Shivaji and the Rise of the Marathas

The Marathas are a people of the Deccan plateau, mainly today’s Maharashtra. Shivaji brought them together and built a kingdom of their own. He started as the son of a noble. He ended as a crowned king.

Who are the Marathas?

The Marathas are known by their language, Marathi. Marathi has a rich written history going back to the 12th century. Their home is the Deccan plateau.

What prepared the ground for him?

Bhakti saints gave the Marathas a shared culture. Saints such as these wrote in Marathi:

• Dnyaneshwar
• Namdev
• Tukaram
• Ramdas

They made old holy texts easy for common people to read. This shared culture later helped the Marathas unite as a power. Some Maratha chiefs had tried to set up their own rule before. They all failed until Shivaji rose.

When was he born?

He was born in the Bhonsle clan to Shahji and Jijabai. NCERT gives the year as 1630; some historians say 1627. No record from his own time gives the exact date. Later works put it near 6 April 1627.

Who raised him?

His mother raised him at Pune. His father served the Deccan sultans and was often away. So Jijabai and some trusted officials looked after the boy.

The Pune land was his father’s jagir. A jagir was land a ruler gave to a noble for his service. The noble could collect taxes from it.

How did a 16-year-old start a kingdom?

He began by taking empty forts around Pune. He was just 16 when his campaigns began. Many forts there had been left unused and unguarded. He took them and made their defences strong. His rule is dated from 1646.

• First fort: tradition names Torna. Its date, 1646, is only a guess.
• Another view: some old records say Chandan was his first fort.
• Big idea: his dream of Swarajya, or self-rule, grew over the years.

He seized Javli by force and killed Afzal Khan at Pratapgad. These two events made him a real power. They also show that he could be ruthless.

What happened at Javli?

Javli was a kingdom ruled by the More family. Its chiefs were murdered, and Shivaji attacked at once. The leaderless troops held out for six hours. Then the place fell. A More kinsman, Hanumant Rao, still fought on. He too was stabbed to death at a private meeting.

• When: about 1655-56. One study gives about October 1655; the site’s own CDS II 2023 key says 1656.
• Verdict: one historian called the gain the result of “deliberate murder and organised treachery”.
• Lesson: Javli was a ruthless gain, not a heroic one.

Why did Bijapur send Afzal Khan?

Bijapur sent him because Shivaji was growing too strong. Bijapur was a Deccan kingdom under the Adil Shahi kings. Afzal Khan was its veteran general. Shivaji and his advisers got him to agree to a one-to-one meeting.

What happened at the meeting?

Shivaji killed Afzal Khan in close combat. The meeting took place at the foot of Pratapgad fort, in thick forest. Shivaji came looking unarmed. Under his clothes he wore chain armour and a steel cap.

• The hug: the Khan opened his arms to embrace him.
• The attack: he gripped Shivaji’s neck and struck with a dagger.
• The save: the hidden armour made the blow harmless.
• The reply: Shivaji tore the Khan open with steel claws.

This small weapon is the wagh nakh. It is shaped like a tiger’s claw.

How did the Marathas win the battle that followed?

A cannon shot set off a hidden ambush. Shivaji climbed to the top of Pratapgad and fired the cannon. His troops waited in the valleys below. They rushed out and routed the Khan’s army.

They fought by guerrilla warfare. Small, fast groups use speed, surprise and knowledge of the land. In this way they beat much bigger armies.

• Afzal’s guard: a swordsman, Sayyid Banda, attacked Shivaji. He was killed.
• The end: an officer, Shambhuji Kavji, cut off the Khan’s head.
• Date: the meeting took place on 10 November 1659, the date most histories give.

He raided them, lost a round, and then escaped from their grip. Four events tell the story: a night raid, a sack, a treaty and a daring escape.

What was the raid on Shaista Khan?

It was a surprise night attack on a Mughal camp. Shaista Khan was a Mughal noble. He had invaded Shivaji’s lands with a big army for three years. Then Shivaji raided his camp at Pune with only a few soldiers.

• Date: 5 April 1663.
• Result: the Khan barely escaped and lost a few fingers.
• After: he soon left Maharashtra.
• Effect: Shivaji’s fame grew hugely.

Why did he sack Surat?

He sacked Surat to strike back for the long Mughal attacks. Surat was a rich Mughal port in present-day Gujarat. News of his army reached Surat early on 5 January 1664.

• Loot: treasure worth almost one crore of rupees.
• Restraint: he did not attack religious places.
• Mercy: he spared the house of Mohandas Parekh, a kind and generous man.
• Again: he sacked Surat a second time a few years later.

What was the Treaty of Purandar?

It was a peace deal that Shivaji was forced to sign. The sack of Surat hurt Mughal pride. So Aurangzeb sent Jai Singh, a famous Rajput general. Shivaji had to give in at Purandar fort, near Pune.

• Land: he gave up a large part of his kingdom.
• Son: his son Sambhaji had to enter Mughal service.
• Words: Shivaji said he would serve the emperor as a “devoted but unarmed” servant.
• Date: June 1665. Sarkar dates the treaty 13 June 1665 and the garrison’s exit 12 June.

How did he escape from Agra?

He escaped in baskets of sweets and was carried out.

Jai Singh persuaded him to visit the Mughal court at Agra in 1666. There he was made to stand before Aurangzeb with a general he had once beaten. Angry at this insult, Shivaji walked out. Aurangzeb put him under house arrest.

He then began sending gifts of fruit and sweets in big baskets. The guards checked them at first, then stopped.

On 19 August he said he was very ill. His half-brother Hiraji, who looked like him, lay on his bed. Shivaji’s gold wristlet shone on the arm left outside the quilt. Meanwhile Shivaji and Sambhaji left in two baskets.

It made Shivaji a true king in the eyes of all. He was crowned at the mountain fort of Raigad with full Vedic rites. The day was 6 June 1674.

What changed for him?

He went from rebel to ruler. Before the crowning, he was only the rebel son of a jagir holder. He could not claim to be equal to any king.

He could sign no treaty and grant no land with full legal force. As a private subject, he could not claim his people’s full loyalty either.

What title did he take?

His formal title was Shri Raja Shiva Chhatrapati. Chhatrapati means a sovereign king. Like some past rulers, he also started his own era. It was called the Rajyabhishek shaka, an era counted from the crowning.

• Coins: he struck gold and copper coins in his own name.
• Script: the coins used the Devanagari script.
• Council: his eight ministers poured holy water over the royal family at the crowning.
• Cost: the event emptied his treasury, and he needed money to pay his troops.

What was the southern campaign?

It was his conquest of the South, begun in 1677. It is called the dakshina digvijaya. He took in the region of present-day northern Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka. These lands were then weakly defended.

This southern belt later gave the Marathas strategic depth. That means room to fall back and regroup when the Mughals invaded.

What did he do about the slave trade?

He stopped the Dutch from trading slaves. At the time, many Europeans were seizing and selling Indians as slaves. No Indian power had stopped them until he stepped in.

Shivaji ran a fairly centralised state with paid officials. He kept power in the king’s hands. He also cared about how officials treated ordinary people.

How did he control his officials?

He paid them salaries instead of giving them land. He ended hereditary posts, which passed from father to son. He paid every official from the state treasury. Many officials were moved from post to post. So none grew strong enough to defy the king.

• Widows: soldiers’ widows got pensions.
• Sons: the sons of fallen soldiers were offered army posts.
• Farmers: he told officials never to cut mango or jackfruit trees that people had raised.

In one letter he ends with a firm order: “do not use force in any circumstances.”

What was the Ashtapradhan?

It was his council of eight ministers. Each looked after one area of work.

1. Pradhan: prime minister.
2. Amatya: finance minister.
3. Sachiv: land revenue minister.
4. Mantri: intelligence minister.
5. Senapati: commander-in-chief.
6. Sumant: minister for foreign affairs.
7. Nyayadhish: chief justice.
8. Panditrao: head of religious affairs.

The Pradhan was also called the Peshwa. Note the trap: the Amatya, not the Peshwa, handled finance. Sarkar says the council only gave advice. Shivaji kept the real power himself.

What were chauth and sardeshmukhi?

They were taxes the Marathas took from lands outside their direct rule. Chauth was 25 per cent. Sardeshmukhi was an extra 10 per cent on top. Together they came to 35 per cent.

Per NCERT, the Marathas protected those lands in return. They also left local rule alone. Historian Jadunath Sarkar disagreed. He said paying chauth only bought freedom from raids. It carried no duty to defend the place.

How did he promote his own culture?

He used Sanskrit and Marathi in place of Persian. His seal carried a Sanskrit line. Most seals of the time were in Persian. He also had a word list made, the Rajya-Vyavahara-Kosha. It gave Sanskrit words for the Persian terms used in letters between states.

Forts and a navy protected it, and his heirs kept fighting after his death. The Marathas outlasted Aurangzeb himself.

Why were forts so important?

Forts guarded key routes and sheltered his army. They suited his guerrilla style of war. His finance minister, Ramachandrapant Amatya, wrote: “Forts are the core of the state.”

What was his navy like?

He set up a navy in 1657 to guard the west coast. This was a bold step. Bijapur had merchant ships but no full-time navy, and the Mughals used ships very little.

• Size: his navy had more than a hundred ships.
• Muscat, 1665: the ruler of Muscat seized four of his ships. He then heard how big the fleet was and pulled back.
• Trade: his ships sailed to Mocha, Muscat and Malacca.
• Admirals: Daulat Khan and Daria Sarang led his fleet. Sabhasad calls Daria Sarang a Muslim. An English letter of 1670 gives him a different name.

How did Shivaji die?

A fever took his life in 1680. He fell ill with fever and dysentery on 24 March 1680. He died at noon on 3 April 1680. One account says he died at fifty; another says he was not yet 53.

What happened to the Marathas after him?

His sons kept up the fight against the Mughals. He had two sons, Sambhaji and Rajaram.

• Sambhaji: he became Chhatrapati next. Aurangzeb captured him, tortured him and put him to death.
• Raigad: the Mughals then took the Maratha capital.
• Rajaram: he became Chhatrapati and fled south to Gingee.
• Tarabai: Rajaram’s queen later led big raids into Mughal lands.
• Aurangzeb: he died without crushing the Marathas.

The war between the two powers ran from 1682 to 1707. Later, the Peshwas led a huge Maratha expansion. The Marathas lost badly at Panipat in 1761. Three wars with the British followed between 1775 and 1818.

Exams test the order of his early wins, his council and his dealings with the English. Here are three real past questions, newest first.

The site’s key gives (c), both 1 and 2. His council had grown to eight ministers by 1674. His word list gave Sanskrit terms for Persian ones.

The answer is (a), 2, 4, 1, 3. Torna came first, in about 1646. Javli followed in 1655 or 1656. Afzal Khan fell in 1659, and the raid on Shaista Khan came in 1663. The order holds whichever Javli date you take.

The answer is (d), all three. In September 1671, Shivaji sent an envoy to Bombay. He wanted English help to attack Danda-Rajpuri, the fort of the Siddis. He asked for grenades, mortars and ammunition. The English told their men neither to promise nor to refuse.

What traps should you watch for?

1. Peshwa vs Amatya. The Peshwa was prime minister. The Amatya handled finance.
2. Chauth. It was 25 per cent; sardeshmukhi added 10 per cent more.
3. Raigad, not Pratapgad. Raigad saw the crowning. Pratapgad saw the end of Afzal Khan.
4. Purandar and Agra. The treaty came in 1665; the escape came in 1666.
5. Birth year. 1630 is the textbook year; 1627 is a scholar’s estimate.