Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj


Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was the founder of the Maratha Empire in India. He is considered to be one of the bravest warriors of his time and even today, his stories are narrated as a part of the folklore. King Shivaji used guerrilla tactics to capture the leading Mughal Empire.

Shivaji was born on 19th February 1630, in the Shivneri Fort, situated almost 60 km to the north of Pune. His father's name was Sahaji and his mother's name was Jijabai. He was named Shiva, after the local Goddess Shivai, whom his mother worshipped.

After being defeated by the combined forces of the Mughals and Adil Shah, Sahaji was given a jagir near the present-day Bangalore. However, he was allowed to keep his assets in Pune. Sahaji left his son Shivaji to administer the assets in Pune, under the supervision of his mother Jijabai.

Shivaji started looking after his estate with a small council of ministers. His ministers included Shamrao Nilkanth as Peshwa, Balkrishna Pant as Muzumdar, Raghunath Ballal as Sabnis, and Sonopant as Dabir. By the year 1644, Shivaji undertook complete administrative responsibilities of his domain. Thus, he started his career as a self-governing young prince of a small kingdom.

At the age of sixteen, Shivaji seized the Torna fort of the Bijapur kingdom. By 1647, he had control over Kondana and Raigad forts, with absolute power of the Pune region. Now, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj held the forts in the Western Ghats as well as those along the Konkan coast. He also fought against the army of Adilshah at Purandhar. In November 1659, he fought the battle of Pratapgarh and defeated Afzal Khan. Following this success, he occupied the area stretching up to the Panhala fort.

In December 1659, The battle of Kolhapur took place. In the battle, he defeated the army of Bijapur. In 1660, Siddi Johar's huge army attacked him at Panhala fort but Shivaji managed to escape from the fort. However, he soon launched an attack on Siddi Johar. The result was the surrender of Panhala and the signing of a peace treaty between Shivaji and Adilshah. After the death of Adilshah, Aurangzeb attacked Golconda and Bijapur. Shivaji used guerilla warfare and seized Bijapur and Mughal territories. However, by 1663, he had lost most of his conquests to the Mughal army.

Aurangzeb sent Jai Singh, a Hindu general, to imprison Shivaji, who surrendered himself at Purander in 1665 and agreed to become a Mughal vassal. In 1666, he managed to escape from Agra and in January 1670, launched an attack on Mughal garrisons in Maharashtra. Within a period of six months, he recaptured back most of his lost Empire.

Shivaji was officially crowned as 'Chatrapati' in June 1674 at the Raigad fort. He was given the title of 'Kshatriya Kulavantas Simhasanadheeshwar Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj'.

Shivaji died on 3rd April 1680 in the Raigad fort, the capital of the Maratha Empire. He was succeeded by his elder son, Sambhaji.