Shivaji

Shivaji Bhonsle (Marathi [iai bos()le]; c. 1627/1630[1] 3 April 1680), also known as Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved
out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanateof Bijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha
Empire. In 1674, he was formally crowned as the Chhatrapati (Monarch) of his realm at Raigad.
Shivaji established a competent and progressive civil rule with the help of a disciplined military and wellstructured administrative organisations. He innovated military tactics, pioneering the guerrilla
warfare methods (Shiva sutra or ganimi kava), which leveraged strategic factors like geography, speed,
and surprise and focused pinpoint attacks to defeat his larger and more powerful enemies. He revived
ancient Hindu political traditions and court conventions and promoted the usage of Marathi and Sanskrit,
rather than Persian, in court and administration.
Shivaji's legacy was to vary by observer and time but began to take on increased importance with the
emergence of the Indian independence movement, as many elevated him as a proto-nationalist and hero
of the Hindus.[3] Particularly in Maharashtra, debates over his history and role have engendered great
passion and sometimes even violence as disparate groups have sought to characterise him and his
legacy.

Upbringing and concept of Hindavi Swarajya

Shivaji was extremely devoted to his mother Jijabai, who was deeply religious. This religious environment
had a great impact on Shivaji, and he carefully studied the two great Hindu
epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata; these were to influence his lifelong defence of Hindu values.
[12]
Throughout his life he was deeply interested in religious teachings, and regularly sought the company
of Hindu and Sufisaints.[6] At the age of 12, Shivaji was taken to Bangalore where he, his elder brother
Sambhaji and his half brother Ekoji I were further formally trained. He married Saibai from the
prominent Nimbalkar family in 1640.[19]:60 Around 164546, the teenage Shivaji first expressed his concept
for Hindavi Swarajya, in a letter to Dadaji Naras Prabhu.

Clash with the Mughals

Up until 1657, Shivaji maintained peaceful relations with the Mughal Empire. Shivaji offered his
assistance to Aurangzeb in conquering Bijapur and in return, he was assured of the formal recognition of
his right to the Bijapuri forts and villages under his possession. [6]:37 Shivaji's confrontations with the
Mughals began in March 1657, when two of Shivaji's officers raided the Mughal territory
near Ahmednagar.[41] This was followed by raids in Junnar, with Shivaji carrying off 300,000 hun in cash
and 200 horses.[6]:38 Aurangzeb responded to the raids by sending Nasiri Khan, who defeated the forces of
Shivaji at Ahmednagar. However, Aurangzeb's countermeasures against Shivaji were interrupted by the
rainy season and his battle of succession with his brothers for the Mughal throne following the illness
of Shah Jahan.

Attack on Shaista Khan

Upon the request of Badi Begum of Bijapur, Aurangzeb sent his maternal uncle Shaista Khan, with an
army numbering over 150,000 along with a powerful artillery division in January 1660 to attack Shivaji in
conjunction with Bijapur's army led by Siddi Jauhar. Shaista Khan, with his better-equipped and
-provisioned army of 300,000 seized Pune and the nearby fort of Chakan, besieging it for a month and a
half until breaching the walls. Shaista Khan pressed his advantage of having a larger, better provisioned
and heavily armed Mughal army and made inroads into some of the Maratha territory, seizing the city of
Pune and establishing his residence at Shivaji's palace of Lal Mahal.

Forts
Shivaji captured strategically important forts at Murambdev (Rajgad), Torna, Konkana (Sinhagad)
and Purandar and laid the foundation of swaraj or self-rule. Toward the end of his career, he had a control

of 360 forts to secure his growing kingdom. Shivaji himself constructed about 1520 totally new forts
(including key sea forts like Sindhudurg), but he also rebuilt or repaired many strategically placed
forts[93] to create a chain of 300 or more, stretched over a thousand kilometres across the rugged crest of
the Western Ghats. Each were placed under three officers of equal status lest a single traitor be bribed or
tempted to deliver it to the enemy. The officers (sabnis, havaldar, sarnobat) acted jointly and provided
mutual checks and balance.