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Shivaji Bhonsle, also known as  Chhatrapati Shri
Shivaji Maharaj (February 19, 1630 - April 3,
1680) was the founder of the Maratha empire in
western India in 1674. 

Using guerrilla tactics superbly suited to the
rugged mountains and valleys found in this region,
he annexed a portion of the then dominant Mughal
empire and established the seeds of free India
which was to endure until 1818. He is still
considered a hero in the present-day state of
Maharashtra, and stories of his exploits have
entered into folklore.

Shivaji had a major share in ensuring that India
retained her primarily Hindu character. His
thoughts and deeds still continue to inspire
millions.

==Formal title conferred upon coronation==
KSHATRIYA KULAVATMSA SIMHASANADEESHWAR CHATRAPATHI
SHIVAJI MAHARAJ. Pandit Gagadhar Bhat officialy
presided over the ceremony. Henry Oxenden from the
British was the official present to formally
acknowledge.

==Early life==
Shivaji was born in 1630, in the hill fort of
Shivneri, 60 km north of Pune. He was one of the
most influential amongst the Yadav (Yaduvanshi
Kshatriya) rulers. His father, Shahaji, was a
jagirdar of the sultan of Bijapur in Pune. His
mother was Jijabai.Before Bijapur, Shahaji was a
jagirdar of the Nizam of Ahmednagar. After the
death of Malik Amber, the Vazir, or chief
minister, of Ahmednagar, the Mughal emperor Shah
Jahan completed the conquest of the Nizamshahi
kingdom of Ahmednagar in 1636. Shahaji then
switched allegiance to the Adil Shahi of Bijapur.
When Shahaji took another wife, as was a common
occurrence in aristocratic families, his mother,
Jijabai, moved to Pune to raise her son. Shahaji
married Tukabai who gave birth to Ekoji, who later
founded the kingdom of Tanjore.

With the constant mixture of popular lore and
genuine history, the understanding of who
Shivaji's influences, mentors and friends were is
often uncertain. It is said by many that he was
guided in warfare tactics by one Dadoji Konddev, a
loyal of the Bhonsale family, until he was eight
years old. But the greatest influence on him was
of his mother Jijabai who imbibed in Shivaji a
spirit of defiance, self assertion and independent
thinking. 

In 1646, when Shivaji was 16, he launched his
first military attack by capturing Torna fort, a
part of Bijapur territory. In 1647, Shivaji had
captured Kondana and Rajgad forts and had complete
control of the Pune region. By 1659, Shivaji had
captured some forty forts in the Western Ghats and
along the Konkan coast. Afzal Khan, Bijapur's
finest general, was sent to destroy Shivaji. Afzal
Khan's campaign was largely successful, and
resulted in Shivaji being besieged in the small
fort of Pratapgad near present-day Mahabaleshwar.
Shivaji sued for peace, and a meeting was arranged
in Afzal Khan's camp. Each had supposedly
dispensed with attendants and weapons.
Nevertheless, both men came to the meeting armed.
Amongst Shivaji's hidden arsenal was a small iron
finger-grip with four curving razor claws which
could be hidden by closing the palm. As the two
men hugged each other, Afzal Khan nearly stuck a
dagger at Shivaji’s side, but the Maratha passed
his arm around the Khan’s waist and, to quote
from the admiring biography by Jadunath Sarkar,
"tore his bowels open with a blow of steel claws".
This episode was described, amidst the euphoria of
the celebrations in 1974-75 to mark the 300th
anniversary of the coronation of Shivaji, as the
"most glorious event in the history of the
Marathas." (See R. V. Herwadkar, "Historicity of
Shivaji-Afzal Khan Confrontation", in B. K. Apte,
ed., Chhatrapati Shivaji: Coronation Tercentenary
Commemmoration Volume (Bombay: University of
Bombay, 1974-75.) Following Shivaji's attack on
Khan, Khan's private secretary, Krishnaji Bhaskar
Kulkarni attacked Shivaji with his sword. But
Shivaji’s bodyguard Jiva Mahal (Mahalya) saved
Shivaji. In Marathi language people say ‘Hota
Jiva Mhanun Wachala Shiva’ (Because of Jiva;
Shivaji survived the attack.) Afzal Khan was
killed, and Maratha warriors who had been hiding
in the surrounding scrub rushed out and attacked
the Bijapur army, taking their stores, treasure,
horses and elephants, and enrolled many of his
men. Shivaji celebrated his success over Afzal
Khan by conquering more of the Konkan coast
between Mumbai and Goa.

==Conflict with the Mughals==
Shivaji frequently raided the Mughal territory to
the north of his small kingdom. Retaliation came
quickly in the form of Shahista Khan, Aurangzeb's
maternal uncle, who seized Pune and the fort of
Chakan. The Khan's vast army was more than a match
for Shivaji's troops. In the guise of a marriage
party, Shivaji led a small group to a daring
attack on the residence of the Khan in April 1663.
According to folklore, the Khan managed to escape
with the loss of three fingers, cut off by Shivaji
as he jumped out of a window. The narrow escape
made the Khan give up the fight and withdraw from
Pune. To rub salt on Mughal wounds, Shivaji
attacked and looted the wealthy Mughal trading
city of Surat in January 1664 on the west coast of
India. The Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb was greatly
angered by Shivaji's activities, and he sent a
vast army to finish off Shivaji for good.

The Mughal army was led by Raja Jai Singh of Amber
who was arguably the best officer in the Mughal
forces. Shivaji was outnumbered as usual, and his
usual guerilla tactics were successfully repulsed
by the experienced Jaisingh. Shivaji sought to buy
the peace with the Mughals. The peace treaty that
he signed extracted a heavy price. He lost about
80% of his territory and Twenty Three of his
finest hill forts. 

===Trip To Delhi===
In 1666, Aurangzeb summoned him, along with his
son Sambhaji, who was six years old at the time,
to Delhi. In Delhi, on 12 May 1666 Aurangzeb made
Shivaji stand with the lowly commoners in his
court, an intended insult for a ruler like
Shivaji. Deeply insulted, Shivaji stormed out of
court, and was promptly placed under house arrest.
From his spies, Shivaji came to know that
Aurangzeb planned to soon shift him to a secure
location from where is escape would be impossible.


====Great Escape====
Shivaji then feigned sickness, and requested to be
allowed to have sweets sent to temples in Delhi as
an offering. After several days of sending out
boxes containing sweets, Shivaji and his son got
into two of them, and managed to sneak out without
being seen. According to some historians, this was
possible only because the guards and some
influential officials of the Mughal state were
heavily bribed. He reached his kingdom in October
1666.

====An Alternative Route?====
A recent book by Dr. Ajit Joshi debunks the above
story, and proposes what it claims are the real
facts of the escape.

Shivaji and Aurangzeb met in Agra, not Delhi on
May 12, 1666.  Aurangzeb's father and former
Emperor Shahjahan died in the Agra fort on 22
January 1666. Aurangzeb and his retinue reached
Agra in mid-February 1666.

Shivaji and his son, Sambhaji were put under house
arrest on May 29, 1666 in a large haveli in Agra
owned by Jai Singh.  He feigned sickness during
June 1666, and obtained permission from Aurangzeb
(who was also busy with a rebellion in the North
West) to distribute sweets to sadhus, fakirs, and
general public to get cured from ill health. 
Shivaji also obtained approval to send some of his
courtiers back home since his audience with the
Emperor was over.  This entailed the procurement
of Dastaks (Urdu:Notice) - a travel permit.  This
enabled these men to establish outposts along the
way from Agra in preparation for Shivaji's escape.

During mid-July, Shivaji received intelligence
that Aurangzeb and his courtiers were to depart on
a hunting expedition on July 22, 1666.  Jai
Singh's son Ram Singh requested Shivaji to join
the expedition, but Shivaji refused.

Shivaji had invited Pandit Kavindra Paramananda,
of the Sanskrut Pathashala at Varanasi (Kashi) to
visit him.  This visit took place on July 22,
1666.  During this visit, Shivaji shaved his
beard, donned the garb of a Pandit and joined the
entourage.  A Dastak with his new name had already
been procured.

After breaking off from this group outside Agra,
Shivaji took to Gwalher (Gwalior), Narvar then
straight to Burhanpur! From here Shivaji diverted
to Nashik, since he did not want to go to
Aurangabad.  Sambhaji did not join his father on
this escape, but left Agra on August 16, 1666
disguised as another Brahmin boy.  He joined his
father via Mathura.

Shivaji's escape was only discovered on August 18,
1666 when Aurangzeb appointed him to the
North-West frontier and wanted him to leave for
Kabul.


Notable was the success of the team of ministers
he had established before visiting Delhi. Even in
his absence, day to day business of the kingdom
was run efficiently.

In the years 1667-69, Shivaji lay low. The Mughals
got the impression that he was now a spent force
and would not cause them any more trouble. In
January 1670, Shivaji's forces launched a
concerted attack on Mughal garrisons in
Maharashtra. The force of the assault was
overwhelming; within 6 months Shivaji had regained
most of his old territory. His army was also much
larger now: about 40 thousand cavalry, backed by
60 thousand infantry. From 1670-74 Shivaji greatly
expanded his territory at the expnse of the
Adilshahi and the Mughals.

In 1674, Shivaji was elevated to kingship in a
traditional Hindu coronation ceremony, and took on
the title of Chhatrapati, or Holder of the
Umbrella (representing the protection he bestowed
on his people). After his coronation, he launched
a wave of conquests in southern India by attacking
Mughal encampments in Berar and Khandesh. With his
Maratha forces he defeated and captured the forts
at Vellore and Jinji in modern day Tamilnadu. He
also signed a friendship treaty with the Kutubshah
of Golconda. Shivaji died in 1680 at Raigad, after
running a fever for three weeks. 

After his death,  his elder son Sambhaji and his
step-mother Soyarabai fought for for control of
the kingdom. After a brief struggle Sambhaji was
ultimately crowned king. Aurangzeb's son, Prince
Akbar II|Akbar, rebelled against his father and
was sheltered by Sambhaji. The emperor and his
entourage moved to the Deccan in 1681 to
coordinate the assault on the Marathas. Aurangzeb
was never to return to Agra until his death
twenty-six years later.

==Shivaji's rule==
Shivaji is remembered as a just and wise king and
his rule is called one of the six golden pages in
Indian history. He established an effective civil
and military administration and adopted a policy
of religious tolerance to accommodate all
religions and sects. Shivaji made it a state
policy never to desecrate a mosque or seize women.
Many Muslims were loyal to him, admired him and
served in his army. He also created a government
with democratic structure, where 12 ministers were
elected by the public - one of the first
experiments in democracy in the Indian
subcontinent. The chief of ministers (prime
minister) was chosen by the public and was called
"Peshwa". He was also only the second king in
Indian history to have his own navy, which for
nearly a century after his death was the dominant
naval force on the west coast of India.
Shivaji was suspicious of the British East India
Company, and tried to restrict it from
establishing its outposts or "Vakhar" in various
coastal towns. His navy was built with a long term
vision of checking the Company rule and also to
keep pressure on the rich areas of Surat.

==Remembering Shivaji==
Many Maharashtrians remember Shivaji with
admiration (both the Chatrapati Shivaji
International Airport and in 1996 the Chatrapati
Shivaji Terminus, both located in Mumbai, are
named after him). The Mughal rulers against whom
he fought utilizing guerilla tactics and clever
means to escape from hostile situations, termed
him a mountain rat. Shivaji was, in his day, a
lone Hindu king fighting for a Hindu kingdom in a
land dominated by Muslims. The 300th anniversary
of his coronation in 1974 was marked by major
celebrations by the state government of
Maharashtra, and the government of India.
In both his lifetime and decades, even centuries
after his death, the famous poets of the Hindu
tradition have written odes to his bravery and
dharma (sense of duty), making analogies to the
birth of the Hindu god Krishna as savior or
attempting to establish his close connection to
Hindu saints of the era and as a devout follower
of Shiva.

Samarth Ramdas Swamy wrote about him,

:Nishchayacha MahaMeru
:Bahuta Janansi Aadharu
:Akhand Sthiticha Nirdharu
:Janata Raja ...

The above verse in Marathi language|Marathi means:

:Shivaji is someone who has very strong conviction
and resolve to achieve what he decides
:Shivaji is someone who is fair and understands
and supports his citizen irrespective of their
cast, creed & religion
:Shivaji is one who has steadfast resolve and
unwavering determination towards goals
:Shivaji is a wise and knowledgeable king ...

Fortunately, Shivaji's image in the larger public
eye has remained relatively untainted by charges
of opportunism and betrayal of the Hindu cause he
had undertaken. For now, the common image of the
leader, is perhaps best summarized in the words of
a great Bengali historian, R. Majumdar, who had
these well-known words of praise for Shivaji: 

"Shivaji was not only the maker of the Maratha
empire, but also the greatest constructive genius
of medieval India. 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. The Pillar of people's hopes. The Centre of
a World's desire to animate the heart, to kindle
the imagination and to inspire the brain of
succeeding ages to the highest endeavour".
 
Because of his crusade against an invading power,
Shivaji became an icon of freedom fighters (along
with the Rani of Jhansi) in the Indian
Independence Struggle|Indian independence struggle
that followed two centuries later. His name still
carries considerable political clout, and is
frequently used by the Shiv Sena, a Maharashtrian
Hindu Political party dominant in Mumbai and
surrounding areas.

==Associates of Shivaji==
Some of Shivaji's close associates were also his
primary army chieftains, and have entered folklore
along with him. These include Baji Pasalkar,
Tanaji Malusare, Bajiprabhu, Firangoji Narsala,
Murarbaji, Prataprao Gujar, Kanhoji Jedhe, Kondaji
Farjand, Kanhoji Angre, Balaji Avaji Chitanis,
Netaji Palkar and Lay Patil Koli.