Author – Awadhesh Sharma
Shivaji is revered as a national hero in India who opposed the tyranny of autocratic rulers during the seventeenth century. He embodied the valour of Samrat Chandragupta and strategies of his mentor Chanakya of ancient India. Shivaji established an independent Maratha kingdom with its capital at Raigad in Maharashtra.
Shivaji’s grandfather Maloji was an influential general of Ahmadnagar kingdom. He was granted a fiefdom over an area around modern Pune that included the Shivner fort. Shivaji’s father Shahaji followed his father in the service of Ahmadnagar.
Shivaji’s mother Jijabai was the daughter of a wealthy landowner and a loyal noble of Ahmadnagar, Lakhoji. Shahaji and Jijabai were married at an early age and had a son named Sambhaji.
After collapse of Ahmadnagar, Shahaji joined the army of Adilshah, the king of Bijapur. Adilshah reaffirmed his fiefdom over the area granted to his father by Ahmadnagar.
Shahaji fought against Mughals during their attack on the Bijapur kingdom around the area under his control. When the situation became indefensible, he moved to the capital Bijapur, leaving behind his pregnant wife Jijabai in the Shivner fort, which was maintained by his loyal retainers.
Jijabai was a religious woman and worshipped goddess Shivai in the temple located in the fort. When her son was born, she named him Shivaji in expectation of getting divine protection for her son. Shivaji was born in the Shivner fort on 19th February 1630. Some sources mention different dates of birth.
Shivaji spent his childhood away from his father in the Shivner fort where his mother was solely responsible for his upbringing. Both mother and son lived in constant fear of arrest by marauding Mughal forces.
Jijabai was familiar with the stories from ancient Indian texts such as the Ramayan, Mahabharat and others. She used to recount inspiring stories from these texts to child Shivaji infusing in him a sense of hope. He learnt about the deeds of ageless heroes, their courage, and the inevitability of victory of virtue over evils.
Mughal forces were always in search of Jijabai and Shivaji’s whereabouts, to arrest and use them as hostages to demand Shahaji’s surrender. They succeeded in capturing Jijabai but Shivaji escaped with the help of loyal servants. He lived under his retainers’ protection in hiding among his sympathisers.
During this period Shivaji came in contact with many residents of his fiefdom who had been expelled from their homes and were living in forests and hills due to fear of enemy soldiers.
After a protracted conflict between Mughals and Adilshah, a peace treaty was signed between them. The treaty allowed Shahaji’s fief to remain inside the Bijapur kingdom. Shivaji was united with his mother. Shahaji brought Shivaji and Jijabai to Bijapur. He hoped to engage Shivaji in the service of Adilshah.
Shahaji took Shivaji to Adilshah’s court to pay respect to the king and familiarise his son with the court’s etiquette. Shivaji was briefed about approaching and saluting the monarch. When Shivaji was presented before Adilshah, he offered his respect by placing joined palms near his chin as he had seen people in his region greet their elders. The king and courtiers took offence. His father could not sway Shivaji to follow the Islamic court manners.
While living in Bijapur, Shivaji noticed a cow being dragged away by a butcher for slaughtering. He objected to such treatment of cows, which were considered sacred by local Indians. He organised a public protest against cow-slaughter.
Shahaji felt his own position threatened by Shivaji’s behaviour and actions. He came to believe that Shivaji’s temperament was not conducive to servicing the Muslim monarch. He sent his wife Jijabai and son Shivaji back to his ancestral estate. He appointed Dadaji Kondadev, a learned scholar as Shivaji’s tutor and steward.
Pune was the main village of Shivaji’s ancestral domain. When the last Mughal forces had passed that way, their commander ordered all the walls in the village to be destroyed. The land was flattened, the foundations of houses were tilled with ploughs harnessed with asses and an iron rod was planted in the village centre.
When Dadaji arrived at that place with Shivaji and Jijabai, he dug up the iron rod and threw it away. He had the site tilled with white oxen drawing a plough made of pure gold. Consecrated water was sprinkled on the land to purify it. Dadaji built a mansion for Shivaji and his mother on the banks of the River Muta. It was named Rang Mahal, the colourful palace. Old residents of the village were invited to settle nearby. In time, Pune became a prosperous town.
Dadaji loved Shivaji as his son. He taught him strategies of war, and practical skills including horse riding, using arms and war games, considered necessary for protection of his subjects. He also taught him the art of administration.
Shivaji met saints Ramdas and Tukaram, who were well known for their spirituality during this period. Their teachings influenced Shivaji in understanding his role in protecting his people, religion and motherland. Shivaji visited the surrounding hills and forests and became familiar with the local topography, and traditions and aspirations of local people.
Shivaji came to realise that powerful foreigners with strange traditions subjugated the leaderless local population and violated their customs and religion. He decided that the foreigners’ dominance had to be opposed and destroyed. This could be achieved through a united use of force and strategy.
He organised the local hills men and indoctrinated them with the idea of freedom from foreign occupants of their region. He trained them and created a fighting force, which was small in number but very mobile and dedicated to his cause.
Shivaji started his career of conquest at an early age by capturing outlying forts of Bijapur kingdom. He initially conquered the fort of Torna and thereafter, forts in Kondana and Purandar without using force, but with the use of stratagem.
After Dadaji’s death, he took full control of his father’s estate. Later he attacked and took possession of Kalyan in the Konkan region. Adilshah became irritated by Shivaji’s actions. He imprisoned Shahaji, assuming his connivance with his son’s actions. Shivaji approached the Mughal viceroy of the region and with his influence had Shahaji released from prison. For next six years, Shivaji consolidated his possessions.
Shivaji resumed his conquest in 1656, and adopting different strategies subdued powerful feudal lords and captured forts belonging to Bijapur. The monarch was annoyed at his losses to Shivaji and sent Afzal Khan, a mighty general, to subdue Shivaji.
Afzal Khan was arrogant and disrespectful to local traditions. On his way to start war against Shivaji, he desecrated a number of temples and holy sites.
Shivaji had moved to Pratapgad fort. Afzal Khan surrounded the fort but was unable to defeat him. The battle reached a stalemate. Afzal Khan devised a plan to meet Shivaji in private on the pretext of negotiating an amicable solution. Considering his past behaviours and actions, Shivaji remained suspicious of Afzal Khan’s intentions but consented to meet him on mutually agreed conditions.
Shivaji wore armour beneath his clothes and concealed a metal Baghnakha, tiger claw, and a dagger. Afzal Khan was a physically strong man. When they met, Afzal Khan embraced Shivaji aggressively, held him by the neck and tried to stab him. Shivaji sensed his villainous actions and tore his body with Baghnakha. Afzal Khan was killed and his army was routed.
The captured enemy, both officers and men, were set free and sent back to their homes with money, food and other gifts. Shivaji’s forces were rewarded accordingly. Captured women were safely returned to their relatives. Following his success over Afzal Khan, Shivaji captured many other forts and areas of Bijapur kingdom.
Shivaji now directed his attention to liberating the areas under control of Mughals. His officers raided the Mughal territory near Ahmadnagar and Junnar and carried off booty.
Mughal emperor Aurangzeb sent his maternal uncle Shaista Khan with a huge army to attack Shivaji. Shaista Khan seized Pune and established his residence at Shivaji’s palace Rang Mahal. Shivaji along with a group of men entered the town in disguise of a wedding party and gained access to the Khan’s compound. There they attacked Shaista Khan. He escaped loosing only three fingers from a sword attack but many of his soldiers were killed.
In retaliation for Shaista Khan’s invasion, Shivaji attacked Surat, a port city with thriving business activities. Many European businesses including Dutch, Portuguese, French and British had their factories and warehouses in Surat. It was a major source of revenue for the Mughals.
Shivaji’s forces carried away a lot of wealth to replenish his depleted treasury.
Aurangzeb was enraged and sent Raja Jai Singh to defeat Shivaji. Jai Singh was persistent and effective in attacking Shivaji’s forces. Shivaji’s position became vulnerable and he consented to sign the Treaty of Purandar. Shivaji agreed to relinquish 23 of his forts, keeping 12 for himself, and pay compensation to the Mughals.
Jai Singh persuaded Shivaji to visit the Mughal court in Agra. He held personal responsibility for his safety. Shivaji had a son named Sambhaji by his first wife Saibai. Shivaji along with his son travelled to Agra. In Agra, he was treated poorly and practically became a prisoner.
He did not lose hope and devised a plan to escape from Agra. He fell ill and did not improve with medicines. He started to send baskets of sweets for distribution among Brahmins and poor for their blessing in the hope of a cure. Initially, sentries routinely inspected the baskets, but later they allowed them to be sent without checking the contents of the baskets. Shivaji and his son escaped from their residence in the sweet baskets, with the help of trusted basket carriers. Travelling through Mathura, Kashi, Gaya, shores of the Bay of Bengal and Central India, Shivaji reached Raigad, the fort under his control.
After Shivaji’s escape, another Mughal commander Jaswant Singh was sent to fight him. However, he became an intermediary between Aurangzeb and Shivaji for negotiation of a peace proposal. Aurangzeb conferred the title of Raja to Shivaji and his son Sambhaji was restored as a Mughal Mansabdar. However, the peace did not last long as Aurangzeb did not stick to the agreed terms.
Shivaji attacked Surat again and also defeated Mughals and Bijapur forces in subsequent battles. He had acquired a large tract of land but he lacked a title of the king.
Shivaji was crowned the king of Maratha territories on 6th June 1674 at Raigad fort. Priest Ganga Bhatt of Kashi officiated the ritual. After the ceremony, Shivaji bowed before his mother and touched her feet. Shivaji was entitled Chhatrapati, paramount sovereign and Maharaj, the great king. Shivaji’s mother Jijabai was over eighty years of age. She died soon after the crowning ceremony. A second coronation was held on 24 September 1674 to allay any suspicion of bad omen.
Shivaji continued expansion of his kingdom by capturing more territories. He entered into a treaty with Golconda sultanate and jointly opposed the Mughals. Shivaji seized the forts of Vellore and Gingee.
In late March 1680, Shivaji fell ill with fever and dysentery and died on 3rd April. Shivaji established the Maratha kingdom by carving out areas from powerful monarchs of the time. After Shivaji’s death, his son Sambhaji and then another son Rajaram from his second wife Soyarabai, became king.
A grandson of Shivaji and son of Sambhaji named Shahu ruled the Maratha empire from1707 to 1749. At its peak, the Maratha Empire extended from Tamil Nadu in the south to Peshawar in the north, and Bengal in the east to Arabian Sea in the west.
Shivaji used Marathi, the language of his region, as his court language. He stressed on following Hindu political and courtly traditions. His administration was aligned with the ancient Hindu form of governance. He realised the importance of naval forces and established navy along coastlines of his kingdom.
He was a proud Hindu but was liberal and tolerant to other religions. Shivaji allowed Muslims to practice their religion freely and supported them with endowments.
Shivaji has become an inspiration for modern India. His statues and monuments can be found all over India.