
The dynamic brothers also played a historical role in chasing and tracking down the barbaric Rohilla chief Ghulam Kadir who had gorged out the eyes of Emperor Shah Alam in 1788 in an act of horrid cruelty. Sultanrao and Fakirjirao were injured in the fight with Ghulam Kadir who was captured and then killed. Later the duo were made in‑charge of the military cantonment set up by Mahadji at Gwalior to train his army along modern European lines. The trio passed away in 1830s after serving under Maharaja Daulatrao Shinde. Any Hindu temples had become the target of the fanatic fury of Aurangzeb and later Ahmadshah Abdalli. Mahadji got the Mughal emperor to ban cow slaughter in Mughal empire thus laying the foundation of religious freedom which one sees in India today.
Shri Uday Mahurkar's ancestors, the Maratha commanders Bhikajirao and his brother Viharji played a most pivotal role in May 1786 defeating Tipu Sultan’s forces in the battle of Badami Fort in Karnataka. Viharji sacrificed his life in the battle while Bhikajirao was injured. Bhikajirao’s exploit in this battle brought him much recognition in the Maratha empire. History records show Bhikajirao also fought in the famous battle of Kharda in the Deccan against Nizam‑ul‑Mulk of Hyderabad in 1795 in which the Nizam was defeated. The battle of Kharda is remembered in history as the last great joint exploit of Maratha chiefs under Peshwa’s banner before the onset of British rule.
In 1780s Sardar Bhikajirao’s sons , Santajirao, Sultanrao and Fakirjirao, fought in Mahadji’s military campaigns in Central and North India and Rajputana along with members of other most prominent Maratha Sardar families like Shitole, Jadhav, Angre, Ingle, Phalke, Mahadik, Sampgaonkar Kadam , Girvikar Kadam, Jintikar Bhonsle, Awad besides Bhoite and Jagtap and Maratha Brahman Sardar families like Chitnis , Pagnis and Bakshi.
Later the Patankar clan also played prominent role in North India in the time of Maharaj Daulatrao Shinde, Mahadji’s successor.
Significantly, Santajirao , Sultanrao and Fakirjirao fought in the famous battle of Tunga near Jaipur on July 28, 1787 in which Mahadji’s fortitude saved the Maratha army from annihilation at the hands of the joint forces of Jaipur and Jodhpur. They also fought in the historic battles of Patan (near Jaipur ) and Merta in 1790 in which Mahadji defeated the Jaipur and Jodhpur forces, thus extracting revenge for the setback Marathas had suffered at the hands of the Rajput forces at Tunga.
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