Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – for any Indian, or for that matter, any Maharashtrian, these 3 words are enough to spark the fury of inspiration and instil their minds with an intense ray of hope. He was born as a human being but when the time of his demise arrived, he was a demigod!
Not just a warrior, but an able administrator, a scholar, a brilliant strategist and a diplomat, Chhatrapati Shivaji laid a strong foundation for the mighty Maratha Empire that proved to be the most fearsome in the entire world at the time of the Peshwas. Today, the Mughals are celebrated in the majority of the textbooks, but because of what Chhatrapati Shivaji had done, the Marathas today are not just celebrated but are worshipped and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj would always stay on top of it!
To begin with, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj founded the Maratha Empire in western India. He was regarded as one of history’s greatest warriors, and even now, tales of his deeds are told as part of mythology. Shivaji carved away an enclave from the waning Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur with his bravery and excellent administrative abilities. It ultimately gave rise to the Maratha Empire. After taking power, Shivaji put in place a capable and forward-thinking government with the help of well-trained troops and developed an administrative structure. It is commonly known that Shivaji used unconventional military strategies to beat more strong foes by taking advantage of variables such as terrain, speed, and surprise.
Early Childhood & Life
Shahaji Bhosle and Jijabai had Shivaji Bhosle on February 19, 1630, in the Shivneri fort, close to Junnar in the Pune area. Shahaji, the father of Shivaji, served as a general for the Tripartite Association of Bijapur, Ahmednagar, and Golconda. Near Pune, he also had a Jaigirdari. Jijabai, Shivaji’s mother, was a devoutly religious woman and the daughter of Sindkhed chieftain Lakhujirao Jadhav. Shivaji had a close relationship with his mother, who gave him a strong sense of right and evil.
Shahaji spent most of his time away from Pune, so it was up to a small council of ministers, which included a Peshwa (Shamrao Nilkanth), a Mazumdar (Balkrishna Pant), a Sabnis (Raghunath Ballal), a Dabir (Sonopant), and a chief teacher (Dadoji Konddeo), to oversee Shivaji’s education. Shivaji received military and martial arts instruction from Kanhoji Jedhe and Baji Pasalkar. In 1640, Shivaji married Saibai Nimbalkar.
It came out that Shivaji was a “born leader” from an early age. He was an avid outdoorsman who explored the Sahayadri Mountains that surrounded the Shivneri forts and became well-versed in the region. He had gathered a band of devoted men from the Maval district by the age of 15, and they later helped him in his early conquests.
The decimation of the Adilshahi of Bijapur
By 1645, Shivaji had taken over the Bijapur Sultanate’s vital possessions in and around Pune, including Singhagarh and Purandar as well as Torna from Inayat Khan, Chakan from Firangoji Narsala, and Kondana from Adil Shahi Governor. After his success, he became a threat to Mohammed Adil Shah, who in 1648 ordered Shahaji to be imprisoned.
Shahaji was freed on the proviso that Shivaji maintain a low profile and refrain from making any more conquests. After Shahaji’s demise in 1665, Shivaji began his conquests by buying the Javali Valley from Bijapuri Jaigirdaar Chandra Rao More. Afzal Khan, a capable general under the Badi Begaum and Ali Adil Shah’s command (wife and son of Muhammad Adil Shah, respectively), was ordered to capture Shivaji.
On November 10, 1659, the two had a secret rendezvous to discuss the conditions of the bargain. Shivaji came prepared with armour on and a metal tiger claw hidden since he knew it was a trap. Shivaji was defended by his armour when Afzal Khan struck him with a dagger.
Shivaji then reacted by striking Afzal Khan with the tiger’s claw, wounding him fatally. He gave the order for his troops to attack the Bijapuri contingents without a leader. In the Battle of Pratapgarh, when the Maratha forces slaughtered almost 3000 Bijapuri men, Shivaji easily prevailed. The larger force dispatched by Mohammed Adil Shah after that was commanded by General Rustam Zaman and fought Shivaji at the Battle of Kolhapur.
With great people like Tanhaji Malusare, Yesaji Kank, Baji Prabhu Deshpande, Murar Baji Deshpande and others by his side, he established a reign of terror amongst all the tyrants. He used to do injustice to cruel people and justice to the poor. People lovingly called him “Jaanta Raja”, which means, a king who understands the situation of the poorest of the poor.
Subjugating the Alamgir’s Mughal Empire
Shivaji came to the attention of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb due to his wars with the Bijapur Sultanate and his string of wins. Aurangzeb focused his efforts on eliminating the Maratha threat because he considered him a threat to the extension of his imperial intentions. Conflicts started in 1657 after raids and looting by Shivaji’s generals in the vicinity of Ahmednagar and Junnar. However, the start of the rainy season and the succession conflict in Delhi prevented Aurangzeb from taking revenge.
Shaista Khan, the governor of Deccan and Aurangzeb’s maternal uncle was given the order to subdue Shivaji. Shivaji was the target of a huge onslaught by Shaista Khan, who took Poona, his capital, as well as a number of the forts he controlled. Shaista Khan was the victim of a covert attack by Shivaji in retaliation, which led to his injury and his expulsion from Poona. Later, Shaista Khan planned numerous assaults against Shivaji, greatly weakening his control over the forts in the Konkan region.
Shivaji stormed Surat, a significant Mughal commerce hub, and seized the Mughal treasure to refill his depleted coffers. An enraged Aurangzeb sent Jai Singh I, his chief general, with a 1,50,000-strong army. Shivaji consented to hand over 23 forts and pay the Mughal Empire $400,000 in return. T
o leverage Shivaji’s military skills to strengthen Mughal powers in Afghanistan, Aurangzeb invited him to Agra. Sambhaji, the eight-year-old son of Shivaji, who journeyed to Agra with his father, was severely hurt by how Aurangzeb treated him. He stormed out of court, and Aurangzeb put him under home arrest as a result.
But Shivaji once more utilised his amazing wit and cunning to get himself from the prison. He faked a serious sickness and made arrangements to send sweets to the temple as offerings for prayer. He fled on August 17, 1666, by posing as one of the bearers and concealing his son in one of the baskets.
In later times, continual negotiation through Mughal Sardar Jaswant Singh helped to greatly reduce hostilities between the Mughals and the Marathas. Peace persisted up until 1670 when Shivaji launched a full-scale offensive against the Mughals. Within four months, he had much of the Mughal siege-damaged territory under his control.
Relationship with the English
During the early years of his rule, Shivaji had friendly connections with the English up until they sided with the Bijapur Sultanate in a conflict with him over the seizure of Fort of Panhala in 1660. As a result, Shivaji took action against the English in Bombay in 1670 because they refused to provide him with war supplies.
When the English once more declined to lend a hand in his onslaught on Danda-Rajpuri in 1971, he looted the English factories in Rajapur instead. Numerous attempts at reaching an agreement between the two parties failed, and the English did not back his efforts.
Coronation and the Conquest Aftermath
After gaining significant authority over areas bordering Poona and the Konkan, Shivaji decided to assume a kingly title and found the first Hindu Sovereignty in the South, which was previously ruled by Muslims. On June 6, 1674, in Raigadh, he was installed as the Maratha King in a lavish coronation ceremony. Pandit Gaga Bhatt presided over the Coronation in front of a crowd of about 50,000 spectators.
He adopted several names, including Haindava Dharmodhhaarak (one who elevates the sanctity of Hinduism), Kshatriya Kulavantas (leader of Kshatriyas), Shakakarta (creator of an era), Chhatrapati (paramount sovereign), and Shakakarta (founder of an era).
After the coronation, on Shivaji’s orders, the Marathas began an aggressive conquest campaign to unite the majority of the Deccan states under Hindu Sovereignty. Khandesh, Bijapur, Karwar, Kolkapur, Janjira, Ramnagar, and Belgaum were all subdued by him.
The Adil Shahi lords’ forts at Vellore and Gingee were taken by him. Additionally, he reached an agreement with his stepbrother Venkoji regarding his possessions in Tanjavur and Mysore. He wanted to defend it from foreigners like the Muslims and Mughals and unite the Deccan republics under the control of a native Hindu king.
A Magnificient Administrator
Chhatrapati Shivaji was a staunch administrator and the one thing that distinguished him from the others was his disciplined system, where there was no room for error! He was always concerned for the well-being of the populace. The historians appreciated his administration style. A council of eight ministers known as Ashta Pradhan aided him in administration.
Each of the eight ministers was in charge of their respective departments on an independent basis. If Shivaji felt the need, he was free to consult them all at once, but their advice was in no way obligated. The eight ministers who made up Ashta Pradhan are listed below.
- Peshwa or The Prime Minister was in charge of ensuring the state’s overall welfare.
- Amatya was the minister of finance. He used to verify and countersign all governmental public accounts.
- A Mantri, or chronicler, would record the king’s daily activities in the court. He also went by the name Waknavis.
- Sumant was the chief diplomat and the foreign secretary. He was in charge of international relations. With the king, he discussed issues of war and peace and offered advice on international affairs. He had a responsibility to be in touch with other states.
- Sachiva served as the Home Secretary or the Chief of Home Affairs. It was his responsibility to review the king’s correspondence. He had the right to edit the king’s correspondence. He used to audit the Parganas’ financial records.
- Pandit Rao or Davadhyaksha was the Ecclesiastical head and looked after grants to religious bodies and learned men.
- Nyayadhish, as the chief justice of the empire, was in charge of establishing an effective judicial system. He oversaw both criminal and military justice.
- Sarnaubat or Senapati was the commanding general of the Maratha Army.
Interestingly, other than the Nayadhish and Pandit Rao, everyone else had to take command of troops and lead expeditions when they were needed.
Shivaji strongly pushed for the replacement of Persian, the then-current Royal language, with Marathi and Sanskrit in his court. To emphasise his Hindu dominance, he even gave the forts under his control Sanskrit names. Despite being a devoted Hindu himself, Shivaji encouraged religious tolerance while in power.
He promoted women’s liberties during his rule and had subject-friendly, compassionate administrative practices. He hired individuals from various castes in his court since he was vehemently opposed to caste discrimination. He established the Ryotwari system, which did away with the necessity for middlemen between farmers and the government and allowed for direct tax collection from producers and manufacturers.
Shivaji established the collection of the Chauth and Sardeshmukhi taxes. Four provinces, each led by a Mamlatdar, made up his realm. The village was the smallest administrative division, and Deshpande was in charge of the Village Panchayat. Shivaji kept a sizable military force, constructed many vital forts to protect his frontiers, and had a potent naval presence along the Konkan and Goan coasts.
The Legacy Left Behind
On the fateful day of 3rd April 1680, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj entered the gates of heaven, as a result of a prolonged illness, unknown at that time. Shivaji had political principles that we may still support now without any modifications. He wanted to bring about peace, universal tolerance, equal opportunity for people of all castes and creeds, a good, active, and pure system of government, a navy to promote trade, and a well-trained militia to protect the country. The initial enthusiasm of one guy propelled the entire process of national expansion. The epicentre of the new Maharashtra was Shivaji.
In addition to founding the Maratha Empire, he was also India’s best architect during the Middle Ages. However, the memory of a real hero as a king, such as Shivaji, endures an unbreakable historical legacy for the entire human race. States dissolve, empires crumble, and dynasties disappear! But instead of crumbling down, the Maratha Empire skyrocketed its growth under the reign of Chhatrapati Sambhaji and later, the Peshwas.
The Alamgir Aurangzeb was so troubled by the later Marathas that he didn’t get to see his Delhi and Agra ever again, as his grave was dug in this great state of the Marathas, the progenitor & inspiration of which was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj!
Is there a more revered saint, revered king, revered bhakta, or more admired hero than Shivaji? In our great epics, a born ruler of men is described, and Shivaji was the epitome of it. He embodied the idea of an actual son of Bharat Mata and represented the country’s true psyche. He was the one who revealed what India’s future would eventually look like!