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SHIVAJI AND THE MARATHA DYNASTY

Chapter 1 – Rise of the Bhosles

www.esamskriti.com/html/greatmen/gmshivaji.doc

On the occasion of Shivaji ( S ) Jayanti, May 5, this essay is

dedicated to him, Guru Gobind Singh and Rana Pratap. Where ever

possible have tried to draw a analogy with current event for eg the

policy followed by Maharaj Shahu with the Maratha chieftains is

similar to what the BJP is pursuing with its allies today. Short

forms used are Maratha is Mts, Mughals is M, Shivaji is S, Aurangzib

is A, P is Peshwa.

 

The Rise of the Bhosles ( B )

 

The Bhosles claim descent from the Sisodia Ranas of Chittor and

Udaipur and possibly a branch of the family migrated South after

Alauddin Khilji devastated Chitor. The three Maratha families

associated with the rise of Shivaji are the Yadavas (Y )of Devagiri

( Daulatabad ), the Bhosle's of Verul and Nimbalkars of Phaltan.

After being subjugated by Akbar, the Yadavas took service with the

Nizam Shahis of Ahmednagar. Thanks to an able organiser Malik Ambar,

the Nizams stood up to the Mughal onslaught. In Malik's struggle

were associated S's father Shahji and grandfather Maloji. Three

generations of the Bhosle's family fought against three Mughal

emperors ie Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzib.

 

In 1605, Shahji was married to the clever Jija Bai, daughter of the

Yadavas. After crushing the Mughals in 1624, Shahji lost out to Shah

Jahan in 1636, was expelled from Maharashtra and had to seek refuge

in Bijapur. Subsequently, he spent a lot of time in the regions once

ruled by Hindu kings of Vijayanagra, devastated by the Muslims in

1565. During this period, he imbibed the spirit of Hindu

independence. Proud of her Kshatriya tradition with clear memories

of the splendor of her ancestors & years of suffering, Jijabai

developed in Shivaji a spirit of defiance and self assertion. With

such parents, it was only natural that their son had to be fired

with the spirit of Swaraj.

 

Chapter 2 – Early Life and Conquests

 

 

Shivaji was born in 1627 in the fort of Shivner (about three hrs

drive from Pune). Subsequently, Shahji deserted JijaB and married

Tukabai who gave birth to Ekoji, who later on the founded the

kingdom of Tanjore. Hard pressed by the Mughals, Shahji had to flee

leaving wife and son to his trusted agent Dadaji Kondadev. The

jagirs entrusted to Dadaji by Shahji were the valleys to the west of

Pune roughly from Junnar to Wai. Dadaji taught Shivaji the nuances

of administration & the art of creating correct impression amongst

people.

 

Shivaji had a persuasive tongue, was alert, never scared to take

risks, could judge people at first sight, held secret negotiations

with companions on the liberation of Bharat and put an end to the

persecution of Hindus. On the other hand his Mate, Jijabai was angry

since the Nizam Shah had openly murdered her father and brothers.

Poor administration under Muslim govts and violation of women's

honor etc increased the anger. The mothers thoughts and experiences

greatly influenced her son, Shivaji. Under the guidance of Dadaji

he converted his small jagir into Swarajya, a well knit unit where

law and order prevailed, justice quickly rendered and wealth secure.

 

Shahji was employed by Adil Shah of Bijapur, used to conquer

erstwhile regions of the Hindu Vijayanagar kingdom, pour the wealth

from Hindu shrines into Muslim coffers. This upset Shivaji and

Jijabai. Meanwhile stories of Shivaji activities reached Bijapur,

upset Adil Shah. Summoned to Bijapur, Shivaji revealed uncompressing

character who punished the wrongdoers irrespective of the

consequences. On his return, Shivaji formed an independent state

where Hindus would not be persecuted. While the father could not

openly support his son, he helped him by deputing some key officials

to Maharashtra.

 

How was money collected by Shivaji ? Seven yrs of efficient mgmt of

the Maval jagir began to bear fruit in the form a substantial income

that Shivaji used to maintain an infantry, repair forts and improve

administration. With the help of an enthusiast Kanhoji Jedhe,

Shivaji acquired possession of the 12 Maval forts, west of Pune,

started building a new fort, Raigarh later to become the principal

seat of his government.

 

Shivaji captured important forts around Pune. He had two objects

now, to secure the welfare of his people and to have well guarded

frontiers that he could hold. He proclaimed his independence by

using official papers that ran " This seal of Shiva, son of Shah,

shines forth for the welfare of the people and is meant to command

increasing respect from the universe like the first phase of the

moon." This happened around 1648.

 

By taking Shivaji's father Shahu as prisoner, Adil Shah managed to

wrest the Sinhala fort from Shivaji. By defeating a ally of the

Shah, Mores of Javli in Mahableshwar range, Shivaji let all know the

fate that awaited them if they dared to oppose him. A small compact

kingdom comprising of Pune and Satara came into shape. To protect

the conquest of Javli, he erected a new fort of Pratapgarh near

Mahableshwar. Having seen the fort, I would say that it is must to

see. Like Daulatabad, it is tribute to the grey cells of our

ancestors.

 

Next Shivaji captured Kalyan and the Shah's treasure moving from

there to Bijapur. Presented with a Muslim women as a trophy of the

war, Shivaji refused and reprimanded his subordinates for thinking

wickedly( compare it with Alauddin Khilji's approach). Having

captured North Konkan, he turned South constructing a series of

naval forts at Suvarnadurg, Vijaydurg, Sindhudurg and Kolaba and

created a powerful navy with shipbuilding yards and arsenals for

trade and defence. ( foresight na, while the Muslims entered India

thru Khyber, the Christians came thru the sea, he was probably aware

of the European threat ).

 

The widowed queen of Adil Shah vowed to crush Shivaji and deputed an

intrepid soldier Afzal Khan. Leaving Bijapur in 1659, A Khan came

down heavily on Shivaji's territories destroying what ever came his

way. Unable to take A Khan head-on, Shivaji moved into Pratapgarh.

After several round of discussions, A Khan agreed to meet Shivaji

below the fort in a specially erected tent. A Khan possessed a

powerful body and was confident of overcoming the slim Maratha.

Shivaji took all precautions by wearing chains under his vest, a

metal cap over his skull, a long white coat covering a daggar in one

hand and claws in another. As A Khan sought to embrace him and stab

Shivaji with a daggar, he used the claws to rip A Khan's bowels.

Subsequently, the Marathas took on A Khan's armies and sent them

packing.

 

Quoting from Chanakya's Arthashastra " A king shall have his agents

in the courts of the enemy, the ally, the Middle and the Neutral

kings to spy on the Kings as well as their high officials. (

1.12.20 ). Miraculous results can be achieved by practicing the

methods of subversion ( 13.1.21 ). It is better to adopt such

policies as would enable one to survive and live to fight another

day. ( 7.15.13-20,12.1.1-9 ). The last verse was ably followed by

Shri Bhutto in 1972 when he conned Indira Gandhi into signing the

Simla Agreement. Fought back have they not, what on earth is the low

intensity war all about. Politicians and cricketers are alleged to

be in league with dons based in Karachi.

 

Now compare this with Shri Vajpayee's Lahore yatra. Caught in by the

hype over the India – Pak bhai bhai, perhaps with some subtle hints

to the army, he goaded them to let their guard down. Does anybody at

all, least of all a PM, expect a country whose reason for existence

is hatred for Bharat, fought three wars, is out to balkhanise our

country, going to be taken in by his visit. What Chanakya would have

done is to propose friendship but kept the armed forces on alert.

Look at Shivaji. In view of A Khan's animosity towards him, being on

weak wicket, he agreed to meet him, a la Lahore, embraced A Khan but

was alert and prepared for any eventuality. Like Lord Ram who

carried weapons to protect himself against the unexpected.

 

Chapter 3 – Clash with the Mughals

 

 

SHAYISTA KHAN was nominated by Aurangzib to crush Shivaji. Unable to

take the full might of the Mughal empire, for nearly three years,

Shivaji became a homeless wanderer. When in adversity, ingenuity

saves you. With the help of secret agents, Shivaji obtained minute

details of the Khan's camp and arranged a surprise attack at night.

With about fifty followers, he entered the Khan's harem on the

evening of April 15, 1663. After midnight, Shivaji and his men

attacked the inmates and hacked people indiscriminately. In the

confusion, Khan escaped loosing his forefinger. This incident proved

eminently successful for Shivaji. Khan was transferred to Bengal and

the khatra got averted.

 

In 1664, S ransacked Surat to collect money for his war efforts. The

plunder must have been app Rs 1 cr. S took care not to inflict any

wanton cruelty innocent habitants. Hearing that the Mughal armies

were coming, Shivaji returned with as much booty as he could carry

and took it straight to Raigarh Fort to be spent in fortifying it.

Shivaji sacking of Surat was the severest blow to Aurangzib and a

direct affront to his power/prestige.

 

S submits to Jay Singh. A placed his new expedition under Jay Singh

( JS ) who arrived in Pune in March 1665. Shivaji was busy fighting

Bijapur, therafter led a huge naval expedition to the Malabar coast.

While offering devotions to the deity of Gokaran in Karwar he learnt

of attack by JS. Unable to bear the brunt of JS's attack, Shivaji

sued for peace and signed a treaty on June 12 surrendering the imp

forts and agreed to serve the emperor loyally and cooperate in J

Singh's war against Bijapur.

 

The above paras indicate that Shivaji was a student of Chanakya. He

made able use of spies to overcome his enemies. When pushed into a

corner, he was practical enough to sue for peace and live to fight

for another day. It also indicates the absence of an overriding Ego.

 

Having advised Shivaji to visit Agra, J Singh convinced Aurangzib on

the futility of fighting Shivaji and suggested that he be made a

ally. Undecided to go or not to go, Shivaji thought that a visit

would enable him to obtain a first hand impression about the

inherent strength of the empire and make it feasible for him to

carry out his dream of a Hindu padshahi. Shivaji left for Agra on

5/3/1666.

 

Having reached Agra, Shivaji made his way to the Durbar. After

paying his respects to Aurangzib, Shivaji was asked to stand in the

third row of the nobles. Upset, Shivaji complained of a breach of

the terms of the agreement upon. Shivaji left his place and moved to

a corner, vehemently protesting and created a scene unprecedented in

the court. Aurangzib asked the Durbar to be closed and asked Shivaji

to be taken away after which a strict guard was kept on Shivaji. It

was decided to shift Shivaji to a new residence. For nearly three

months, he remained captive. On 19/8/ he and beta squeezed

themselves in two separate baskets of sweetmeats and were carried

away.

 

He surfaced on 12/9/ at Raigarh. It was the most thrilling exploit

of all his wonderful deeds which added a halo to his personality,

made him an all India figure. Shivaji spent the next year or two

reorganizing his resources. The new Mughal governor Muazzam adopted

a policy of conciliation. Aurangzib formal peace was arranged,

Aurangzib conferred the title of Raja on Shivaji and his son

Shambuji was sent to the Mughal camp at Aurangabad. Golconda and

Bijapur too made peace with Shivaji by paying him annual chauth.

Thus, Shivaji was accepted as the ruler of Maharashtra.

 

Chapter 4 – Fanatism + Karnatak

 

A Fresh Wave of Fanatism. Shivaji was quiet for the next two yrs. In

April 1669, A issued orders to destroy the sacred temples of Mathura

and Kashi and construct mosques in their place. All Hindu ceremonies

and fairs were banned. Upset with Aurangzib's actions, Shivaji took

revenge by plundering a number of towns under Mughal control. He

plundered Surat for three days in 1670. This continued for three

years. In 1671, Shivaji fought a war with the Mughal for the

conquest of Saler on the Gujarat/ MP. Border. Shivaji captured the

fort in 1671, his PM, Moropant Pingle earned a unique name for

valor. A renewed war with Bijapur put Shivaji under strain but what

it brought out was the true Maratha character – a spirit of

sacrifice and cooperation, a sense of national unity which made

Maratha's a respected name throughout India. This was Shivaji's

greatest achievement. I have often wondered who inspired Bal

Gangadhar Tilak, G K Gokhale, Veer Savarkar. Was it S ? Ironically,

the man who shot Gandhi Nathuram Godse was from the same state.

Marathas have this great national spirit. NG could not see the

country being divided and held Gandhi responsible for it. More about

that later this year.

 

The Coronation. It happened in 1674. He appointed eight ministers.

Shivaji appears to have borrowed his departmental division from

ancient Hindu scriptures. Shivaji was an autocrat and allowed no

independent powers to his ministers.

 

 

 

 

The Last venture Karnatak. With all the splendor assumed by Shivaji,

his actual domain was hardly more than 200 hundred square miles in

length and even less in breadth. The Siddis of Janjira and the

Portuguese were his constant enemies. While the North was under M

rule, the South remained free for his ambition. The south was

loosely held by the states of Bijapur and Golconda. With the death

of the kings of these two states around 1672, confusion prevailed.

In Golconda, two Hindu ministers managed the administration ably and

made common cause with S for the uplift and regeneration of the

Hindu empire. Unfortunately, Shivaji's brother, the ruler of

Tanjore, Ekoji was against him and collaborated with the Muslims

against S. His PM Raghunath Pant's disagreed with him and resigned

to join hands with Shivaji. Shivaji left Raigarh in 1677, having

already dispatched strong parties to subjugate Muslim chiefs who

were against his scheme of bringing South India under Hindu rule. An

agreement was reached with the Sultan of Haidarbad for jointly

resisting Mughal advances. He went to Gingee and captured Vellore

after a years effort. On his return to Raigarh, Shivaji seized most

of Ejoki's possessions in the Mysore plateau. Ekojis wife brought a

recon between the two brothers.

 

The biggest benefit of the Karnataka conquest was that when

Aurangzib invaded the Maratha lands, Shivaji's son, Rajaram found a

hospitable danger in Gingee and the Mughal threat was warded off. In

1679, Aurangzeb reimposed Jaziya on all Hindus inviting the ire of

Rajputs and Shivaji. Unfortunately, Shivaji did not live long enough

to fight Aurangzib. He passed away around April 4, 1680 from an

attack of fever.

 

Chapter Five – Bottom Line + Rajaram

 

 

BOTTOM LINE Shivaji set an eg of inate Hindu capacity and left a

name which would continue to fire the spirit of man and shine forth

as ideal for ages yet unborn. Quote from J.N. Sarkar's book House of

Shivaji. Did Shivaji aim for a Hindu empire ? Shivaji realized that

religious freedom cannot be obtained without political control.

Subsequent to his visit to Agra, he was convinced about the

hollowness of the empire and thereafter exerted himself to bring

India under Hindu control. If he had lived longer he might have just

deposed Aurangzib, a fact emphasized by his son Shambhuji in a

letter to Ram Singh. This kingdom belongs to the Gods and the

Hindus. Mahaji Sindia felt he had achieved some of the glory when he

captured Delhi in 1784. Having said that Shivaji never hated

Muslims. A number of them were his trusted aides. Shivaji's heroics

inspired Guru Gobind Singh to create a national awakening in Punjab.

 

Shivaji's administrative measures were a marvel of that time. He

prohibited the granting of land in lieu of military service. Unlike

the Marathas's Shivaji created innovation in every branch of admin.

Shivaji spent heavily on repairs of forts. Many western authors

treat Shivaji as a plunderer, rebel. When a person is trying to free

his country of foreign domination he is bound to be rebel till he

wins. Shivaji plundered but never harassed innocents unlike the

Mughals. Shivaji's plunder was more in the nature of a modern levy.

The French envoy, German who visited Shivaji near Tanjore in said "

The camp of Shivaji was without women, pomp, no baggage's , just two

tents". Aurangzib wrote on Shivaji " He was great captain and the

only one who had the magnanimity to raise a new kingdom while I have

been endeavoring to destroy the ancient sovergeinities of India. My

armies have been employed against him for nearly 19 yrs and yet his

State keeps increasing".

 

According to J Sarkar, " Shivaji called the Maratha race to a new

life. He raised them into an independent self reliant people

conscious of their oneness and high destiny and his precious legacy

was the spirit that he breathed into the race. Shivaji has shown

that the tree of Hinduism is not dead and that can rise from beneath

the seemingly crushing load of centuries of political bondage."

 

How did Shivaji compare with Maharaj Ranjit Singh of Punjab. While

Shivaji's legacy survived nearly hundred yrs after he died, Punjab

came under British rule within a decade of Ranjit Singh's (RS)

death. RS never crossed swords with the British because he knew it

was a battle he could not win. Although he defeated the Afghans,

unified Punjab and the hill states of the north, unlike Shivaji, he

never took on his biggest adversary. RS lacked Shivaji's moral

character. " He passed from war to wine and from learning to hunting

with breathless rapidity." The absence of any organized system of

administration did not provide stability to the new kingdom unlike

the Asht-pradhans instituted by Shivaji. If RS had joined hands

with the Marathas, the history of Bharat might well have been

different. What India needs in Kashmir is a combination of the

Maratha and Sikh regiments. If given a free hand, I am sure that the

Pakis and Afghans will be history.

 

Aurangzib failed to gauge the real strength of the Marathas ( Does

India continue to underestimate the firing power of its neighbors).

He allowed Shivaji to grow, did not capitalize on the times when he

had an upper hand, allowed him to escape from Agra etc. After the

death of Shambuji, in the absence of a Central maratha authority,

local Maratha chieftains like Dhana Jadhav and Santaji Ghorpade

inflicted heavy losses on the Mughals by their guerilla tactics.

While Aurangzib captured the Deccan it was not possible to man every

nook and corner of the country allowing the Marathas to have a field

day.

 

Shivaji's son Shambuji was interested in the good things in life,

was captured by the Marathas's in 1689 and put to death in the same

year while his son Shahu was taken prisoner. Shivaji's other son,

Rajaram became king then. Unable to stand the Mughal onslaught, he

fled to Gingee referred to above. The fort was captured by the

Marathas's in 1698 but Rajaram fled to Vellore and then to

Vishalgarh eventually making Satara as the seat of the King.

Rajaram's flight to Gingee gives one more evidence of the great

political foresight of Shivaji. By establishing a long list of

fortified possessions from Konkan to Tanjore via Bangalore, Vellore

he formed a new line of defence to be utilized if the need arose.

 

Rajarams's reign was an eventful one paving the way for the future

greatness of the Marathas. Credit goes to his wise councilors and

brave generals. A significant change in military administration by

him was the system of granting lands to the military commanders in

lieu of cash as followed by Shivaji. This single change was greatly

responsible for the expansion and the fall of the Maratha empire.

Rajaram died in 1700 to be succeeded by his 4 yr old son Shivaji III

whose mother was Tarabai. A capable administrator, she inspired

valor amongst her followers, guided military operations moving to

different forts.

 

And so ended the reign of Shivaji and Rajaram. Shivaji laid the

foundations for the Maratha empire and the Peshwas capitalized on

his efforts.

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