February 5, 2017 VISHWA LALIT The Great Indian Sub Continent

Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj: The Napoleon ofIndia

States fall, empires break up, dynasties become extinct, but the memory of a true hero as King like Shivaji
remains an imperishable historical legacy for an entire human race.
One of the most progressive and sensible rulers in the history of our country was Chatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj.
The tales of his valor are countless and his victory over his enemies innumerable. The Great Maratha King and
also the founder of the Maratha empire was born on 3rd April 1627.A fierce warrior, he unified the Marathas
against the Mughals and for the first time it was during his reign the flag of Poorna Swaraj(complete self-
rule) was raised.
He was the worst enemy of the Mughals who feared the wrath of his Sword, Chhatrapati Shivaji was a valiant
king and a secular ruler who respected all religions equally.He
was crowned as Chatrapati of Raigad on June 6,
in the year 1674.He was a
master in all the fields from warfare to politics. At the age of 12, Shivaji was taken to
Mysore (current Bengaluru) where he and his elder brother Sambhaji and his half-brother Ekoji I were
formally trained further. Shivajis mother Jijabai and his guru Ramdas inspired him with the noble and
patriotic ideas and infused in him love for the religion and the motherland. Shivaji got military training and
learnt the art of government from Kondadev. He organized a number of Marathi hill-folk into a fighting force
and began to raid neighboring territories.

Administration under Shivaji

The administrative system of Shivaji was largely borrowed from the administrative practices of the Deccan
states. It was also influenced by the principles laid down in Kautilyas Arthasastra and the Dharmasastras. In
the discharge of his duties he was assisted by a council of ministers.

He stood for the honour of

women
and made sure
none were taken
 prisoners.Unlike many
other rulers of the
land, no
one under his rule was allowed to dishonour women. Women of captured territories were leftunharmedand
naturally rape or molestation was severely punished.He turned cruel towards those who did cruel things. The
punishments were constant with the severity of the crime.

Unlike Aurangzeb who forced many people to accept his suzerainty by destroying temples and indulging in
forceful conversion by sword as recorded by Shivajis contemporary, the poet Kavi Bhushan stated: Had
not
there been Shivaji, Kashi would have lost its culture, Mathura would have been turned into a mosque and all would
have been circumcised. Shivaji adopted a secular approach, Yakut Baba a Sufi Muslim saint was one of the
kings spiritual guides.The
king had ordered his Hindu soldiers, that Muslim women and children should not be
maltreated, Mosques should be given a protection and if they find a copy of Koran while the mission, they
should handover it to their Muslim colleagues respectfully.A practical thinker and a follower of HinduismHindu
epics like Ramayana and Mahabharatawere the influence to his lifelong defence of Hindu values.Throughout
his life he was deeply interested in
religious teachings, and regularly sought the company of Hindu
and Sufi
saints.He helped people who wanted to convert back to Hinduism. In fact, he married his own daughter to a
converted Hindu.
Military
Shivaji expanded his army from 2,000 soldiers to 100,000 and established a navy to protect the Goa and Konkan
coastline.He
was the first to realise its importance amongst the Indian kings; naval
forts were built in Vijaydurg,
Sindhudurg and Jaigad, while docks for repair of naval vessels were set up in Ratnagiri.With
the help of a
disciplined military and well-structured administrative organisations, Shivaji established a competent and
progressive civil rule.

Shivaji was a born leader and a great administrator. He had a successful military career. He is known for
establishing a well-managed administrative and military system. His charisma drew people around him. In him
they found the leader who never hesitated to risk his own life in times of danger. Shivaji had a constructive
genius of a high order. The army of Shivajiwas well organized. The most significant achievement of Shivaji was
the welding of the Marathas into a nation. He infused a new spirit of unity and dignity into the Maratha people
consisting of 96 clans.
In recruitment to services Shivaji showed no partiality to any community. There was no discrimination, no
casteism, and no communalism. He, however, laid emphasis on the recruitment of the son of the soil. Though a
champion of
Hinduism, he extended his liberality to the people professing other religions.

Conquests of Shivaji
Chhatrapati Shivajibegan his early careerof
conquests at the age of nineteen by capturing the fort of Torna,
about twenty miles from Puna. After this he conquered other forts like Chakan,
Singhagarh and Purandar,
situated within the territories of the Sultanate of Bijapur.

In order to put pressure on Shivaji the Sultan of Bijapur imprisoned Shahaji Raje Bhosale, Shivajis father.
After that Shivaji kept quiet for a few years. Shahaji Raje Bhosalewas released by the Sultan. But Shivaji again
started his activities of conquest. By 1655 Shivaji had occupied the northern part of Konkon and the fort of
Javali. His tactics and practicality helped him win battles where he was out-numbered as well. He devised and
advanced the skill of Guerrilla warfare previously successfully utilized
by another Great KingMaharana
Pratap

These acquisitions provoked the Sultan of Bijapur who sent against Shivaji in 1659 a large army under a senior
general named Afzal Khan, with instructions to bring Shivaji to the court dead or alive. In a clash between Afzal
Khan and Shivaji .It is said that they met in a hut that only allowed them to carry a single sword, but Shivaji
was sure of the Mughals cowardliness that Afzal Khan would attack him. So, he wore an armour underneath
which stopped Khans dagger.

The army of Shivaji defeated the

Bijapuri Sultanate in the Battle of Pratapgarh (November 10, 1659). Huge
quantity of weapons and war-materials were collected, which further
strengthened the Maratha army.
Thissuccessgained him much reputation among the Marathas. He became a Hero.

The Sultan of Bijapur again sent

a large army, under the leadership of Rustam Zaman, which also failed to curb
 the power of Shivaji. The battletook place on December 28, 1659. The Maratha army of Shivaji defeated the
Bijapuri army in the Battle of Kolhapur. A large number of horses, elephants and warfare materials were
gainedby the Marathas.

Shivaji and the Mughals

Emboldened by his success Chhatrapati Shivajibegan raiding Mughal territories in 1657. Aurangzeb felt the
necessity of chastising him and sent a big army under Shaista Khan. He occupied Puna and encamped there.
One night Shivaji made a surprise attack on Puna. A large number of Mughal soldiers were killed and Shaista
Khan had a narrow escape.Thereafter,
in 1661,Kartalab Khan was sent to counter Shivaji. In the Battle of

Umberkhind, the large Mughal forces were defeated by relatively smaller forces of the Marathas.After this
incident in 1664, Shivaji sacked Surat and carried off a huge booty.

On looking at the rise of such a

great hindu patriotThe Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, had sent Jai Singh and
Dilip Khan to stop Shivaji and accept Mughal Suzerainty. Aurangzeb later invited Shivaji to his fort to come to
an agreement to allow suzeranity of 23 forts to the Mughals but instead of coming to the agreement he held him
captive showing his cowardness and the fear of Maharajas growing power, Aurangzeb did not treat him well
and kept Shivaji and his son Sambhaji, imprisoned under careful watch. But Shivaji managed to escape from
Agra with his son. Reaching home he started war against the Mughals with renewed vigor. At last Aurangzeb

was obliged to recognize him as a Raja (king).Shivaji regained all the forts that was lost and at the same time
was given the title ofChhatrapati.Due to his independent status Coins were inscribed on his name. His goal
was always to establish a free kingdom in the country
and motivated his troops to fight for India and not any
king in particular. Mughal Empire had reached its peak by then and had nearly 80% of the Indian subcontinent
under its rule in the 17th century. Shivaji fought against the Mughal Empire and lead to their collapse in the
 18th century.He was perfectly fine with the other kings and opposed the foreign rulers.

Dealings with the English

In October 1670, Shivaji sent his forces to harass the English at Bombay; as they had refused to sell him war
material, his forces blocked Bombays woodcutting parties. In September 1671, Shivaji sent an ambassador to
Bombay, again seeking material, this time for the fight against Danda-Rajpuri; the English had
misgivings of the
advantages Shivaji would gain from this conquest, but
also did not want to lose any chance of receiving
compensation for his looting their factories at Rajapur. The English sent Lieutenant Stephen Ustick to treat with
Shivaji, but negotiations failed over the issue of the Rajapur indemnity. Numerous exchanges of envoys followed
over the coming years, with some agreement as to the arms issues in 1674, but Shivaji was never to pay the
Rajpur indemnity before his death, and the factory there dissolved at the end of 1682.

When Shivaji went to Tanjoreto fight his half-brother Venkoji (Ekoji I), he met the English at Madras(then
known as Madraspatnam) on 3 October 1677 as stated in a plaque in the Kalikambal temple, located on
Thambu Chetty Street in George Town. The East India Companyofficials who looked after the fort at that time
have recorded that Shivaji came up to the gates of Fort St.
George and had sought the services of the English
engineers but the request was politely turned down.

In late March 1680, Shivaji fell

ill with fever and dysentery,dying around 35 April 1680 at the age of
52,on the
eve of Hanuman Jayanti. Putalibai, the childless eldest of the surviving wives of Shivaji committed Satiby
jumping in his funeral pyre. The other surviving spouse, Sakwarbai, was not allowed to follow suit because she
had a young daughter Hence the curtains to one of the greatest son of Bharat came to an end.

Here are some famous Quotes to sum up Shivajis Great history