.jpg "The Great King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj") |
| The Great King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj |
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Information-
Name- Chhatrapati ShahajiRaje Bhosale
Birth Place- Shivneri Fort
Birth Date- 19 February 1630
Total Age- 50 year
Mother's Name- Jijamata ShahajiRaje
Bhosale
Father's Name- ShahajiRaje Bhosale
Royal Family- Bhosale Family
Coronation Ceremony- 6th June 1674
Capital of Empire- Raigad
Currency- Hon, Shivrai,(gold coin,
silver coin)
Daith- 3 April 1680
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a
great Indian King and Strategist. Chhatrapati laid the foundation of the Maratha
Empire in western India 1674. For that he had to fight with Mughal Empire King
Aurangzeb. Not only this, also had to fight with Adil Shah & the British.
In 1674, the Maharaja was crowned at Raigad and became the Chhatrapati of the
Maratha Empire.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
established an efficient progressive administration with help of this
disciplined & well- organized administrative elements. He made many
innovations in martial arts and developed a new style of guerilla warfare, the
Shivsutra. He revived the ancient Hindu Political system and court etiquette.
Birth of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj-
Maharaj was born on 19 February 1630
at Shivneri Fort. Maharaja's father Shahaji Bhosale was a general in the army
of the Sultan of Bijapur and Maharaja's mother Jijabai was a talented woman
born in the Jadhav clan.
It is said that Jijabai asked Shivai
Devi to give her a strong son. That is why Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was
named Shivaji. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's character was similar to that of
his parents. Maharaj was greatly influenced by his parents.
His childhood passed under the
guidance of his mother. His mother Jijabai trained the Maharaja in politics and
warfare as well as the discipline needed to attack foreign powers. He took
charge of Maharaj's education and taught him the art of war. Even at such a
young age, Maharaj had begun to understand this whole incident.
The flame of Swarajya lit up in his heart. They wanted to build their own kingdom. Maharaja wanted to get independence for his state. Along with Maharaja there were some brave and true friends who helped Maharaja to establish Swaraj.
Desire to create Swarajya &
Swarajya Oath-
Shahaji Maharaj entrusted the
administration of entire Maharashtra to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Jijabai
and sent them to Pune. The Jahangiri system was maintained by a few loyal
chieftains appointed by Dadaji Konddev and Shahaji Raja.
Like mother Jijabai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also had tenacity, patriotism and a goal to get out of difficult situations. It is because of these qualities that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born. The teachings and inspiration received from his mother inspired Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to create Swaraj. Swarajya means own state. Maharaja felt that forts were necessary if he wanted to protect his sovereignty.
Swarajya Oath-
 |
| The Great King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Taking Oath of Swarajya in Raireshwar Temple |
Raireshwar Fort is a witness to the oath of Swarajya. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took the oath of Swarajya on this fort. When he was only 16 years old, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj built Swarajya Toran at Raireshwar Fort. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who wanted to establish Hindu Swaraj formed a group of brave youths which he named "Mawla". Mawlas shed their blood for Swarajya. In a span of just fifty years, he subjugated the kings of Bijapur and Delhi.
Maharaja announced the establishment
of Hindu Swarajya at Raireshwar Fort and crowned him. Hinduism got its rightful
king. The people of the state started telling their future to Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj
Maharaja protected the Temples
of Hinduism and at the age of 16, Maharaja took the Swarajya oath at the
Raireshwar Temple on 27 April along with Kanhoji Jedhe, Baji Pasalkar, Tanaji
Malsure,Yesaji Kank, Suryaji Kakade, Narasprabhu Gupte, Sonopant Dabir,
Suryaji Malusare.
Marriage of Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj -
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj married
Saibai Nimbalkar on 14 May 1640 at Lal Mahal Pune. Maharaj had eight marriages
in total. In order to continue practical politics, Maharaja had a total of
eight marriages. The Maharaja succeeded in bringing the Maratha chieftains
under one umbrella.
He later married Soyrabai
Mohite, Putlabai Palkar, Sakwarbai Gaikwad, Kashibai Jadhav and Sagunabai
Shinde. He was also married to Gunwantibai Ingle and Lakshmibai Vikhare. Saibai
gave birth to a son Sambhaji (1657 to 1689) and Soyrabai to Rajaram (1670 to
1700). Apart from this, Maharaja also had some daughters.
How the first battle of Torna Fort was
won By Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj-
In the seventeenth century it was
generally believed that the fort was ruled by the forts. Due to this fact
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj captured many forts in his territory and also built
some new forts. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also captured Prachandagarh and
renamed it Torna.
At the age of sixteen, Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj had decided to establish Swarajya. For that, Maharaja wanted
more and more forts under his control, so he decided to capture Torna fort
first. At that time Torna fort was under the control of Adil Shah of Bijapur.
The Maharaja took the oath of Swarajya
in 1645 and then in 1647 Kanhoji Jedhe, Baji Pasalkar, Tanaji Malusare, Suryaji
Malusare, Suryaji Kakade, Yesaji Kank, Bapuji Mudgal, Sonopant Dabir captured
the fort and built the Swarajya Toran. And he named Prachandagarh fort as Torna.
Meanwhile, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
also captured the forts of Kondhana (Singhgad and Purandar) from Adil Shah and
proved his complete supremacy over Pune province. Not only this, the Maharaja
also captured the hill of Murumbadev in front of the Torna fort, repaired it
and renamed it as Rajgad. And all this was done by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajat the age of seventeen.
Expansion of the State-
At a time when the kingdom of Bijapur
was going through a period of internal strife and foreign invasion, the
Maharaja began to strategize against the sultans of the empire instead of
serving them. The Maval region is adjacent to the Western Ghats and is 150 km
long and 30 km wide. Due to his life of struggle, he is considered a skilled
warrior. Marathas and other castes also lived in this area.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj organized
the people of all these castes in the name of Mawlis and got in touch with them
and got to know them. He brought youths and started the construction of the
fort. Further, the cooperation of Mavlas became very important for Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj. At that time Bijapur was suffering from intrusions and Mughal
invasions. Sultan Adil Shah of Bijapur withdrew his forces from several forts
and handed them over to local rulers or feudal lords.
Adil Shah's illness was now discussed
in Bijapur and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj decided to take advantage of the
situation and enter Bijapur. Later Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj started
capturing the forts of Bijapur. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj first captured
Torna Fort and later Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj captured Rohideshwar Fort.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj sent one
of his messengers to Adil Shah and said, I am ready to pay you more money than
the keeper of the previous fort. So, in order to capture this region, the
Maharaja had already bribed some of Adil Shah's chieftains to join his side.
Rajgad fort was 10 km away from there.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was captured there and when Adil Shah got it, he
asked Shahji Raja to keep an eye on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. But
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj captured the Chakan fort and won the Kondhana fort.
Aurangzeb sent Mirza Raja Jai Singh
to capture 23 forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and also destroyed Purandar
Fort. At that time Maharaja had to hand over his son Sambhaji to Mirza Raja Jai
Singh. So Maharaja captured Kondhana fort. Tanaji Malsure died a heroic death
at Kondhana Fort, hence Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj named this fort Sinhagad.
Shahaji Raj was given Jagirdari of
Supa and Pune. The fort of Supa was under the control of Mahadji Nilakanthrao.
Maharaja attacked the Supe fort at night and captured the fort. Baji Mohite was
sent to Shahaji Raja in Karnataka.
His army also joined Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj's army. At the same time the chieftain of the Purandar fort
died and his three sons quarreled over the inheritance of the fort. On the
invitation of two brothers, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj reached Purandar Fort.
Maharaj was the ruler of Chakan Nira
region till 1647. As the Maharaja's army was now increasing, he decided to
enter the battlefield. The Maharaja sent an army under the command of Abaji
Soundar to Konkan after forming a cavalry force. All the looted property was
kept safe in Raigad. After the release of the Governor of Kalyan, Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj proceeded towards Kulabia.
The killing of Afzal Khan-
Maharaja's bravery accelerated his
movement to capture the fort. Due to this there was chaos between Mughals,
Nizams and Adil Shahi. That's why Adil Shah A.D. In 1659, he decided to kill
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his court. Adil Shah was very angry with his
soldiers and therefore he challenged his soldiers that one of you will kill
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Then a soldier named Afzal Khan came forward and
took a vow to kill the Maharaja.
Afzal Khan set out with a large army
to defeat Maharaj. On the way he started destroying all the Hindu temples and
harassing the poor as well. On reaching Wai, the Maharaja decided to meet him
at Pratapgad. Afzal Khan was sitting at the foot of Pratapgarh.
On the day of the visit, Afzal Khan was saying that the Maharaja himself should come to meet. It's time to meet.
Afzal Khan was a fraud. That's why Maharajani kept the tiger's claw hidden in
his armor and touched mother Jijabai's feet and took her blessings.
Maharaj went to meet Afzal Khan. Along
with the Maharaja was Jiwa Mahal and Afzal Khan's Sardar Syed Banda was his
trusted chieftain. It was decided to meet at the camp built by Afzal Khan at
the foot of Pratapgarh.
Afzal Khan sent a message to meet
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Maharaj was aware of his lethal nature. No one
would have any weapons for the visit and one of the 10 bodyguards from both
parties would wait outside the awning. This was the condition.
During the visit, Afzal Khan reached the canopy early. The canopy was huge. It was decided to meet unarmed. However, this Afzal Khan had hidden the dagger under his coat.
Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj had guessed that Afzal Khan would do some conspiracy and ambush. So they also wore armor under their tunics, Jiretop wore his helmet down and concealed a barely visible tiger claw in his fist. It was decided that both lawyers would be right. Although Afzal Khan was tall and tall, this Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje reached the canopy without fear. Seeing Shivaraya, Afzal Khan stretched out his hands to embrace him saying, "Come Shivaba, come into our embrace". Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj hugged him.
Afzal Khan tried to
take him in his arms and Afzal Khan stabbed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the
back with a hidden dagger and tried to hold him in his arms. Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj was wary from earlier. With Afzal Khan's blow, Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj took out the tiger claws from his fist and inserted them into
his stomach and pulled out his intestines and killed him.
In this way Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj killed Afzal Khan with his wits. Afzal Khan screamed "Daga
Daga" Hearing his voice the Sayyid standing outside came in. Seeing Afzal
Khan killed, he tried to attack Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with a stick.
By that time, Jiva Mahal saved the
life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by attacking him from behind and killing
the Syed by thwarting his attack. It is said that "Shiva was saved as a
soul". All the Mawlas hiding in the bush attacked Afzal Khan's army and
drove them away.
Afzal Khan's son Fazal Khan and some
of his army had also reached the main camp of Wai, but seeing this feat of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, they fled leaving the entire army, elephants and
cavalry.
Siege of Panhala Fort -
Afzal Khan's assassination created a
stir in the Adilshahi court. And the saga of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's
prowess had reached Bijapur as well. So now when Adil Shahi and Mughals were
suffering, they were very afraid of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Adilshahi
decided to get Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj out of the way as soon as possible.
After the killing of Afzal Khan, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj conquered Panhala
fort in Kolhapur.
This was a different blow to
Adilshahi. A large tract of land from Wai to Panhala was now included in the
Maratha Empire. Afzal Khan's son Fazal Khan and Rustam-i-Zaman of Bijapur both
marched on the Maratha empire to stop Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
On 18 December 1659, Maharaja defeated
both of them fighting with only 5000 soldiers. With the defeat of these two,
the Adilshahi army was on fire. And so Adil Shah sent Siddhi Johar to defeat
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Siddhi Jauhar was accompanied by
20,000 cavalry, 40,000 infantry and artillery. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
besieged Mirza's fort, but on learning that Siddhi Jauhar was marching on the
Maratha Empire, Shivaji Maharaj arrived at Panhalgad on 2 March 1660. Siddi
Johar besieged Panhalgarh.
Siddhi started firing on Panhal fort
but lost his aim due to loss of height of Panhal fort. Siddi bought long-range
guns and ammunition from the Marathi British and helped Siddi Johar by breaking
the peace treaty the British had signed with the Maharaja. On 10 May 1660,
Siddhi resumed firing at Panhalgarh.
The siege was so severe that the
Maharaja felt that the siege would not last long as the rains were approaching.
But Siddhi Johar had started putting grass on her camp to avoid the rain. Adil
Shah was enraged by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's prowess, so Adil Shah
enlisted the help of the Mughals and Aurangzeb sent Shahiste Khan with 77,000
cavalry and 30,000 infantry to invade Swarajya.
But now our sovereignty was in danger.
Siddhi on one side and Shahistekhan on the other. On 9 May 1660, Shahiste Khan
camped at the Lal Mahal in Pune. In the same Lal Mahal where our Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj grew up. Where Jijabai gave the rites to Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj. Now the Shahistekhana was sitting in the same Lal Mahal. He started
oppressing the people there.
As the siege intensified, Netaji
Palkar attacked Bijapur directly but was defeated by the Bijapur army. Now
Jijabai was very worried about Shivba. Because the rains were about to start
now and the siege was almost three months away.So Jijabai herself decided to
take up arms and break the siege of Panhala but Netaji Palkar took the
responsibility. Netaji Palkar along with Siddhi Hilal and his son Siddhi Wahwah
attacked Panhalagad. But they failed.
Now everyone and Jijabai were worried
about Shivba but Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj suggested a trick. He took a letter
from his lawyer Pant on 12 July 1960 and sent it to Siddhi Johar. And all the
earned money and castles are ready for your possession.
The Adil Shah were overjoyed to read
this letter and eased the siege which had been going on for so long. Taking
advantage of this opportunity, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj decided to leave
Panhalgad at night and go to Vishal Gad. Out of the 8000 soldiers in the fort,
he decided to advance to Vishalgad with about 600 leading Mawlas. For that,
Maharaj chose a distant path.
Maharaja had started his march towards
Vishalgarh. As soon as Siddi Jauhar heard the news of Maharaj's escape from
Panhalgad, he sent back some of his troops and himself followed Maharaj through
Gajapur Ghat, but he had already besieged the huge fort. He wasted no time in
this.
By the time Siddhi Johar reached
Gajapur Ghat, Baji Prabhu Deshpande had asked the Maharaja to go to Vishalgad
with 300 mawlas and he himself stayed at Gajapur Ghat with 300 mawlas.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj left on the night of July 12 and reached Vishalgad
at six o'clock the next day.
In this battle, Bajiprabhu was
attacked and many Mawlas were killed, but Bajiprabhu continued to fight till
the end. They did not allow Siddi Johar to cross the ghats, they only waited
for him to reach the grand fort of the Maharaja. As soon as Maharaj reached
Vishalgad there was a sound of guns and Bajiprabhu heard that Maharaj had
reached Vishalgad safely and at the same time Bajiprabhu gave up his life.
The pass was sanctified by the blood
and sacrifice of Bajiprabhu and many Mawlas and Gajapur Pass came to be known
as Pavankhind.
Raid on Surat (Aurangzeb's Economical Capital)-
This victory of Surat increased the
prestige of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. For six years, Shahistekhan waited for
his freedom with one and a half lakh soldiers. The ongoing war had dented the
coffers of the Swarajya. Mughals did not need to think about it as they had
looted their Swarajya and were living in comfort.
Surat was a port for Western traders
and a gateway for Hajj for Indian Muslims. At that time Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj along with 6000 soldiers looted the merchants of Surat in 1664. This
loot was done by the Maharaja without killing old people, women and children
and he was aware of all religious matters, that is he looted without destroying
the church. This loot facilitated two things, one was to appeal to the Mughal
power and the other was to increase the coffers of Swarajya.
Battle of Purandar Fort-
Adil Shah was disturbed by the
progress of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and asked Shahaji Raja to keep an eye
on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj but Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj continued his
rule regardless of Shahaji Maharaj. Then Adil Shah imprisoned Shahji Raja in
1649. As most of Adilshah's forts were under the control of Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj, Adilshah appointed Fateh Khan to watch Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj chose
Purandar fort for this battle but at that time Purandar fort was not under the
control of his Marathas but at that time it was under the control of Mahadji
Nilakanthrao. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was in a very difficult situation
with his father under the control of Adil Shah and his sovereignty threatened
by Fateh Khan on the other hand. At the same time the fort lord of Purandar
died and his three sons fought over the possession of the fort.
At this time Shivaji Maharaj entered.
The Marathas won this fort after fighting with Fateh Khan. Shivaji Maharaj got
great success in this war. Later, in 1655, Netaji Palkar, a loyal chieftain,
was appointed as the head of the fort. Maharaj did not stop here, but entered
the major cities of the port of Surat on the west coast.
After the raid of Surat and the defeat
of Shahiste Khan enraged Aurangzeb and he was appointed by Mirza Raja Jai
Singh to defeat Shivaji Maharaj.Dilarkhan, who was with Jaisingha, started
firing at Purandar from Vajragarh and Purandar fell. Then the Mughal army
entered the fort and Khan fought Murarbaji at Machi. Murarbaji was defeated and
defeat was inevitable. Maharaja gave 23 forts in this tehsil. 'The Great King'
Visit to Agra (Aurangzeb's Capital)-
Maharaj's life was very difficult. One
crisis is over and another crisis awaits them. In 1666, Aurangzeb called the
Maharaja to Delhi to discuss the invasion of Bijapur. Maharaj reached Delhi
with Sambhaji for New Year.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was
insulted by Aurangzeb and immediately left Aurangzeb's court. But Aurangzeb sent
his soldiers to arrest him and arrested him, and soon sent him to Raje Ram
Singh, son of Mirza .Jaising, at Agra.
Everyone feared Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj because of his prowess and bravery. Mirza Raje Ram Singh also had the
same fear. That is why he kept a watchful eye on Maharaj. Now it became a bit
difficult to rescue Maharaj. But every time Maharaj came up with a good idea.
Maharaj pretended to be sick. When his health was not good, he started getting
fruits from there.
Earlier these boxes were checked very
thoroughly but after some time some carelessness was noticed in the checking.
Then Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji Maharaj took advantage of this
opportunity and without checking the box went inside and ran away sitting in a
box. In his stead his trusted Sardar Hiroji Farjad put on his clothes and slept
in the room so that the marks of the Maharaja's ring could be seen.
After reaching a short distance, the
Maharaja too blew the trumpet to the guards and ran away. When no movement was
seen in the room, the soldiers started a search. After that he noticed that
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also escaped from here. He realized this only 24
hours after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj escaped from his hands. Changing his
disguise, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj reached Mathura instead of going to
Swarajya and sent some of his loyal Sardars and Sambhaji Rajas.
Even after that Maharaja had to be
very careful as he himself reached here through many difficulties. Not only
this, the Ashta Pradhan Mandal established by the Maharaja had done the work of
Swaraj in the absence of the Maharaja. 'The Great King'
Mughal-Maratha conflict-
Now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had
returned to Maharashtra. Now it was time to avenge the insult done to Delhi.
Similarly, he decided to conquer Kondhana fort first. We were successful in the
battle of Kondhana but our knight Tanaji Malusare died a heroic death. The
remaining forts were also successfully captured by Maharaj.
Aurangzeb's dream of becoming an
emperor in North India remained unfulfilled. Realizing that this dream was not
coming true, he now decided to look south. That is why Aurangzeb had a good
idea of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's prowess and his supremacy. So he made
his uncle Shahiste Khan the Subhadar of the South.
He camped at Lal Mahal in Pune. Also
they tortured the people of Tikkad so Shivaji Maharaj decided to teach them a
lesson. And he marched on Shahiste Khan with his 300 soldiers. When they
started fighting at night, Shahistekhan survived but lost four
fingers.Shahistekhan's son and numerous troops were also martyred in this war.
Maharaj decided to take revenge that the entire state was waiting for Swarajya
because of Shahiste Khan. Maharaja decided to overthrow Surat.
The encounter between Panhala and
Purandar enraged Aurangzeb and so he invited the Maharaja to Delhi for talks
but when he got there Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj accused Aurangzeb of
betraying him as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj did not get the respect he
expected. This was not tolerated by Aurangzeb and he sent Shivaji Maharaj to
Agra and kept him under house arrest.
But Maharaj also escaped safely. At
that time Sambhaji Raje was also with Maharaja, so he left Sambhaji Raja at the
house of a loyal Brahmin in Mathura, Maharaj passed Varanasi and Puri and came
to Swarajya. This incident made Aurangzeb suspicious of Jai Singh and poisoned
him to death.
In 1668, Jaswant Singh took the
initiative and the Maharaja had a second chance with the Mughals. The states of
Pune, Chakan, Supa were also given back to them. Purandar and Sinhagad remained
under the Mughals. In 1670, the Maharaja plundered Surat for the second time,
from which he obtained a fortune of 132 lakhs, and on his return defeated the
Mughals.
Conflict Between Maratha-British &
Adilshah-
Ali Adil Shah died on 24 November
1672. Then his son Sikandar was only seven years old. He ascended the throne
and in the same year declared war on Bijapur Sardar Rustam Zaman. Taking
advantage of the civil war in Bijapur, Maharaja attacked Bijapur in 1673.
Important places in Bijapur were held
by Sardars of Bijapur, Sardar Abdul Mohammad, Khawas Khan Abdul Karim Bahlol
Khan and Muzaffar Khan. Maharaja's attention was already on Satara, Kolhapur,
Bhagambar. On 6th March 1673, Maharaja conquered Panhala fort. The Mughal and
Bijapur chieftains formed an alliance and attacked the Marathas.Thane,
Lakshmeshwar, Sampgaon, Bankapur, Hubli and other places were looted. There in
Konkan, the Maharaja defeated the Mughals and Siddhis by a landslide. But
Daulat Khan, an officer of the Maratha army was also injured in the battle.
Realizing that the British were trying
to mediate between the Siddis and the Marathas, but the Maharaja also refused
to mediate, the British closed the Siddi Armory in Bombay. The main demand of
the British was compensation for looting of godowns in Rajapur and other
places. The British wanted Janjira fort not to be captured by the Marathas but
they had to meet the Marathas for trade and free communication. Finally in 1674
the British took a chance with the Maharaja.
Coronation Ceremony & Post Coronation Campaigns-
 |
| Coronation Ceremony of The Great King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj |
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was the king of Hindu Empire. No doubt about it. But in principle his position was not
like that of a king or an emperor. Since he was not an anointed king, he and
his associates faced many disadvantages while ruling. Moreover, no matter how
much wealth Maharajas acquired or how strong their army or navy was, they were
zamindars of the Mughals.
For Bijapur they were the rebellious
sons of a merchant. Moreover, it was difficult to expect loyalty from the
people they ruled. Also without coronation it was necessary to sign important
documents or take some important decisions. Hence his coronation was very
important to create Swaraj and guarantee future security.
The people of that time saw 'The Great King' Maharaj as
a leader fighting for Hindutva. It was also Maharaj's dream to establish our
own Hindu Swarajya and fight for our rights. Now establishment of Hindu
Swarajya means having Hindu Chhatrapati. Therefore, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
decided to do the coronation.
But here also a incident happened.
According to ancient Hindu scriptures only a man of Kshatriya religion can
become a king. And since Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj belonged to the Bhonsle
clan, Maharaj was a Kunbi and no one from such a family could become a king. To
be a king one had to be a Kshatriya.Without it, it was impossible to get the
blessings of all the Brahmins in India. A Pandit was needed to silence those
opposed to the coronation and this need was fulfilled in the form of
Gagabhatta. It was known as Brahma or Vasa and Kashikshetra. Initially there
were many difficulties but after some time Gagabhat accepted Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj as Kshatriya Kulwant.
The Bhonsle clan belonged to the
Kshatriya clan of Udaipur. The son's heir and some of his other chiefs
undertook to prove it. The Bhonsale clan is a pure Kshatriya clan of Lord
Ramchandra's Surya clan after a long struggle. This was proven. After proving
this convincing evidence, Gagabhatta came to Maharashtra and took charge as the
chief priest of the Maharaja's coronation. Then on June 6, 1674, Maharaja was
crowned in Raigad.
The coronation ceremony took place but
Jijabai, the Maharaja's chief supporter, died within days. Maharaj did not fear
anyone when he decided to return to Karnataka. Not so in the case of Adilshahi,
but looking at it that way, Aurangzeb was on the verge of destroying his
Swaraj. So God did not create any crisis, but in case of crisis it was
absolutely necessary to have some army in the south.
South India Campaigns-
Maharaja had sought help from Qutub
Shah of Gowalkonda in the southern campaign. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's
half-brother Venkoji Raje had a Jahangirdari in Karnataka, so he wanted Maharaj
to help him in building a self-governing state. When Maharaj reached
Govalkonda, Qutub Shah of Tikkad honored him greatly, welcomed him and
installed him on the same throne.
Jinji fort south of Chennai was as big
and important as Raigad. Maharaja also captured this fort. Then Maharaja
decided to capture the fort of Vellore. The fort of Vellore could not be
captured after several days of siege, so the Maharajas started firing on the
fort from the hill in front of Vellore and in no time the fort was also under
the control of the Maharajas.
By doing this, the Maharaja acquired a
total area of 20 lakhs in Karnataka and conquered other forts. As per
Maharaja's wish, he called his brother Venkoji Raje for a visit, but he was not
very keen. He stayed with the Maharaja for a few days and then left for
Thanjavur and attacked the Maharaja's army. But Maharaj defeated them too. The
Mahajans were very sad to see this, so the Maharaja sent them many letters to
explain their position and also gave them some territories in the south. 'The Great King'
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Relationship-
Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, son of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire.
As Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj's mother died at a young age, Maharaja loved
Sambhaji Maharaj very much. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj also had great respect
for his father. The relationship between father and son was very sacred. This
pair is also known as Shiva Shambhu.
Government of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj –
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was known
as an efficient and wise emperor. He did not receive much traditional education
as a child but Maharaja had a good knowledge of Indian history and politics in
India. He looked up to Shukracharya and Kautilya as his role models and found
it appropriate to resort to diplomacy many times.
Like the Mughals of his time, he was
an authoritarian ruler. But he had a council of eight ministers called
Ashtapradhan to help him in his administrative work. In this the chief minister
was called Peshwa. Finance and Revenue Minister Amatya looked after the
day-to-day affairs of the king.
Secretaries performed office work,
including signing and drafting contracts. Sumant was the Foreign Minister. The
head of the army was called the general. The head of charitable and religious
affairs was called Pandit Rao. The judge was the head of judicial affairs.
Death of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj-
In late March 1680, on the eve of
Hanuman Jayanti, Chhatrapati Shivaji fell ill with fever and dysentery and died
on 3 April 1680.
Victory to Raja Shivachhatrapati Maharaj. 'The Great King'
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