Shivaji Maharaj history in English for his dearest youth

Brief Introduction

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj history in english – In this intuitive and enlightening article , we will go through the life of Shivaji Maharaj who was considered as the incarnation of Lord Shiva who brought back the legacy and sanctity of India which was ruined and declined by the Mughal and Bijapur Sultan.

Shivaji Maharaj was born on 18th February 1630 at Shivneri Fort near junnar, Pune and was the son of Shahaji Bhosale and Rajmata Jijabai.

Pune , then was a very dense forest where Shivaji was trained like a warrior king since the age of  8 years under the guardianship of Dadoji Konddev. 

Shivaji Maharaj was the founder of the great Maratha empire in 1674. His father Shahaji Bhosale was the prominent general who served mostly the Sultan of Bijapur while his mother Jijabai played a key role in instilling the heart of Shivaji with the idea of free India from Islamic invaders and establishing Hind-Swarjaya for the people of India.

The term hindavi Swarajya was first used by Shivaji Maharaj in a letter to Dadaji Naras Prabhu.

Jijabai’s Hindu values of teaching and hard training of Dadoji Konddev made him to love Independency and gave up the luxurious life. 

Shivaji Maharaj was courageous, daring, blunt, reckless , rough straightforward, a man of social equality, grateful for favours and revengeful for wrongs, great politician and a foresighted person. Today, he was celebrated with great exuberance as a king who liberated India from the grip of Islamic invaders. 

Shivaji Maharaj rebelled against political oppression, religious intolerance , social injustice , cultural suppression and rampant under the Islamic monarchies . He had transformed the whole people from down-trodden , persecuted , passive , patient , submissive and suppressed sheep into fearless , revengeful and conquering lions . It was the most immortal work of the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The fear of Shivaji was such that that Aurangzeb never dare to confront Shivaji for war in person.

All the kings and princes trembled on hearing the name Shivaji Maharaj. His activeness and nimbleness couldn’t be defeated by anyone. Due to guerilla warfare , his infantry was considered to be the most excellent infantry in the world .

The Mavals infantry was the backbone of his military army. Shivaji Maharaj was the only ruler in the world who had used maximum of land forts, hill-forts and sea-forts to fight against his opponents and to establish the Swarajya in India.

Shivaji Maharaj had become a real eyesore for Islamic invaders and the English , Dutch, French, Portuguese . Their hate for Shivaji was such that they used to call him a looter, son of dog , plunderer and what not.

On 26th June 1664, the English factors write

   ” Shivaji is so famously infamous for his notorious loot that report Hath made him an airy body and added Wings or else it were impossible he could be at so many places as he is said to be at, all at one time. “

The English factory

Shivaji had eight wives. He was first married to Saibai then with Soyarabai, Mohite, Putalabai, Palkar, Sakvarbi Gaikwad, Sangunabai, and Kashibai Jadhav. He married eight times for his political gains.

Sambhaji Maharaj who became the successor of Shivaji Maharaj was the son of Saibai and Shivaji Maharaj . Rajaram who accessed the throne of the Maratha empire after Sambhaji was the son of Soyarabai and the step-brother of Sambhaji.

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Early life and responsibility

Shivaji ( 14 years ) had achieved par excellence in warfare, i.e. swording, horse riding, mountain climbing, etc. In 1641 ,he was called by his father Shahaji Bhosale in Bijapur to meet the king of Bijapur Ali Adil Shah. But 14 years old Shivaji Maharaj refused to meet the king by saying ” I can’t respect a king who can’t give respect to my Dharma. I can’t tolerate the ongoing cows slaughtering , disrespect of Brahmins and Hindu Gods and Goddesses.”

After a long conversation with Moropantji ( close to Shahji) and others ,he agreed to go to Bijapur with his mother Jijabai. 

When he reached the court of Bijapur for the first time with his father, Shah Ji Bhosale, everyone’s eye was on them. Shahji as per the rule did his salaam-e with a Muslim way of doing but Shivaji Maharaj took great pride in saluting the king with folded hand posture and with a voice of Jai Bhavani. This made the king uncomfortable which was sensed by Shahaji. 

One day while living in Bijapur, Shivaji Maharaj killed a man who was about to slaughter the cow. In just 15 years of age he had developed an immense gratitude and respect for Hindu dharma. He didn’t want invaders to rule their country as they were doing the force conversion, dismantling Hindu temples and desecrating Hindu deities, etc. 

In a very short period of time ,Shivaji had become a popular name among the people of Bijapur. His activities were causing a threat to the service of his father in Bijapur. So, he decided to send him and his mother ,Jijabai, back to Pune.

Shivaji Maharaj was trained like a warrior since the age of 8. As, he was deeply rooted to the core values of Hindus, he and his mother had a dream of free India from invaders who had ruined the sanctity and sovereignty of India through forceful mass conversion and collapsing the temples and damaging the idols.

At a very young age of 12-13 , he started to mobilize those Marathas warrior who were ready to share their hands in freeing India. He took the responsibility of making India great again .

Shivaji’s first and the earliest comrades who were devoted to him were Yesaji Kank, Baji Pasalkar and Tanaji Malusare who was the young Deshmukh of Konkan. 

They were the foremost company of Shivaji with whom he wandered over the hills and forests of the Sahyadri range  along the mazes of the river valleys . He was making himself like an Iron Man and receiving the practical knowledge of the people around him. 

Soon after the death of Dadaji in 1647, he started to organise his own Army. For that he had familiarised himself with the troops of his father’s Western Jagir and the people he had to governed.

People gathering around him were men of the trid ability and devotion . He first started to higher people for chancellor, Accountant General paymaster, commander in chief, and divisional paymaster. 

His initial focus was unite all Western Jagir of his father under his own control. He got the first opportunity to annex when Bijapur King Mohammad Adil Shah fell seriously ill in 1646 and became unavailable in the court till his death in 1656.

He had trained his soldiers in the most toughest way . The guerilla tactics of Marathas soldiers had become a terror to the Islamic army .

Conquest of Torna Fort

He did his first annexation under the captainship of Yesaji Kank and Tanaji Malusare with a force of Mavle infantrymen and took the hold of Torna Fort. There he seized around 2 lakhs of huns. Then he annexed Supa, fort of Chakan, Baramati, Indapur, fort of Kondana, Fortress of Purandar, Rohira, Tikona, Lohgarh and Rajmachi. 

Shivaji’s initial expansion in Bijapur

He put his leg first under the leadership of Abaji sondev to Thana (kalian) district which was then held by Mulla Ahmad of Bijapur Kingdom. He carried off the wealth and costely Merchandise from Thana and and Bhiundy. Then he jumped to win the Fort of Mahuli, afterward Surgarh, Birwadi, Tala, Ghosalagarh, Bhurap, Kangori and Fortress of Rairi. 

The local chieftains of southwards also helped Shivaji in throwing off the Muslim authority from their respective territories and to settle the new authority of Shivaji. He built new Forts at Bhirwadi and Lingara. 

After winning, Abaji Sondev  became the vicery of the province won in North Konkan. Under the leadership of Raghunath Ballal Korde, Marathas won the battle against Siddis.  Shivaji Maharaj stopped his feet for further expansion till 1655 ( death of Adil Shah) as his father Shahaji Bhosale was under arrest by Bijapuri kingdom. His father had been released only when Shivaji stopped his expansion.

Conquest of Javali

In 1656, after the death of Adil Shah , Shivaji Maharaj won his first battle by conquering Javali which was then in the hands of Chandrarao More under Bijapuri kingdom ( Adilshahi). Chandrarao’s family was ruling Javali for generations and during their rule they had collected superabundant wealth. 

The conquest of Javali was set to be an important milestone for Shivaji as it opened a wide door for the South as well as for the west. Javali was then the centre of a fairly large principality including nearly whole district of Satara.

In terms of wealth also , conquest of Javali was important as a vast treasure in eight generations of undisturbed rule came directly into the hands of Shivaji. Moreover, a very important accession to his strength in the form of thousands of Mavle infantrymen from among the subjects. 

He then built a new Fort two miles west of Javali and named it Pratapgarh. There, he installed the Murti of goddess Bhavani whom he worshipped. He  adorned Bhavani Ma with expensive ornaments. 

Shivaji and his mother were the great devotees of Goddess Bhavani. He had named one of his swords as Bhavani talvar. 

In the Konkan plain, Shringarpur which was owned by chieftain Surve conquest by Shivaji. 

Now the Eastern half of Ratnagiri came under the hold of Shivaji while Rajapur and the ports were still in the hands of Bijapur till 1660.

Conflicts with Bijapur  

King of Bijapur didn’t want to lose his territories to Shivaji Maharaj so, to stop Shivaji from further expansion Bijapur Court appointed senior general Afzal Khan to defeat him. 

As Afzal Khan didn’t have enough cavalry (10, 000) to wage a war against Shivaji , he decided to either capture or murdered Shivaji by pretending his friendship towards him. 

Conspiracy of Afzal Khan

To instigate Shivaji he broke down the Murti of goddess Bhavani and pounded into dust in a hand-mill at Tuljapur. It was natural for Shivaji to get furious as he was a great worshipper of goddess Bhavani.

 Further, he committed sacrileges on the Gods and outrages on the Brahmins at Pandharpur, Mahadev, Wai and Manikeshwar. 

Afzal Khan was supported by some chieftains like Vithoji Hai bat Rao and Khandoil Khopde. There, at Wai he plotted a plan to trap Shivaji. He sent Krishnaji Bhaskar with a message for Shivaji and the message was as follow

” Your father was a great friend of mine, therefore you are not stranger for me. Come and meet me and I shall help you to convince Adil Shah to confirm your position of Konkan and the forts you hold. I will secure for you further distinctions and military equipment from our government. If you wish to attend the court you will be welcomed. “

Afzal Khan

Dilemma of Shivaji Maharaj

Shivaji Maharaj was in a great dilemma as he and his army had never confronted such senior general leader till now. Afzal Khan was a great fierce warrior of Adilshahi Kingdom (Bijapur) who had played a significant role in expanding Bijapur sultanate in south. He was a 7 feet tall fighter. 

Shivaji’s army was in a terrible phase as they had already known the power of Afzal Khan. But soon the dilemma of Shivaji cleared after having Darshan (vision) of goddess Bhavani when he was trying to sleep at midnight. Goddess Bhavani urged him to confront Afzal Khan boldly and promised him victory and his full protection.

Afzal Khan invited Shivaji for a meeting to trap him in the name of settling down the differences. He was overly confident on his plan to trap Shivaji Maaharaj. He had underestimated the power of Shivaji who had the guts to tear away the power of opponents through proficiency. 

Shivaji’s strategic move to fight Afzal Khan

Shivaji Maharaj had already been alerted by his spy about some malicious  plan of Afzal Khan to harm him during the meeting.

To protect himself from any kind of major injury during meeting, Shivaji wore a coat of chain armour under his tunic and below his turban he placed a steel cap for the protection of his Skull. 

In his left hand palm, he wore a Baghnakh ( a set of Steel claws fastened to the fingers by a pair of rings)  and up his right sleeve lay hidden a thin sharp dagger called Bichwa ( the scorpion). 

Battle of Pratapgarh

Battle of Pratapgarh was fought between Shivaji Maharaj and Adilshahi general Afzal Khan on 10th November 1659 at the Fort of Pratapgarh. 

Shivaji agreed on Afzal Khan’s proposal of a meeting . A meeting was arranged in a camp for Shivaji and Afzal khan below at the fort of Pratapgarh and overlooking the valley of the Koyna. 

Shivaji decided to take his two legendary warrior Jiv Mahal and Sambhaji Kavji  with himself during the meeting with Afzal Khan. Meanwhile he also deployed his Maratha army in the dense forest at Pratapgarh. 

While other hand Afzal Khan was ready with thousands of musketeers during his meeting. But after the objection of Pantji Gopinath, he also decided to take his only closed warriors Sayyed Banda and Fazal khan with himself. He left his large army some distance behind so that Shivaji didn’t hesitate to come during the meeting. 

Afzal Khan made his way up the hill path in a palki and arrived to the tent. Later Shivaji also entered into the tent seemingly unarmed with his only two warriors. 

How Afzal khan died

Shivaji entered the camp and bow down to Afzal Khan. In response, Afzal Khan rose from his seat and took some steps forward and then opened his arm to give Shivaji a welcome hug . The stature of Afzal Khan (7 feet tall) was way bigger than Shivaji. Shivaji only came to the shoulder of Afzal Khan. While giving the tight grip hug to Shivaji , he stiffened the neck of Shivaji from his left hand and drew his bladed daggar and struck at the side of Shivaji. But his attack set to be useless as Shivaji had already worn hidden armour under his dress. 

In retaliation ,Shivaji passed his left arm around the Afzal Khan’s waist and tore his bowels with a blow of Bagh Nakh and then from his right arm he attacked with his bichwa towards Afzal’s side. Afzal Khan started to groan and lose his tight grip on Shivaji. 

Shivaji soon ran towards his men but the groaning of Afzal Khan had made his men Syyed Banda to come soon in his help. Sayyid Banda attacked Shivaji with his Sword and cut his turban in twain, making a deep dint in the steel cap beneath. Soon, Maratha warrior Jiv Mahal came with his sword and killed Syyed. 

As the men of Afzal Khan immediately took Afzal Khan in Palki and ready to run but Sambhaji Kavji cut off their legs made them to drop Palki and later cut off the head of their leader. Soon, the signal of the defeat of Afzal Khan was aired . Getting the signal of Afzal Khan’s defeat, all the hidden Maratha Warriors in ambush started to attack and kill the soldiers of Afzal Khan who were standing a few distance away from the camp.

This was a huge victory for the Marathas. They had won a crusader against the desecrator of temples. From the winning battlefield they had seized around 65 elephants ,4000 horses ,1200 Camels and around 10 lakhs of rupees in cash and jewellery. All captured women, children, Brahmins and camp followers were immediately released. 

Shivaji’s laureate, Bhusan , calls the slaughtering of Afzal Khan a righteous deed of retribution like the Killing of Kichak by Bheem in Mahabharat. This victory had expanded the army of Marathas to the South, Konkan and Kolhapur district and to the Fort of Panhala .

There is a myth revolving around the death of Afzal Khan . As it has been said by some entities that it was Shivaji who made the first move to kill Afzal Khan but according to Sabhasad ( 1694 AD ) and Chitnes ( 1810 AD ) that it was Afzal Khan who struck the first blow . Shivaji’s letter to Samarth Ramdas also support the first attack of Afzal Khan on Shivaji .

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj attacked Shaista Khan at Pune

After the death of Afzal Khan by the hands of Shivaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb sent his uncle Shaista Khan to seize the Poona district in May 1660. But soon it was challenged by Shivaji. 

On 5th April 1663 Shivaji with his 400 Maratha warriors like Netaji Palkar, Moro pant ,Babaji Bapuji, chimnaji Bapuji came to Pune. They came in disguise of soldiers and entered the camp at midnight by saying the Mughal Guards that they were deccani soldiers of the Imperial army going to take their appointed post.

The night attack proven to be a great success for Marathas. They were able to kill around 40 attendants and some women too at dark midnight. This attack had instilled a great fear in the Army of Mughal and Aurangzeb. On the other hand this daring and heroic act of Maratha Warriors were celebrated among marathas. 

Conflict with Mughals

Shivaji Maharaj till 1657 maintained peace with Mughals to secure his power in South. He didn’t want to ignite Mughals simultaneously while fighting with bijapuri Kingdom. 

After the death of Muhammad Adil Shah on 4th November 1656 AD, Aurangzeb wanted to take the control of Bijapur but the power of Shivaji till that time had made a great impression in Southern India which wasn’t an easy task for Aurangzeb to tackle with.

In 1657, Shivaji raided Mughal territories Chamargund, Junnar, some parts of Ahmednagar and raisin subdivision. From Junnar itself, he seized around 300,000 huns in cash , 200 horses , expensive jewellery and clothes.

In response of the raid, Aurangzeb appointed Shaista Khan to protect Junnar and Nasiri Khan to protect Ahmednagar. Then ,he deployed Kar-Talab-Khan near junnar, Abdul Munim at Garh Namuna and Rao Karn at Panda to guard the Chamargund and Ashti Parganahs with their armies.

The hate of Aurangzeb for Shivaji could be anticipated from a letter which he had written to Bijapur to aware him about the action of Shivaji 

At Nasiri Khan’s departure from Ahmednagar you should must occupy it, as the son of a dog (Shivaji) is waiting for his opportunity. Protect your states and expel Shiva who has sneaked into the possession of some forts of the land. If you really wish to entertain his services, give him Jagir in the Karnatak far from Imperial dominions, so that he may not disturb them.”Aurangzeb to Bijapur sultan

Aurangzeb to Bijapur Kingdom

Battle of Surat

Battle of Surat also widely known as sack of Surat took place on 5th January 1664 in which Maratha army defeated the Mughal army. Surat was then the richest port in the west coast of India . It was also the gateway to holy places of Arabia. Its wealth was boundless. The Imperial customs alone yielded a revenue of 12 lacs of rupees a year.

By attacking the richest financial hub , Shivaji Maharaj wanted to send a message to Aurangzeb that he is not going to tolerate the invaders predominancy and their act of desecrating temples and force conversion of people on his motherland. 

From 6th January to 10th January, Shivaji looted the city of Surat. Hearing the arrival of Shivaji Maharaj with his Army,  Inayat Khan, the governor of the town, himself fled to the Fort to save his life. Baharji Borah was then the richest Merchant in the world with property estimating 80 lacs of rupees. From him, Maratha stok around 28 seers of of large pearls, rubies, emeralds and enormous  wealth. 

Another rich Merchant,  Haji Said Beg’s house was also looted. The looting of Surat gave him above a crore of Rupees. Meantime the Dutch and the English fought their battle to protect their factories to some extent.

In June 1664 the English factors write that Shivaji had become the talk of all conditions people. Adding more surprise to their talk they further added

   ” Shivaji will lay siege to Goa we hardly believe on, in regard it is impossible to lay siege to any place that is fortified against him. “

English factors

They added ” He must have been imposing enormous labour upon himself and also trained his chiefest men that they all flies to and fro with incredible dexterity. “

Mirza Jai Singh and Shivaji Maharaj

On 30th September 1664 Aurangzeb appointed his ablest general Mirza Jai Singh to Smash Shivaji’s power in the Deccan with a strong 14000 army after the failure of Shaista Khan . Jai Singh’s army was accompanied by renowned generals like Dilir khan, Ihtisham khan, Shaikhzada, Daud khan Qureshi, Kirat Singh, Sujan Singh, Rai Singh Sisodia and Mulla Yahia Nawaiyat . 

Mirza Jaisingh had made exemplary preparation before confronting Shivaji. He strategically went for diplomacy with those chieftains and leaders who had war with Shivaji Maharaj. 

Diplomacy approached of Jai Singh against Shivaji Maharaj

• He successfully convinced the Sultan of Bijapur ,Europeans and Siddi of Janjira to get him aide against Shivaji. 
• In January 1664,he sent his envoy to Deccani Chieftains to shake their hands with them against Shivaji. 
• He approached to everyone who had anxiety and rage for Shivaji and had ire for the sudden rise of Bhosale. 
• Jay Singh’s promises of higher rank in Emperor Court for corrupting the loyalty of Shivaji was his another plan to subdue the strength of Shivaji. This greed attracted Atmaji and Kahar Koli who were posted at the foot of Purandar in charge of artillery by Shivaji. 

Mirza Jai Singh winning campaign

• On 13th April 1665, the Vajragarh was captured by Jai Singh. 
• On 25th April 1665, Daud Khan entered into the regions of Rajgarh, Singhad and Rohira and plundered whatever came in their way. 
• On 27th April 1665 ,they burnt and ruined about 50 villages. 
• While Qutbuddin Khan and Ludi Khan devastated the districts from the north. 
• Another troop of soldiers entered into the four populous villages of Marathas regions and razed them to the ground. 
• On reaching Lohgarh, the army of Mughal burnt the houses on the skirt of the hill, burnt the prisoners and cattle and the villages which were enclosed by the four forts – Lohgarh, Visapur, Tikona, and Tangai. And also some parts of Balghat and Panighat. 
• Dilir Khan climbed the hill with his 5000 afghansand with other more for devastation. In retaliation, Maratha general, Murar Baji with his Maratha troops slained around 500 Pathan. But after giving a tough battle to Dilir Khan, he lost his life. 
• As Purandar which was one of the residential homes for many Marathas officers was on the verge of complete devastation and also losing of five bastions of the lower Fort untenable, left Shivaji with no choice but to hail for peace with Jai Singh. And this was the time when the Treaty of Purandar was signed. 

Treaty of Purandar 1665

1. According to the Treaty of Purandar, Shivaji left the control on his 23 Forts out of his 32 forts. These were the lands  which were yielding 4 lakhs of huns as annual revenue and given to the Mughal. 
2. Shivaji himself offered the Mughal of paying 40 lacs of huns in 13 years of installment after taking the control of the lowlands of Konkan and the uplands of Balaghat from the Bijapuri officers.
3. Shivaji also put a condition that he would never go to the mughal court because he didn’t believe in the words of Aurangzeb. Another condition he put was that he would never join the military services of Mughal. 
4. According to one of the clauses, Shivaji surrendered his son Sambhaji to the Mughal court as a token of loyality to the Mughal  as a ” Mansabdar “.

Shivaji’s house arrest in Agra

Mirza Jay Singh somehow wanted Shivaji to be presented in the Mughal court to uprising his power as he was the only general of Mughal who successfully  brought Shivaji to his knees and signed the treaty of Purandar. 

But On multiple request of Jai Singh and his promise of not getting harmed and to get the best treatment in the Mughal court made Shivaji to present himself in the Mughal court. Aurangzeb too had given his assurance to Shivaji to provide him the best service in his Court.

But all the Promises of Aurangzeb were just a hoax to put Shivaji behind the bar. Shivaji came to Mughal court on 12th April 1666 where he was humiliated by Aurangzeb by offering him to sit with third grade novels and then finally captured him in Agra and put him under house arrest. 

How Shivaji escaped from Agra Fort of Aurangzeb? 

Escape of Shivaji Maharaj and his son Sambhaji  Maharaj on 19th August 1666 from the Agra was one of the most unprecedented escape of Indian history. 

To make escape from the grip of Aurangzeb, he made a plan of feigned illness and slowly began to send out sweetmeats every evening for Brahmans, religious mendicants and courtiers. 

All these were carried in a huge basket which was borne by two men on their shoulders. The guards used to search the baskets for some days and then allowed them to pass out without checking and that was the abortionality for which Shivaji Maharaj was waiting for.

On 19th August 1666 he sent words to his Guards that he is ill and not be disturbed by anyone. Hiraji Farzand , who looked somewhat the same as Shivaji lay down on his cot with a blanket covering his whole body except the outstretched right arm adorned with Shivaji’s gold wrislet. 

Meanwhile Shivaji and his son hid themselves into baskets which were safely sent out through the catching eyes of the guards. After escaping from the basket they were received by their trusty Niraji Ravji at some distance from the arrest house. 

Before reaching Raigarh, Shivaji took the disguise of an ascetic and other multiple forms to save himself from the soldiers of Mughal. 

Shivaji Maharaj arrived that his home Raigarh in December 1666. He was welcomed by his mother Jijabai  and whole subject with great enthusiasm and thrilled. 

Shivaji’s no war policy between 1667-1669 with Mughal

Jay Singh died a natural death on 2nd July 1667 on the way to Burhanpur. His post of Viceroy had been given to the Prince Muazzam, one of the son of Aurangzeb. Muazzam wasn’t an honest Viceroy as he was more indulged in the activities of hunting and witnessing animal combats. He didn’t made any effort to crush Shivaji.

Meanwhile Shivaji who had recently came from the grip of Mughal, needed time to organize his Army, repair and provision his forts and consolidation and extension of his power on the Western coast by winning Bijapur and the sidhis of Janjira. 

As a great politician Shivaji found it a better option to make a peace with Mughal till the time he organise his power. On 9th March 1668 he proposed Mughal to take the task of recovering Qandhar (now in Afganistan) with his unaided resources. This piece lasted for nearly 2 years. 

Shivaji had indulged himself in organising his Army to that much level that he didn’t even try to take a single battle with Adil Shah during these years. He didn’t want any kind of war-like situation in these years. 

The English factory letters at the end of 1668 and in 1669 described Shivaji as very quiet and took the words of Aurangzeb as a command to act. The English trader at Hubli on 17th July 1669 also tell the same story of him. 

He was completely busy in laying the foundation of his government broad and deep which remained an object of admiration to after ages. His sole aim of making peace with Mughal was to save himself from any kind of possible combined attack by his opponents and to organise his power in these no-war duration. 

According to Sabhasad, for nearly 2 years, the Maratha contingent living in the new Jagir of Berar for collecting revenue had fed themselves at the expense of the Mughal dominion. It led to high expenditure to Aurangzeb. To cut e expenditure, he started to reduce his Army from Deccan. Those disbanded Army started to take the shelter in Shivaji’s camp.

Resurgence of Shivaji’s power in 1670

As the military preparation had been completed in early 1670 of Shivaji, now he was waiting for a spark or a lapse carried by Aurangzeb to initiate the war. Soon, Shivaji got the news that Aurangzeb had attached a part of his Jagir in Berar to recover the lacs of rupees he had invested in Shivaji’s journey to the mughal court in 1666.

That was the right time for Shivaji to act. He immediately called upon his Maratha contingent from Aurangabad and from Berar. Gradually Maratha captains started to desert the services of Mughal. Soon, Aurangzeb sense the upcoming war situation. On 26th January 1670 he immediately sent Dilir Khan to Aurangabad and ordered Daud Khan to organise Army for the defence of Khandesh. He started to send a group of senior officers from north India to Deccan to subverge the rise of Shivaji’s power.

Successful campaign of Shivaji’s after resurgency

• Shivaji’s army first Attack all the Forts which was ceded to Aurangzeb through the Treaty of Purandar.
• Successful capture of kondana by Tanaji malusare. The battle of kondana is widely famous as Battle of Sinhagad as it was the battle in which Tanaji lost his life. Tanaji was a lion- hearted Warrior whom Shivaji admired the most . Sinhagad (a land of lion)was named after the death of Tanaji during the war. 
• In March 1670, Shivaji recovered Purandar.
• Soon, he lootate the village of chandor. There, he seized around 12 Horses, an elephant and 40000 rupees belonging to the Imperial treasury.
• Then he conquered the fort of Mahuli. At the end of April 1670,he looted around 51 villages near Ahmednagar , junnar and purenda. 
• As Daud Khan was busy in expelling Shivaji’s Army from parnir , Junnar and Mahuli , Shivaji overtook 3 Mughal Forts of that region.
• The dispute among senior generals of Aurangzeb like Muazzam , Dilir Khan and Jaswant also gave the strength to Shivaji to win the battle.
• On 3rd October 1670 , Shivaji opened his war in Surat. The fear of Shivaji’s presence was that much deep that that the English, Dutch and French started to empty their warehouses at Surat and sent them to Swally. The Mughal army too didn’t show any interest in taking battle with Shivaji in Surat. From there, Shivaji carried off around 66 lakhs of rupees. 
• In October 1670, Shivaji’s Army won the battle of Vani. This battle had neutralized the power of Mughal for more than a month.
• On 5th January 1671 , Shivaji entered Salhir with a force of 20,000 horses and won the battle against Fathullah Khan. In January 1672,Aurangzeb tried hard to get back salhir but didn’t succeed. 
• Bahadur khan where bitterly defeated in Balgana and was compelled to leave.
• In mid of July 1672, a Maratha force under Moro Trimbak crossed the Ghats into the Nashik district and occupied it.

Fall of Bijapur

Another new dimension opened for the Maratha was the death of Ali Adil Shah II on 24th November 1672. As the king died, soon the Bijapur fail into disorder and became fragile. Now ,it was a great opportunity for Shivaji to invade Bijapur.

On 5th March 1673 Shivaji took the possession of Panhala. In May 1673, Maratha Army under Pratap Rao Gujjar set their foot in the parts of Bijapuri Kannara and looted Hubli and other cities. Shivaji with his 25000 strong Army invaded Bijapur territory and looted the rich towns. 

From December 1673 to March 1674,Shivaji’s war with Adil Shah and Siddis took place due to outbreaks of vigour. 

After the defeat of Dilir Khan in January 1674, the Mughal power in the Deccan started to cripple. Meanwhile the rise of Khaibar Afghan in North compelled Aurangzeb to leave Delhi on 7th April 1674 to direct the war from the rear. 

Conflicts with Portuguese 

While one side he was following his no war policy with the Mughal for strengthening and consolidating his power and army between 1667- early 1670 , meantime he focused his attention on his rival Portuguese and the Siddis. 

But due to the shortness of time ( in 1670, he initiated his attack on Mughal with more power than ever) , he didn’t continue  the war with the Portuguese to a large extent .

 In his first attack against the Portuguese, he sent 400-500 soldiers in various disguises to seize the Goa , but the plan didn’t succeed as his soldiers were captured by the Portuguese Viceory. The Portuguese didn’t expect such a breathtaking plan by Shivaji Maharaj as they were assured of their fortification of Goa. They started to live in terror as they had the fear that Shivaji Maharaj would again plan such things. 

But Shivaji didn’t have that much time to invest in Goa as he had initiated his war against the Aurangzeb and Bijapur in 1670. He took back his army of 10,000 infantry and 1000 cavalry to Rajgarh. 

Conflict with Siddis 

Shivaji Maharaj in 1648 conquered the forts of Tala, Ghonsala and Raigarh from the Siddis. 

In 1661,Maratha captured the forts of Danda and Rajpuri. Shivaji sent a large force of 5000 – 7000 soldiers under Raghunath ballal Atre to win against Siddis. After this victory no strong hold was left to the Siddis on the mainland.

The Maratha’s victories on the Colaba coast were organised into a province and secured under the Viceory of Gyankoji Datta with a permanent Army of 5000 – 7000. Shivaji totally routed out the existence of Siddis on the mainland.

He improved the defence of Danda Rajpuri by fortfying it. He built a chain of Forts like Bhiwadi and lingana to secure it from Siddi’s depredations.

Shivaji Maharaj and his father Shahaji Bhosale

Though, Shahji initially wanted Shivaji Maharaj to serve the Nizamsahi Kingdom as his father and grandfather had done but after observing his keen interest to free India from the persecution by foreign Invaders made him to support his action.

Shahji asked the blessing of God of Jejuri for the establishment of Shivaji’s rule to relieve the sufferings of God’s, cows and Hindus. Shah Ji in one of his letters to Shivaji Maharaj expressed his deep satisfaction at the extension of his Swaraj. 

Coronation of Shivaji

On 6th June 1674, Shivaji was crowned the king of the Maratha empire ( Hind- swarajya). According to Hindu calendar, it was trayodashi (13th day) of the first fortnight of the month of Jyeshtha. He was adorned with Chhatrapati ( Supreme Sovereignty) and became Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. 

Gagabhatt was the preside high-Priest who performed the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj . The coronation of Shivaji Maharaj is misunderstood by many as the coronation only did for uplifting the caste of Shivaji in Kshatriya but the real truth of Coronation is far away from such misconception .

In the early 17th century, Hindus under Islamic rulers had started to feel disgraceful, humiliated and punished and compelled to give Jizya ( a kind of tax ) to remain Hindus. The temples and the Murtis were desecrated. But the rise of Shivaji Maharaj had given them the hope to take the battle to protect their motherland. 

Shivaji had started his journey of awakening Hindus and taking the battle with the Islamic rulers from scratch and ultimately roar like a lion . He set the example of Hindu entity in Bharat. 

During the coronation of Shivaji a large population were invited to make it a great celebration of uprising grand Hindu king Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji bowed down to his Guru Ramdas Swami and his mother Jijabai to receive their blessings. 

Shivaji’s expedition after coronation

Soon after his coronation , he started his expedition against Bahadur khan ( employed by Aurangzeb ) in the Deccan in the middle of July 1674. The Maratha army comprised 9000 warriors attacked Bahadur khan and carried away around  a Krore of Rupees and 200 horses. Again in October Shivaji’s army crossed the Ghats into the Deccan Plateau, seized Bahadur khan’s camp and looted money from several towns near Aurangabad and then Baglana and Khandesh.

In January 1675, 3000 marathas cavalry under Dutta ji entered in the Kolhapur district from where he collected 1500 Hons and Shongaon paid 500 Hons. 

In 1675 Shivaji Maharaj played a brilliant politics against Mughal by proposing a delusive negotiations with Bahadur khan just to stop him to attack his forts and meanwhile, blackmailing Adil Shah by the threat of an alliance with the Mughals for the invasion in Bijapur. 

But as soon as, he strengthened his leg in other territories, he dismissed the Mughal envoy by taunting : 

   ” what pressure have you succeeded in putting on me that I should seek peace with you? ” 

To cover the embarrassment and his foolishness and diplomatic defeat by Shivaji, Aurangzeb apparently made an agreement with bijapuri Wazir Khawas Khan for an alliance to wage a war against Shivaji but the plan didn’t succeed. 

On the other hand Shivaji plundered Bijapur and Golconda territories and collected handsome money from the rich person . Meanwhile his army entered into Portuguese territories and carried away treasure from there.

Unfortunately , since January 1676 to the end of March 1676 he fell sick at Satara. After his recovery he found a great opportunity when a war broke out between the deccani and Afghan parties at Bijapur in April 1676. He sent out 4000 horsemen that looted and plundered the territories without any hindrance. In May 1676 , Moro Trimbak, Prime Minister took over Pindol and Painecah. 

His expedition for Carnatic ( West Coast) was also a major one. It had the greatest port of Bijapur and was a centre of large trading of Cardamom, pepper, muslin cloth, Saltpetre, betel nuts, etc. The English too had their factories in Carnatic. 

Death and Legacy

Shivaji Maharaj died at the age of 50 on 3rd April , 1680 at the Raigarh Fort due to suffering from dysentery. His death had created dissension between Sambhaji and his third wife Soyrabai who wanted his 10 year old son to be the king of the Maratha empire . But Sambhaji successfully ousted the hope of Soyrabai and made himself the next chhatrapati of the Maratha empire on 20th June , 1680 .

Samarth Ramdas ,the guru of Shivaji Maharaj , had already prophesized the exact death of Shivaji . The day on which Shivaji died wasn’t a normal day , as it was the day when Raja Parikshit ( son of Ambhimanyu from Mahabharata ) had died . It was considered as one of the auspicious day .

Tolerance and Harmony

Shivaji was the most tolerant king of India . Historian of that era , used to compare him with Alexander , and Napoleon who had conquered and expand their empire to its highest peak . But he was far better than them as he never touched and harmed any religious place and women during his entire expedition and devastation. He had made a rule to not touch any religious place .

Khafi Khan who used the most filthiest words ( the sharp son of devil, that dog, evil malicious fellow, etc ) to Shivaji was yet constrained to admit that Shivaji had made it a rule that whenever his follower went for plundering , they should do no harm to mosques or the women . He considered women as Goddess . People living under his kingdom were the most luckiest one. He had also revived the Marathi and Sanskrit languages as these languages were subverted by the Islamic kingdom .

Even Aurangzeb himself accepted Shivaji as the most tolerant king in his letters of 14th July 1659 , 26th Aug and 28th Aug. 1666 and 5th March 1668 . Dr. Dellon , a great contemporary traveller and writer , records that Shivaji tolerated all religions .

Administration

Shivaji Maharaj was a spectacular administrator who organized his infantry , cavalry and working culture with quite different manner . He was against the feudalism which he considered a wrong policy of managing the society . I have covered his whole military strength and his splendid administration in another article .

Military strength and great administration of Shivaji

Great world’s historians about Shivaji Maharaj

According to Da Guarda’s testimony , Shivaji had became the talk of the town :

The people of the town had a firm belief that Shivaji was everywhere . He often sent expeditions to different places at the same time and in all of them he was convoked and he was in command . The question is still unsolved whether he substituted others for himself or he was a magician or a devil.

Da Guarda

Abbe Carre’s evidence is of the same interest :

Shivaji has all the virtues of a great general and an extreme activity which almost always decides the affair of the war ; he had gained a battle at one end of the kingdom, when he was at the other extremity , making havoc everywhere and surprising the major places .

Abbe Carre’s

The French governor of Pondicherry wrote that like a thunderbolt Shivaji fell upon the citadel of Jingi . The Portuguese had given him the title of ” The Atila of India ” .

Controversy on age

There is a great controversy on the age of Shivaji Maharaj. Somewhere, it is mentioned 19th Feb 1630 or in 6th April 1627 or . But, when we go through recent evidence, it tells us the real age of Shivaji as 18th Feb 1630.

This recent date was first found in Jedhe Shakawali by Lokmanya Tilak. Jedhe Shakawali is a rare record of events with dates which nearly covered the Maratha period from 1618 – 1697 . This was recorded by Jedhe Deshmukh of Pune district and then was first edited by Lokmanya Tilak in 1916 . The new date was, however, subsequently found in the stone inscription at Tanjore recorded in 1803 A. D.

Shiva-Bharta also gave this new date and lastly Gaurishankar Ojha found it in a horoscope of Shivaji Maharaj recorded in the collection of horoscopes made by Shivram Jyotishi in Jaipur state about 1688.

Conclusion

Through this article ” Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj history in english ” , we get to know how prominent and distinguished he was . Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s victorious life is full of great values and deeds which should be known to each Indian of this country . Reading multiple books about this great divine had made me to believe that why he has been called the incarnation of Lord Shiva or Vishnu . He had taken out the whole India from the barbaric Islamic kingdoms who believed Hindus as infidels .

His military strength , administration and his tolerance of all religions had made him the greatest leader of the world . None of the so called great leaders like Alexander , Ceaser and Nepolean had tolerated and given room for other religions to flourish .

Shivaji’s thunderbolt action always surprised Mughal , Bijapur and the English , Dutch , French and Portuguese. He had lived a short life of 50 years but his work had done phenomenal job in bringing back the sovereignty and pride of India . The remarkable and exceptional work which Shivaji had done in 50 years of his carrier can’t be imagined by any kingdom to do even in his 10 generations of work . Yes , he is the godfather of India .

References :

1. Shivaji and his times – ( Author Jadunath Sarkar , Publication date : 1920 )
2. Shivaji the great – ( Author -Dr. Bal Krishna , Published by Arya book depot , Kolhapur , 1939 )
3. Shivaji the founder of Maratha Swaraj – ( Author- C. V. Vaidya , Publication date: 1931 )
4. The milliatry system of the Marathas ( Author – S. Sen )
5. The first Anglo-Maratha war – ( Author – M. R. Kantak , date – 1977 , university of Poona)

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