A short easy on shivaji maharaj
Answers
Shivaji was the founder of Maratha Empire in India. He was the first Hindu to establish a Hindu empire after the Muslim rule. Shivaji was born in 1627 at Poona. His father Shahji Bhonsle was a Jagirdar. He was in the service of the King of Bijapur and so, lived there too. The charge of Shivaji’s education fell in the hands of a Brahmin named Dadaji.
His mother Jija Bai was a very pious lady. Shivaji got best qualities of his character from her. He became skilful in all sorts of manly games. When he became young, he was master of riding and arts of war and fighting. Dadaji used to read to him the stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Thus the fire of patriotism was kindled in him when he was quite young.
The stories of the acts of cruelty of Mughal kings upon the Hindus had a great influence on him. He made up his mind to free his country from the cruel hands of the Mughals. With the help of his small army of hillmen he began his work.
Shivaji was very hardy. He was painstaking and had wisdom of a statesman. He was a truthful, kind and orthodox Hindu. If he had lived a few years more he would have made Hindus greater than ever.
The birth of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was like a good omen for the people who were troubled by the Mughal Empire. He came like a ray of hope for the people who were suffering under the Mughal rule. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born on 19th February 1630 according to Julian Calendar and on Falgun Krishna Trutiya according to Hindu calendar on Shivneri Fort, in Junnar city, in Pune district to father Shahaji Bhosale and mother Jijabai Bhosale.
He was also called as “Shivba” by his mother Jijamata. Shahaji Maharaj was in the service of King of Bijapur. He was also a “Jahagirdar” of some area in Pune district. Shivaji’s mother Jijabai was the daughter of Sindkhed leader Lakhujirao Jadhav and a deeply religious and ambitious woman. Since childhood, she taught Shivaji to always fight for what is right no matter what challenges you face and at the end, only the truth will win. The teachings of Jijamata left a great impact on the mind of Shivaji while growing up.
Shivaji was a born leader. He explored the Sahyadri mountains and became very familiar with the territories. At the age of 15, he gathered trusted soldiers which were called ‘Mavlas’ and pledged to establish the Swarajya, self-governance. These Mavlas became his companions in the journey to form the Swarajya and they were highly inspired and dedicated to Shivaji Maharaj. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for the Swarajya and Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji was married to Saibai Nimbalkar in 1640.
Achievements as a True King and a Leader
By 1645, he conquered several forts and regions around the Pune from Adil Shaha’s sultanate such as Chakan, Kondhana, Torana along with Purandar and Sinhgad. Soon Adil Shaha started getting restless and felt threatened. He ordered to captured and imprison Shivaji’s father Shahaji. Shahaji was released on the condition, that Shivaji will stop his campaign of conquering regions governed by Adil Shaha. After the death of Shahaji, Shivaji Maharaj started his conquest again, acquiring the valley of Javali from Chandrarao More, who was a Jahagiridar of Bijapur. The furious Adil Shaha sent Afjal Khan, one of his powerful generals to conquer Shivaji.
Afjal khan planned to kill Shivaji by planning a trap by inviting Shivaji Maharaj for a meeting on Pratapgad. But little did he know that Shivaji Maharaj was one step ahead of him. Shivaji sensed Afjal Khan’s motive and they planned a hidden counter-attack. When they met, Afjal Khan tried to kill Shivaji but it backfired on him. Shivaji was a quick-witted king.
He was wearing a metal armor under his clothes and as soon as Afjal Khan attacked him, he stabbed his tiger clawed weapon in his guts and killed him. Later the Mavlas who were hiding in the jungle attacked Afjal Khan’s soldiers and killed them. Nearly 3000 soldiers were killed by the Mavlas. This battle technique was the major weapon of Shivaji Maharaj and it was called as Ganimi Kava(Guerrilla warfare).
Guerrilla warfare techniques are still used in modern day warfare by the leading militaries in the world. This incident became a very important victory in the history of Shivaji Maharaj and also became a symbol of his quick-wittiness and bravery.
Later Adil Shaha sent a larger army under the leadership of General Rustam Zaman who faced Shivaji in the Battle of Kolhapur. Shivaji Maharaj won this battle too and Rustam Zaman ran for his life. Soon Shivaji came on the radar of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and then the real battles started with the Mughal empire. There are so many acts of bravery of Shivaji Maharaj such as his stealth attack on Shahistekhan, his clever escape from the Aurangzeb’s arrest in Agra and so many other. All these incidents are the indicators of his bravery, sharp mind and decision making abilities as a king and a true leader.