Shivaji: The Great Maratha

by Ranjit Desai

‘Rani saheb, Shivai Devi is reputed to have many powers. Whatever you ask for will be granted.’

The sweet aroma of the wet soil permeated the air. There was an air of celebration as people welcomed the showers with relief.

‘Raje is treated with great honour in Adil Shah’s durbar. He has a mansab of twelve thousand and has earned the title of Raja. He has the jagir of Pune and the neighbouring villages. He is enjoying his stay with honour and dignity in Bengaluru. Karnatak today is proud of him.’

‘Raje, you are an adult now. Remember—Lakshmi is never happy if you

run after her. She follows people who do their duty. Always keep her behind you while you face calamities boldly.

He had always had the knack of gathering the right kind of people around him.

Baji Pasalkar was nearly sixty years of age but was a close friend of Shivaji’s, who had not even fifteen then.

Shivaji knew that his confident posture was not enough. After all, without money it was not possible to manage an uprising. He was troubled as he knew he did not have all the answers.

Nothing is achieved by a person who is always scared of

the results—keep this in mind.’

A mountain stream rushes through the valley, making friends with rocks and boulders on its way and becomes a river before it meets the ocean.

Raje, a coloured cloth can afford to hide many stains but a white cloth cannot afford even a

small smear.

you will see his valour and his good fortune

The Rayari Fort was a strategic location; it was on the main route from Ratnagiri to the Deccan and was also close to the sea.

Raje, it is easy to accept defeat but much more difficult to live with victory. I am disappointed that you were prey to the arrogance which follows success.’

‘You can call a defeated man by any name, a snake or a dog. But if you call him a lion’s cub, then the same emotions would be termed as pride or bravery.

Shivaji’s cavalry had increased to ten thousand and his foot soldiers to a similar number. Yesaji Kank was made the commander of the troops. He controlled forty forts now and was constantly busy with some campaign or the other. When Shivaji returned from a campaign in Karnatak he received the news that the Bijapur and Mughal durbars had been getting increasingly restless about his progress.

He looted the town and destroyed the Bhawani temple.’

‘Vishwasrao, Khan has destroyed our family deity. We shall not spare him.’

Shivaji had captured seventy-five elephants, four thousand horses, twelve hundred camels, a few hundred cannons, expensive clothes, jewellery and gems. Khan had lost three thousand men while only a few hundred of Raje’s troops had died in the battle. The entire province had been freed from Khan’s clutches in a single day.

Shivaji recited the shloka in Sanskrit which meant the strength of a king are his horses and the more horses he has, the stronger he is.’

‘This is a part of raising a kingdom. Don’t it let deter you. If you were not a formidable enemy, the Mughal and Adil Shahi troops would not have been so worried. These men have foresight—Aurangzeb was aware of your growing strength even when he was a Subedar in the Deccan and he had warned Adil Shah. Don’t be worried about Shaista Khan. I am impressed that you have managed to keep them at bay. I am convinced that you will win.

courage is important when it leads to results. Else, it is useless bravado.’

The Kulkarnis were part of the administration and were given hereditary rights over the part of revenue they collected on behalf of the Swaraj. Their duties were to collect revenue, levies and taxes from the area given to them and credit the same to the royal treasury. To protect their respective areas they would also maintain a small troop of soldiers. The income, mostly extracted from agricultural land or area given to them as a vatan, was offered towards their remuneration.

They had been chasing the bullocks with torches tied to their horns while they had assumed all the while for them to be Maratha soldiers.

The Mughal sardar Inayat Khan ruled over Surat without a care in the world. The Englishman James Oxenden had a camp set up on the other side of the river, and he had an office near the mouth of the river. The smaller boats would bring in goods from the larger ships on the river. Similarly, goods from India would leave by the same route. And so, all the rich traders had huge homes along the riverside.

Shivaji seemed filled with a divine energy. He had the look of someone building a nation, someone who would fulfil the promise of a Maratha state.

‘My son, these are tough times. You cannot kill Jai Singh, but you need not worry. I will take care of your troubles—it is my responsibility. I have not handed over the kingdom to you for one generation. It is to be taken care of for the next twenty-seven generations. I will find a way to take care of you.’

‘A man should make himself so powerful that while writing the decrees of destiny on

his forehead, God would ask, “My child, tell me what you want it to be!”’

Raje, it is those who face calamities with courage that find a brighter future. A man’s destiny is determined by his ability to face problems with dignity. They are the ones who are blessed by Bhawani. Have faith in her blessings, Raje!’

Every person who ascends to a throne wants to leave behind something which the coming generations will remember him by. They try and build these things for a place in history. But a true king must lead a life such

that he does not have to resort to building things for people to remember him by.’

the human mind too is like a diamond. It shines only

when it is sharpened by wisdom and practical knowledge.’

‘Stamina has nothing to do with age. My childhood passed by so quickly that I don’t even remember it. I was busy pursuing the Hindavi Swaraj, and I never had the time to enjoy childhood.’

‘You are my commander and I have taken all decisions ever since my coronation only after discussing them with you. Why? Because the king is not an independent person. He has to listen to the collective voice of himself, his ministers and his commanders.

‘What about our treasury, Annaji?’ ‘We have twenty-one lakh gold coins, nearly ten thousand kilos of gold, a large number of gems besides a crore of Chandrama coins, twenty-five lakh specially minted hons and an equal number of other hons.’

‘And what about our forts, Moropant?’ ‘We have the original fifty, and have built another hundred and eleven and captured seventy-nine from Karnatak, totalling two hundred and forty forts.’