Chhatrapati shivaji maharaj sketch

By India Today Web Desk: Chhatrapati Shivaji was one of the bravest, most progressive and sensible rulers of India. The founder of the Maratha Kingdom, Shivaji was born to be a natural leader and fighter on 19th February, 1630 in the prestigious Shivneri Fort. Till date, the day is celebrated as Shiv Jayanti with great rigour and traditional style by Maharashtrians. Shivaji established a royal name for himself in history with his administrative skills by upholding the Swarajya values and the Maratha heritage. He was known for his bravery and tactics with which he won numerous wars against the Mughals. Remembering the greatest Maratha ruler on his birthday, here are some interesting facts about Shivaji. (Image source: youtube) 1. Known as the Father of Indian Navy, Shivaji was the first to realise the importance of having a naval force, and therefore he strategically established a navy and forts at the coastline to defend the Konkan side of Maharashtra. The Jaigad, Vijaydurg, Sindhudurg and other such forts still stand to testify his efforts and ideas. 2. Contrary to popular belief, Shivaji was not named after Lord Shiva. In fact, he was named after a regional Goddess Shivai. His mother prayed to the goddess for a son and was blessed with one. The god-like stature was given to him for his deeds, and not his name. 3. The secular ruler was very accommodating of all religions. He had numerous Muslim soldiers in his army. His only aim was to overthrow Mughal rule and establish ...

"He really set the tone for what India should be." • This is what Vikrant Pande, an IIMB-graduate-turned-writer, had to say on a Swarajya audiobook centred around the great Shivaji Maharaj. • Pande, who has translated 12 Marathi bestsellers into English, is in conversation with Ratnadeep Chakraborty in connection with Pande's translation of Ranjeet Desai's book Shivaji: The Great Maratha. • The duo discusses various aspects of Shivaji Maharaj's life — his childhood, his fierce opposition to the Mughals, his incisive strategic thought, his coronation leading to the Maratha Empire, revival of Hindu practices, and so much more. • The Great Maratha. ShivajiMaharaj was not a cultural reaction, but a civilisational response. • His importance in Indian history lies not just in the fact that he came up with an extensive response to Islamic colonisation, but that his response was powerful enough to defeat the Islamic states of that time and robust enough to sustain itself in power even after him. • The 350th year since the coronation of ChhatrapatiShivajiMaharaj comes at a time when once again the Hindu nation is reclaiming intellectual, cultural, and political territory and trying to restore balance in the nation-state relationship. • If the remembrance of a common past is one of the necessary conditions for a community to call itself a nation, then the celebration of Swarajya becomes a national duty. • For that reason, we've published a special collector's edition to mark 350 yea...

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Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born in an India which was very different to the one he left. The Mughal empire was at its peak, the Deccan sultanates seemed impregnable. In his own homeland of the Sahyadris, no one had heard about Swarajya since Allaudin Khilji’s invasion three centuries prior. Says the renowned historian Kashinath Rajwade: “Poverty and decadence had taken over the land. As for the Hindu religion, the old practises and customs had barely managed to survive. The effect of the changed conditions began to be felt in the social and economic life” The Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar had been eclipsed, and its capital of Hampi completely destroyed two generations prior to Shivaji Maharaj’s birth. Hindus did manage to rise to high army ranks in the Deccan sultanates, but this was more out of necessity than any magnanimity on part of the rulers. Since the Mughal empire made it difficult to acquire Turks, Afghans, Persians and Uzbeks of sufficient calibre, they began to recruit locally for certain ranks. The administration was still dominated by foreign elements. Chhatrapati Shivaji’s achievement lay in pushing back against the inertia of three hundred years in the Sahyadris when he established his ‘ Hindavi Swarajya’. One of the ways in which the Hindu religion was kept alive in the face of invasions was the Bhakti Movement. Shorn of royal patronage, and in fact officially persecuted, Hindus could no longer enjoy the pomp and splendour of yore. The religion thus too...