STORIES FROM

CHATRAPATI

SHIVAJI

MAHARAJ

LIFE

INTRODUCTION

Shivaji was a Hindu king, who formed the Maratha

Empire he was born in the year of 1627. Shivaji's

father Shahaji Bhosale was the leader at Mughal

kings such as Nizamshahia of Ahmadnagar,

Adilshah of Bijapur . Shivaji's mother was Jijabai.

Shahji had his estate and small army at Pune. Since

Shahaji was a leader for Mughal Kings, he used to be

always busy at places away from Pune. When

Shahaji was away from his estate in Pune , Jijabai

used to live at the fort of Shivneri. She would look

after their estate in Pune. She would help the poor,

resolve the disputes amongst the people and

therefore she was respected by all the people in the

surrounding villages.

SHIVNERI FORT

Jijabai worshipped goddess Shivai. She prayed for a

intelligent and courageous son. Shivaji was born in the hill-

fort of Shivneri, near Pune in Maharashtra, India. He was

raised by his mother Jijabai as his father was away from

Pune most of the time. In his childhood, Jijabai told him

stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata. These were a

great influence on him .At that time India was ruled by

Mughals .Jijabai always taught him to fight against the

Mughals and become a Hindu king.

JIJABAI READING STORIES TO

SHIVAJI

ENTRANCE TO SHIVNERI FORT REMAINS ON SHIVNERI FORT

Shahaji’s friend Dadoji Konddev trained and

mentored young Shivaji . He taught Shivaji the skills

such as sword fighting, act of spearing, war tactics ,

horse riding and so on. He also educated Shivaji in

various subjects such as politics, administration, and

imparted importance of values while working as a

ruler or a king, Due to the influence of Jijabi and

Dadoji’s teachings, Shivaji was deeply interested in

religious teachings, and regularly sought the

company of Hindu saints all his life.

SHIVAJI WITH DADOJI KONDDEV

During his childhood Shivaji used to mingle and

play with the children of villagers such as

farmers, potters,blacksmiths, and goldsmiths.

He would play an act of a king and court, Shivaji

himself would be the king in the game. When

Shivaji became the King in real life, he drew his

trusted associates and friends from his

childhood friends.

SHIVAJI WITH HIS FRIENDS

At a young age, Shivaji wandered over the hills and forests of the Sahyadri range. That's how he

became very familiar with the land. Shivaji witnessed the sorry state of the poor people . The

harassment ofHindus by the Moguls ignited a strong ambition in Shivajis mind to defeat Moguls and

establish a Hindu kingdom.

When Shivaji was merely 15 years old , he

gathered his few fellow friends. They all went to

the temple of Rohideshwar. Shivaji explained

his friends the miserable state of Hindus under

Moguls rule. He appealed his friends to take a

vow to fight together against the Moguls till

they were defeated and a Hindu empire is

established. Shivaji and all his friends vowed in

the Rohindeshwar temple for the cause.

TAKING VOW AT ROHIDESHWAR TEMPLE

Prachand Gad (a Humongous fort) is situated, in the ranges of Sahyadri mountains.It was built by Hindu

Shiva followers. This fort was ruled by Moguls. Soon after vowing to fight for Hindu empire, Shivaji

captured this Fort, and named it as Torna. After capturing this fort, Shivaji build several monuments and

towers within it. Torna means garlands put at the entrance door on auspicious occasions. Torna fort

symbolized a garland at the entrance of future Hindu empire.

ARIEL VIEWS OF THE TORNA FORT

COBAT WITH AFZAL KHAN AT PRATAPGAD Combat with Afzal Khan at Pratapgad After Shivaji captured Fort of Torna at the age of 16, he and his friends captured many other forts in small period of time. Some of the forts won by Shivaji include: Rajgad Fort Chakan Fort Kondhana Fort Purandar Fort. As shivaji was capturing fort after fort, the mughal King Adilshah felt threatened. He felt as if Shivaji and his friends are about to carry out a regional revolt against the Mughal Kingdom,Adilshah therefore decided to destroy Shivaji. He sent an experienced and veteran general named Afzalkhan to kill Shivaji. Afzalkhan had a heavy weight, hefty tall personality. Shivaji on the other hand was lean, having only average height. Shivaji learned about Afulkhan and his intend. Shivaji and his friends were expert fighters in the mountain ranges. Mughals were experts in fighting in the plain land. Therefore, Shivaji decided to stay put in the forts situated in the mountains of Sahyadri. Afzalkhan , on the other hand needed to fight with Shivaji in the plain lands. In order to bring Shivaji in the plain lands, Afzalkhan started destroying Hindu temples at Tuljapur and Pandharpur. He thought if we destroy these Hindu holy places of worships, shivaji would be agitated and would come down for a fight in the plain lands where he can be easily killed. But Shivaji realized Afazalkhans motives and did not move from the fort. Instead, he decided to bring Afalkhan and his army in the mountains region. Shivaji therefore sent a letter to Afzal Khan requesting a meeting to negotiate and pretending that he was afraid of the mighty general and his army and so they meet at Pratapgad foothills. Afzalkhan was very pleased to learn that Shivaji is afraid of him, and was willing to give up. Afzalkhan therefore agreed to meet Shivaji . The meeting was decided to be held on November 10th 1659. Meeting was to be held in a tent where afzalkhan was living with his army. It was decided that Afalkhan and Shivaji, both would carry one sword and one follower. Shivaji was very cautious about the meeting and knew that he could get killed in the meeting. He told his soilders that if he gets killed at the hands of Afzalkhan, the fight for Swarajya (Hindu Kingdom) must go on. Before going for the meeting, Shivaji wore a armour beneth his cloths, conceled metal tiger claw on his left arm, and had a dragger on him. During the meeting, Afzalkhan invited Shivaji to embrace him, as a Mughal Custom. During the embrace, Afzalkhan attacked Shivaji in his back with his dragger. Shivaji was saved by his armour. Shivaji then pricked Afzalkhans stomach using tiger claw, and killed him using dragger. When Afzalkhan fell down, Khans soilder tried to attack Shivaji , but Shivajis follower attacked Khans soilder and killed him. Shivaji then signaled his hidden troops to launch assult on the Moghal army. Shivaji and his soilders then defeated Mughal Army after a short fight.

SIEGE AND ESCAPE AT PANHALA Shivaji continued to fight with Mughals and capture more forts. Mughal King Adilshah was very upset since he was unable to capture or kill Shivaji, and Shivajis Hindu Empire was growing. Adilshah decided to trap Shivaji such that he cannot escape. Shivaji was at Panhala fort, near Kolhapur in Maharashtra. Adilshah send his general Siddi Jauhar to attack Shivaji from the Southern border and Send alliance Mughals to attack Shivaji from the North. Siddi Jauhar surrounded the Panhala fort with his forces, to cut off any kind of supply (food , arms, forces etc), to Shivaji. Shivaji was well prepared and was able to fight with Mughals and Siddhi Jauhar for three months. At the end of three months, the food reserves on the fort were diminished to a level, Shivaji realized his forces cannot sustain for too long. Shivaji decided to leave the fort. Rainy season has started, and shivaji decided to escape on a rainy night. He was accompanied by 600 soilders. The army was led by Bajiprabhu Deshpande. In order to confuse the enemy two palkis were arranged. One for the Shivaji himself and other for his look alike – Shiva Nahvi (barber) . Palki with Shiva Nhavi left the fort and distracted the Siddi Jauhars soilders. Siddi Johars army chased the Palki containing Shiva Nahvi, and captured him. By then Shivaji had left the fort with his 600 men. The Enemy was happy since they thought they had captured the Shivaji, but soon they realized that they have captured a fake Shivaji. The enemy now started a search for real Shivaji. They stared chasing Shivaji very fast. Shivaji did not have enough time to escape. In order to avoid the capture of Shivaji, Bajiprabhu Deshpande volunteered to stay back with few selected soilders and fight till death to hold the enemy at Ghod Khind (a Pass between the two mountains). Shivaji assured Baji that once he reaches vishalgadh , he would fire cannon 3 times , so that Baji and his soilders would know Shivaji had reached safely. Shivaji continued to move towards vishalgad. Bajiprabhu deshande and his soilders stayed back in the Godh khind, and fought furiously with the enemy for about 7 hours. This gave enough time for Shivaji to reach Vishalgadh. During the fight, Bajiprabhu was severly wounded and would die for sure. He was waiting to make sure Shivaji has reached safely. He would not die until he would hear the cannon balls. Despite of his sever wounds, He continued to fight until he heard the 3 cannon balls firings. He realized that Shivaji had reached vishalgadh .Baji prabhu deshpande’s mission was accomplished, job well done. He then died with satisfaction that he was able to save Shivaji. The Ghodh khind became a sacred place for Marathas by blood of great patriot baji prabhu deshpande. Shivaji therefore named this pass as Pavan Khind – a sacred pass.

BATTLE OF PAVAN KHIND Observing that enemy cavalry was fast closing in on them, Shivaji sought to avoid defeat and capture. Baji Prabhu Deshpande, a Maratha sardar of Bandal Deshmukh along with 300 soldiers, volunteered to fight to the death to hold back the enemy at Ghod Khind to give Shivaji and the rest of the

army a chance to reach the safety of the Vishalgad fort. In the ensuing Battle of Pavan Khind, the smaller Maratha force, dual-wielding dand patta swords, held back the larger enemy for seven hours to buy time for Shivaji to escape.The battle resulted in the death of 300 Marathas and 3,000 Adilshahi troops. Baji's bravery saved Shivaji. The pass of

Gajapur, which he held for saving Shivaji became sacred place for Marathas by blood of a great patriot and his 300 followers, hence it was further named as Pavan Khind ('Pavan' means sacred and 'Khind' means Pass).

ATTACK ON SHAISTA KHAN

Now comes a masterly blow of Shivaji at Mughal Subhedar Shaista Khan.The attack on him right into to the middle of his camp. The planning and execution of this attack was so well that it created belief in Mughals that Shivaji possesses some kind of magical powers. In April 1663, Shivaji launched a surprise attack on Shaista Khan in Pune.Shivaji and band of some 200 followers infiltrated Pune, using a wedding procession as cover. They overcame the palace guards, breached the wall, and entered Shaista Khan's quarters, killing those they found there. Shivaji surprised and wounded the Mughal Subhedar of the Deccan in the heart of his camp, in his very bed-chamber, within the inner ring of his body-guards and servants. Shivaji attacked him and severed his three fingeres with his sword. During the combat, the lamps in the room were put out by some wise woman of Shaista Khan which saved his life. Shivaji, finding his enemies fully awakened and arming, delayed no longer, but promptly left the harem, called his men together, and withdrew from the camp by the direct route, while the Mughals, not knowing where their enemies were, fruitlessly searched all their camp. After the attack, as per the plan, Shivaji and his people escaped the area very gracefully by disguising their enemy. The attack of the Maratha hero were rewarded by an immense increase of his prestige. The whole country talked with astonishment and terror of the almost superhuman deed done by him. Shaista Khan took refuge with the Mughal forces outside of Pune, and Aurangzeb punished him for this embarrassment with a transfer to Bengal.

VISIT TO AGRA, ARREST IN AGRA AND ESCAPE

In 1666, Aurangzeb invited Shivaji to Agra, along with his nine-year-old son Sambhaji. Jai singh had

to take many efforts to convince Shivaji.

Shivaji's arrangements for the administration of his kingdom during his absence, were a masterpiece

of foresight and organization. He made his local representatives absolutely independent of any need

for his orders during his absence. The administration of his territories and forts would go on as

efficiently as before, even if he were imprisoned or killed at Agra. Shivaji made a quick tour of his

kingdom, inspected many forts and instructed his officer how to work in his absence. On 5th march

1666, Shivaji started to Agra from Rajgad.

Aurangzeb's plan was to send Shivaji to Kandahar, now in Afghanistan, to consolidate the Mughal

empire's northwestern frontier. However, in the court, on 12 May 1666, Aurangzeb made Shivaji

stand behind military commanders of his court intentionally disrespecting him. Shivaji took it as an

offence and stormed out of court,and was promptly placed under house arrest under the watch of

Faulad Khan, Kotwal of Agra.

Shivaji's spies informed him that Aurangzeb planned to move Shivaji

to Raja Vitthaldas' haveli and then to possibly kill him or send him to

fight in the Afghan frontier, so Shivaji planned his escape. Shivaji

feigned severe illness and requested to send most of his contingent

back to the Deccan, thereby ensuring the safety of his army and

deceiving Aurangzeb.

Thereafter, on his request, Shivaji was allowed to send daily

shipments of sweets and gifts to saints, fakirs, and temples in Agra

as offerings and charity. After several days and weeks of sending out

boxes containing sweets,Shivaji and Sambhaji hid themselves in two

of the boxes and escaped on 22 July 1666.

Shivaji and his son fled to the Deccan disguised as sadhus (holy men). They both separated their path back to Maharashtra. After the escape, rumours of Sambhaji's death were intentionally spread by Shivaji himself in order to deceive the Mughals and to protect Sambhaji.

BATTLE OF SINHAGAD During this phase, Tanaji Malusare won the fort of Sinhgad in the Battle of Sinhgad on 4 Feb 1670, dying in the process. The battle was a night battle that took place on February 4, 1670 in the fort of Sinhagad, near the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was fought between Tanaji Malusare, a commander of Maratha ruler Shivaji and Udaybhan Rathod, fortkeeper under Jai Singh. Tanaji's army won the war to hand over control of the fort to the Marathas with casualties 300 from Mughal side and 50 from Marathas as well as around 4000 Mughal troops imprisoned by mere 500 Marathas. Since a lion(‘Sinh’) like Tanaji was lost in the battle, the fort was named after him. Shivaji sacked Surat for second time in 1670; while he was returning from Surat, Mughals under Daud Khan tried to intercept him, but were defeated in the Battle of Vani-Dindori near present-day Nashik. Shivaji opened his offensive with great vigour and immediate success. His roving troops looted Mughal territory, and he attacked several of the forts which he had ceded to Aurangzib by the Treaty of Purandar. Every day the Emperor got news of such loss of forts. Shivaji's most conspicuous success was the capture of Kondana from Udai-bhan, its Rajput qiladar, (4th Feb. 1670).

CORONATION OF SHIVAJI MAHARAJ

On 6th June 1674, Shivaji's coronation ceremony was performed according to the shastras by Vishweshwar, also called Gaga Bhatta, of Varanasi. He was crowned Chhatrapati ("paramount sovereign") of the Marathas in 1674. The coronation ceremony was an event of great significance in the history of India. In case of all other rulers, the coronation had to be approved by the Mughal Emperor, but Shivaji did it as a bold challenge to the Mughal authority, and the title of Chhatrapati or paramount sovereign which he adopted symbolized this challenge. He could now claim devotion and loyalty of the people over whom he ruled and his treaties and promises now had greater sanctity as engagements of the head of a State and had more legal validity and assurance of permanence. The formal assertion of his position as an independent king gratified every Hindu heart, harassed and oppressed by the Muslim governments and clerics drawing authority and sanction from the teachings

and ideas alien to the culture of India.