CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – History)

Context: The Prime Minister of Indiai unveiled the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort, Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. 

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

• Founder: Maratha Empire in western India, carving out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur.
• Early Life: Shivaji was born in the hill-fort of Shivneri, near the city of Junnar, which is now in Pune district.
• Family: Shivaji's father, Shahaji Bhonsle, was a Maratha general who served the Deccan Sultanates His mother was Jijabai, the daughter of Lakhuji Jadhavrao of Sindhkhed.
• Titles: Shakakarta, Kshatriya Kulavantas and Haindava Dharmodhhaarak.
• Conflict with Bijapur: Shivaji's father, Shahaji, served as a general in the Bijapuri Sultanate, which was a collaborative alliance involving Bijapur, Ahmednagar, and Golconda.
• Shivaji's rising power under Bijapur, seizing lands for his own, rattled Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah, leading to Shahaji's imprisonment in 1648.
• Battle of Pavan Khind: It was a rearguard last stand that took place on 13 July 1660, at a mountain pass in the vicinity of fort Vishalgad, near the city of Kolhapur by the Maratha against the Bijapur Sultanate.
• Battle of Purandar, 1665: Fought between the Mughal Empire and Maratha Empire.
• Administration of Shivaji: It was assisted by a council of ministers called Ashtapradhan (eight ministers).