Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was the founder of the Maratha Empire in western India. He is
Childhood & Early Life:
Shivaji Bhosle was born on February 19, 1630 to Shahaji Bhosle and Jijabai in the fort of Shivneri, near the city of Junnar of the Pune district. Shivaji’s father Shahaji was in service of the Bijapuri Sultanate - a tripartite association between Bijapur, Ahmednagar, and Golconda, as a general. He also owned a Jaigirdari near Pune. Shivaji’s mother Jijabai was the daughter of Sindkhed leader Lakhujirao Jadhav and a deeply religious woman. Shivaji was especially close to his mother who instilled in him a strict sense of right and wrong. Since Shahaji spent most of his time outside of Pune, the responsibility of overseeing Shivaji’s education rested on the shoulders of 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). Kanhoji Jedhe and Baji Pasalkar were appointed to train Shivaji in military and martial arts. Shivaji was married to Saibai Nimbalkar in 1640.
Struggles with Bijapur:
By 1645, Shivaji acquired control of several strategic from under the Bijapur Sultanate around Pune – Torna from Inayat Khan, Chakan from FirangojiNarsala, Kondana from Adil Shahi Governor, along with Singhagarh and Purandar. Following his success, he had emerged as a threat for Mohammed Adil Shah who gave the order to imprison Shahaji in 1648. Shahaji was released on condition that Shivaji kept a low profile and kept from further conquests. Shivaji resumed his conquests after Shahaji’s death in 1665 by acquiring the valley of Javali from Chandrarao More, a Bijapuri jaigirdaar. Mohammed Adil Shah sent Afzal Khan, a powerful general in his employ to subdue Shivaji.
The two met in a private rendezvous on November 10, 1659 to discuss terms of negotiation. Shivaji anticipated it to be a trap and he arrived prepared wearing armor and concealing a metal tiger claw. When Afzal Khan attacked Shivaji with a dagger, he was saved by his armour and Shivaji retaliated by attacking Afzal Khan with the tiger’s claw, mortally injuring him. He ordered his forces to launch an assault on the leaderless Bijapuri contingents. Victory was easy for Shivaji in the Battle of Pratapgarh, where around 3000 Bijapuri soldiers were killed by the Maratha forces. Mohammed Adil Shah next sent a larger army under the command of General Rustam Zaman who faced Shivaji in the Battle of Kolhapur. Shivaji secured victory in a strategic battle causing the general to flee for his life. Mohammed Adil Shah finally saw victory when his general Siddi Jauhar successfully sieged the fort of Panhala on September 22, 1660. Shivaji recaptured the Fort of Panhal later in 1673.
Administration:
Under his reign, the Maratha administration was established where Chhatrapati was the supreme sovereign and a team of eight ministers were appointed to oversee the proper enforcement of various policies. These eight ministers reported directly to Shivaji and were given a lot of power in terms of execution of policies formulated by the King. These eight ministers were –
(1) The Peshwa or Prime Minister, who was head of general administration and represented the king in his absence.
(2) The Majumder or the Auditor was responsible for maintain the financial health of the kingdom
(3) The PanditRao or Chief Spiritual Head was responsible for overseeing the spiritual well-being of the kindom, fix dates for religious ceremonies and oversee charitable programs undertaken by the king.
(4) The Dabir or Foreign Secretary was entrusted with the responsibility of advising the king on matters of foreign policies.
(5) The Senapati or Military General was in charge of overseeing every aspect of the military including organization, recruitment and training of soldiers. He also was the strategic advisor of the king in the time of a war.
(6) The Nyayadhish or Chief Justice saw formulations of law and their subsequent enforcement, civil, judicial as well as military.
(7) The Mantri or Chronicler was responsible for keeping elaborate records of everything the king did in his daily life.
(8) The Sachiv or Superintendant was in charge of royal correspondence.
Shivaji vigorously promoted the use of Marathi and Sanskrit in his court instead of Persian, the existing Royal language. He even changed the names of the forts under his control to Sanskrit names to accent his Hindu rule. Although Shivaji himself was a devout Hindu, he promoted tolerance for all religion under his rule. His administrative policies were subject-friendly and humane, and he encouraged liberty of women in his rule.He was strictly against caste discrimination and employed people from all caste in his court. He introduced the Ryotwari system eliminating the need for middlemen between farmers and the state and collecting revenues directly from the manufacturers and producers. Shivaji introduced the collection of two taxes called the Chauth and Sardeshmukhi. He divided his kingdom into four provinces, each headed by a Mamlatdar. Village was the smallest unit of administration and the head was titled as Deshpande, who headed the Village Panchayat. Shivaji maintained a strong military force, built several strategic forts to secure his borders and developed a strong naval presence along the Konkan and Goan coasts.
Demise and Legacy:
Shivaji died at the age of 52 on April 3, 1680, at the Raigad Fort, after suffering from a bout of dysentery. A conflict of succession arose after his death between his eldest son Sambhaji and his third wife Soyrabai on behalf of her 10-year old son Rajaram. Sambhaji dethroned the young Rajaram and ascended the throne himself on June 20, 1680.the Mughal-Maratha conflicts continued after Shivaji’s death and the Maratha glory declined greatly. However it was reclaimed by young Madhavrao Peshwa who reclaimed Maratha glory and established his authority over North India.
