About Shivaji Maharaj. -

Shivaji was born in the hill-fort of Shivneri,near the city of Junnar in Pune district aroundthe year 1627. Other suggested dates include6 April 1627, or other dates near this day. Perlegend, his mother named him Shivaji inhonour of the goddess Shivai, to whom shehad prayed for a healthy child.Shivaji's father Shahaji Bhosale was the leaderof a band of mercenaries that serviced theDeccan Sultanates. His mother was Jijabai, thedaughter of Lakhujirao Jadhav of Sindkhed. Atthe time of Shivaji's birth, the power inDeccan was shared by three Islamicsultanates: Bijapur, Ahmednagar, andGolconda. Shahaji often changed his loyaltybetween the Nizamshahi of Ahmadnagar, theAdilshah of Bijapur and the Mughals, butalways kept his jagir (fiefdom) at Pune andhis small army with him. Following a treatybetween the Mughals and the BijapurSultanate, Shahaji was posted to a Bangalore-based jagir, while Jijabai and Shivajiremained in Pune.Shivaji was extremelydevoted to his mother Jijabai, who wasdeeply religious. This religious environmenthad a great impact on Shivaji, and he carefullystudied the two great Hindu epics, Ramayanaand Mahabharata; these were to influence hislifelong defence of Hindu values. Throughouthis life he was deeply interested in religiousteachings, and regularly sought the companyof Hindu saints. Around 1645-6, the teenageShivaji first expressed his concept for Hindaviswarajya, in a letter to Dadaji Naras Prabhu..The forst battle of Shivaji was on 1645 at theage of 16,against Adil shah, the importantbattles which were fought by Shivaji againstmuslims was, against Afzal khan,battle ofpratapgarh,batt le of kohlpur,battle ofpannhala,battle of pavan-khind, first battlewith Aurangaseb on march 1657,attack onSahista khan,battle with Raja Jai singh &treaty of purandher,battl e of Simhagad(mughal s),battle of Vani-dindori(mughals),capture of English fort and factory atmumbai(1670),ba ttle of Nesari, from 1674 to1680 january Shivaji,s forces overran theentire Deccan,all over tamilnadu kerala andthe princely states of Mysore,vellore andcarnatic...Shivaji had acquired extensive lands andwealth through his campaigns, but lacking aformal title was still technically a Mughalzamindar or the son of an Adilshahi jagirdar,

with no legal basis to rule his de factodomain. A kingly title could address this, andalso prevent any challenges by other Marathaleaders, to whom he was technically equal; itwould also would provide the Hindu Marathaswith a fellow Hindu sovereign in a regionotherwise ruled by Muslims.Shivaji was crowned king of the Marathas in alavish ceremony at Raigad on 6 June 1674. Inthe Hindu calendar it was on the 13th day(trayodashi) of the first fortnight of themonth of Jyeshtha in the year 1596. PanditGaga Bhatt officiated, holding a gold vesselfilled with the seven sacred waters of therivers Yamuna, Indus, Ganges, Godavari,Krishna and Kaveri over Shivaji's head, andchanted the coronation mantras. After theablution, Shivaji bowed before Jijabai andtouched her feet. Nearly fifty thousand peoplegathered at Raigad for the ceremonies. Shivajiwas bestowed with the sacred thread jaanva,with the Vedas and was bathed in anabhisheka. Shivaji was entitled Shakakarta("founder of an era") and Kshatriya Kulavantas("head of Kshatriyas"), and Chhatrapati("paramount sovereign").His mother Jijabai died on 18 June 1674,within a few days of the coronation.Considering this a bad omen, a secondcoronation was carried out 24 September1674, this time according to the Bengalischool of Tantricism and presided over bySwami Nischal Puri.The state as Shivaji founded it was a Marathakingdom, but over time it was to increase insize and heterogeneity, and by the time of thePeshwas in the early 18th century was a full-fledged empire, with Shivaji as its historicalfounder.In late March 1680, Shivaji fell ill with feverand dysentery, dying around 3–5 April 1680at the age of 52 on the eve of HanumanJayanti.