History Of Chhatrapati Shivaji
19 February 1630 was the day on which a bright child was born in the house of Shahji Bhonsle and Jijabai. The child is born in Shivneri Fort, Pune, due to which he is named Shivaji. At the time of birth, hardly anyone would have thought that this child would one day become the king of the same kingdom in which his grandfather and father are generals. Hardly anyone would have thought that this child would build India’s first Navy. Hardly anyone would have thought that this child would give sleepless nights to a dreaded emperor like Aurangzeb. So let us see how this ordinary child achieved such a feat at such a young age.
How did this child establish Hindavi Swarajya? How this child created a Hindu state in India surrounded by Mughals in which not only Hindus but also Muslims were as safe as Hindus and both were equally respected. Stay tuned till the end of the video for complete information. At the time of Shivaji’s birth, Mughal emperor Shahjahan was ruling North India. Whereas Deccan i.e. South India was ruled by Adilshahi Bijapur, Nizamshahi Ahmednagar and Qutubshahi Golconda. At the time of Shivaji’s birth, father Shahaji Bhonsle was posted as the commander of Adilshahi, Bijapur. Shahaji Bhonsle was given the charge of the south of Bijapur.
That is why he was absent at the time of Shivaji’s birth. Due to Shivaji’s busyness in Bijapur, he had transferred the Pune Jagir to his wife Jijabai and son Shivaji. Shivaji was very young at that time, hence Dadoji Konddev used to take care of the jagir. Mother Jijabai and Guru Dadoji Konddev had a lot of contribution in building the personality of Shivaji. Dadoji Konddev trained Shivaji as a warrior by giving him training in horse riding, shooting and fencing, apart from political and administrative education.
On the other hand, mother Jijabai told Shivaji about the great characters of Mahabharata and Ramayana, which also led to Shivaji’s mental development. Jijabai had laid the foundation stone of Shivaji’s character building in his childhood itself. The upbringing of mother Jijabai and Guru Dadoji Konddev had made Shivaji fearless, tolerant and hardworking since childhood. When Shivaji turned 16, his guru Dadoji Konddev died. Because of this, the Jagir of Pune completely came into the hands of Shivaji. But Shivaji did not want to work under the rule of Adilshahi like his father. At that time the Jagir of Pune also came under Adilshahi. In 1646, Sultan Adilshah’s health started deteriorating due to which political stability increased in Bijapur.
Shivaji takes advantage of this opportunity and captures the fort of Toranagarh. After conquering Toranagarh, Shivaji, within two years, conquered all the nearby forts with the help of guerrilla warfare. After conquering all the forts, Shivaji makes Raigarh his capital. Seeing the increasing dominance of Shivaji, the emperor of Adilshahi becomes frightened. To stop Shivaji, the emperor imprisons his own commander i.e. Shivaji’s father Shahaji. For this reason Shivaji has to stop his conquest campaign for some time. To free his father from the clutches of Adilshahi, Shivaji returns the fort of Kondana.
Shivaji, in his campaign for Hindavi Swaraj, befriended many other Jagirdars and included them with him. With the help of war, friendship and treaty, Shivaji prepared a big army and in this way gradually Shivaji’s dominance started spreading all around. Seeing Shivaji’s increasing dominance, Adilshah has sleepless nights. In 1657, Adilshah sent his commander Afzal Khan with 20,000 soldiers to eliminate Shivaji. Afzal Khan was twice Shivaji’s height and had many times more military power. Shivaji had well guessed the strength of Afzal Khan.
Therefore, Shivaji devised a strategy to defeat Afzal Khan with his intelligence. Shivaji created such an atmosphere as if he was afraid of Afzal Khan. Afzal Khan also got trapped in Shivaji’s trap. Shivaji moved to Pratapgarh fort with his army. Afzal Khan was unable to breach the fort of Pratapgarh. That is why he expressed his desire to meet Shivaji through a message. The day of 10 November 1659 was fixed for the meeting of the two. Shivaji was well aware of Afzal Khan’s intentions. Although both had come to meet each other without weapons. Shivaji was still wearing his iron armour. During the meeting Afzal Khan expressed his desire to hug Shivaji. Shivaji hugged Afzal Khan and during this Afzal Khan showed his true colors.
Afzal Khan stabbed Shivaji on the back with a sharp dagger. Shivaji’s protective shield saved his life. Shivaji also attacked Afzal Khan with the tiger’s claw and killed Afzal Khan who was twice as powerful as himself. This news of Shivaji’s victory spread like wildfire. Shivaji also took advantage of the opportunity and attacked Bijapur. Shivaji captured all the big officials of Bijapur. By killing Afzal Khan, Shivaji demonstrated his intelligence, bravery and skill to everyone.
After this victory, Shivaji emerged as a major power in the Deccan. Adil Shah was also not one to give up so easily. Adil Shah sent Rustam Jahan with a big army to avenge his defeat from Shivaji but Shivaji once again defeated Adil Shah. Shivaji also defeated Rustam Jahan and captured the fort of Panhala. Repeated defeats at the hands of Shivaji weakened Adil Shah’s morale.
Adilshah was not able to accept the fact that his own commander’s son had insulted him in this way twice. Adilshah now sought help from the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to defeat Shivaji. Aurangzeb was also very worried after seeing the increasing power of Shivaji in the Deccan. The Mughals had been trying to expand their empire in the Deccan for many years. But seeing Shivaji’s increasing influence at this place, Aurangzeb decided to help Adilshah. Aurangzeb sent his maternal uncle Shaista Khan with a large army to march on the Deccan.
Within a few days, Shaista Khan captured Shivaji’s Lal Mahal. Shivaji had an idea of the power of Shaista Khan. Shivaji once again thought it best to resort to diplomacy and guerrilla warfare to win over Shaista Khan. Shivaji disguised himself with 400 guerrilla soldiers and attacked Shaista Khan. Although Shaista Khan escaped in this attack, Shivaji cut off three fingers of Shaista Khan with his sword. Many soldiers and some family members of Shaista Khan were also killed. In this way, once again Shivaji, with his intelligence and skill, drove away Shaista Khan from the Deccan.
To compensate for the victory in the war and the loss of property, Shivaji attacked the prosperous Mughal city Surat. Aurangzeb’s morale started getting weakened due to this attack. Aurangzeb once again prepared a huge army under the leadership of Mirza Raja Jai Singh and sent that army to march on Shivaji. Sent to Deccan. This time there was a fierce battle between Jai Singh and Shivaji. Shivaji had to face defeat. Jai Singh convinced Shivaji for the treaty. This treaty is known as the Treaty of Purandar. Under this treaty, Shivaji had to give his 23 forts and 4 lakh gold coins to Aurangzeb.
Under this treaty, Shivaji also had to promise to make his son Sambhaji the Mansabdar of the Mughals. Jai Singh also invited Shivaji to come to Agra Fort to meet Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb’s aim was not to meet Shivaji, but to avenge his previous defeat by humiliating Shivaji. That is why Aurangzeb placed Shivaji with the third class Mansabdars. Shivaji raised his voice in the court against this insult. Aurangzeb was stunned. This happened for the first time in his court. Aurangzeb became furious and imprisoned Shivaji and his son Sambhaji in the Agra Fort.
Aurangzeb knew that Shivaji had great dominance in the Deccan and he did not want to anger the people of Deccan. That is why Aurangzeb thought it better to capture Shivaji instead of killing him. Shivaji once again used his intelligence appropriately to get out of this prison. Shivaji requested Aurangzeb to order some boxes to distribute sweets and fruits among the poor people and fakirs. Shivaji kept distributing fruits and sweets among the poor every week. After a few weeks, Aurangzeb’s soldiers also became convinced that these boxes contained only fruits and sweets. Is.
The soldiers stopped checking the boxes. With just this trick, one day Shivaji along with his son Sambhaji escaped by hiding in the baskets of sweets and fruits. After this Shivaji left for Mathura. Shivaji left his son Sambhaji at a Pandit’s house in Mathura for a few days and himself left for his kingdom. In 1668, the Mughal Sultanate once again expressed its desire to make a treaty with Shivaji. Under the leadership of Jaswant Singh, a treaty was once again signed between Shivaji and Aurangzeb.
Aurangzeb bestowed the title of king on Shivaji and handed over the state of Berar to his son Sambhaji by making him the Mughal Mansabdar. In this treaty, Aurangzeb also gave Shivaji the right to attack any state of Adilshahi. By this time the kingdom of Adilshahi had become very weak. Remembering the two previous defeats, Adilshah surrendered to Shivaji without any fight. In this way Shivaji’s strength doubled during the day and quadrupled at night. But within two years, Aurangzeb broke the terms of the treaty and removed Shivaji’s son Sambhaji from the post of Mansabdar.
Shivaji was aware of Aurangzeb’s every fiber of his being, hence Shivaji also attacked Surat again. Shivaji’s prosperity increased significantly by attacking Surat. Shivaji also expanded his kingdom considerably. After this victory, Shivaji crowned himself and declared himself Chhatrapati. After the coronation, Shivaji appointed Ashtapradhan to improve the state and governance. Also did. Along with improving the state and governance, Shivaji also worked for the upliftment of women. Shivaji considered Jijabai as his idol since childhood. That is why they considered it their duty to improve the condition of women.
Among the Indian kings, after Ashoka, Shivaji was the only one who tried to create a secular state, in which Muslim clerics in Shivaji’s kingdom were respected as much as Hindu pundits were respected. Shivaji prepared India’s first navy force. That is why he is also called Father of Navy. Shivaji was the first to create a civilized rule in the Maratha kingdom with the help of administrative officials. Shivaji ruled successfully for six years. Shivaji died on 3 April 1680 after a prolonged illness and left behind a legacy. Shivaji’s contribution is still a glorious example in the making of present India. His contribution will always be unprecedented.
Anyway, see you again with the powerful explanation of the History.
