Maharashtra was under the domination of
the Adilshahi, Siddi, Portuguese and
Mughal powers. Shivaji Maharaj struggled
against these powers. He faced all kinds
of adverse circumstances. He founded an
independent and sovereign Swaraj. He set
up a system for the administration of this
Swaraj. He turned Swaraj into a Surajya,
a kingdom that sought the welfare of all.
Maharaj created a new order with his
capability. In the course of the conflict
for the founding of the Swaraj, he himself
had to face many grave dangers. Events
like the meeting with the Afzalkhan, the
seige of Panhala, the attack on
Shaistakhan, the escape from Agra, all
involved a great amount of risk. Shivaji
Maharaj emerged successful in all these
events. No harm came to him.
who killed Bada Sayyad at a critical
moment during the meeting with
Afzalkhan; Shiva Kashid who crossed the
siege of Panhalagad in the disguise of
Shivaji Maharaj; Bajiprabhu Deshpande,
who blocked the advances of the enemy
on the way to Vishalgad; Murarbaji
Deshpande, who defended the fort of
Purander, Tanaji Malusare, who sacrificed
his life while conquering Sinhagad; Hiroji
Farjand and Madari Meheter, who risked
their lives during the escape of Maharaj
from Agra, etc. Maharaj took great care
of his associates. For example, Kanhoji
Jedhe was associated with Maharaj in the
work of the Swaraj from the very
beginning. When the ageing Kanhoji fell
ill, Maharaj told him not to neglect his
medicines or treatment on any account.
Caring for the ryot : While
establishing the Swaraj, Maharaj had to
constantly struggle against his enemies.
His subjects suffered due to enemy
invasions. At such times, Maharaj used
to take utmost care to protect the ryot.
At the time of Shaistakhan’s campaign,
Maharaj warned the Deshmukh of the
Rohida valley not to fail in his duty
towards the ryot. He told Deshmukh to
visit every village and shift people to a
safe place down the ghats. He strictly
told him not to delay even for a moment.
He further warned the Deshmukh that if
he did not thus take care of the ryot, the
Mughal army would take the people
prisoner and then it would be seen as the
Deshmukh’s doing. Maharaj also saw to
it that the soldiers did not in any way
cause any harm to the ryot.
Policy regarding the army : Maharaj
maintained a strict discipline in the army.
Organisational Skill : Maharaj
inspired the people around him to work
for the Swaraj. His organisational skill
was unparalleled. With this skill, he drew
around himself brave people who were
also extremely loyal. These close
associates of Maharaj performed their
duty, even by risking their own lives.
There are many instances of this in the
founding of the Swaraj - Jiva Mahala,
He was particular about paying the
salaries of the army in time. He made
arrangements to pay the salaries of
soldiers in cash. In various kingdoms in
Medieval India and elsewhere, there was
a system of making payments to soldiers
in the form of jagirs. Maharaj set this
practice aside. There was a strict order
to the army that any valuables collected
during the campaigns in enemy territories
were to be deposited with the Government.
Soldiers were honoured for their bravery
in a campaign. He looked after the
maintenance of the families of soldiers
who died in battle. He took care of the
wounded soldiers, he treated well the
enemy soldiers who had surrendered
themselves or who had been captured.
A policy of tolerance : Maharaj had
to struggle against his enemies - the
Adilshah, the Mughals and the Siddis.
They were Islamic powers. While Maharaj
struggled against them, he considered the
Muslims in the Swaraj as his own
subjects. At the time of the meeting with
Afzalkhan, Siddi Ibrahim was a trusted
servant in his army. Siddi Hilal was a
Sardar in the army of Maharaj. Daulatkhan
was an important officer in the navy of
the Swaraj.
Maharaj followed a tolerant religious
policy. In the enemy territories that he
conquered, he continued the facilities that
had been given to the Muslim places of
worship. His contemporary historian
Khafikhan writes about the tolerant
religious policy of Maharaj; ‘Shivaji had
framed strict rules for his soldiers that
during the campaigns, they should not
harm a mosque. If they came in possession
of a copy of the Holy Quran, they should
hand over the same, with reverence, to a
Muslim.’
The inspiration for freedom : The
efforts that Maharaj made to establish the
Swaraj have a special value. It is the
value of freedom. He aimed at establishing
and maintaining an independent and
sovereign existence that did not accept
the dominance of any other power. While
struggling against the foreign powers,
Maharaj inspired others too, for freedom.
When Chhatrasal, who was in the service
of the Mughals, came to see Maharaj,
Maharaj inspired him to create an
independent kingdom in Bundelkhand.
Greatness of Maharaj’s work :
Maharaj established Swaraj while fightingagainst many enemies. This action itself
proves that he was a pioneer of a new
era. But besides this action, many other
noble qualities are found in his personality.
Maharaj was very intelligent. He
had mastered many arts. He was
conversant with many languages and
scripts. The teachings of his parents
towards the establishment of Swaraj
and ethics were deeply instilled in his
mind. There was a blend of character
and strength, nobility and valour in his
personality. He had innumerable qualities
like leadership, management, foresight,
political diplomacy, effective policy
about regional and military
administration, commitment to truth and
justice, attitude of equality, visualisation
of future activities, the skill of seeing his
planned ventures through, rising over the
calamities without giving up, alertness,
vigilance and so on.
He used to punish those severely who
would misbehave with women. He used
to take care of all sections of the society
like farmers, craftsmen, soldiers, traders,
merchants, etc. He used to harbour the
same respect for people of other religions
that he had for people of his own religion,
without any discrimination. He even
established family bonds with them. He
brought back into swadharma, their
original religion, persons who had
converted to another religion though there
was an opposition to such a reconversion
at that time. At that time, there was
opposition on religious grounds to crossing
the seas. Yet he built sea forts like
Singhudurg and created a navy. This
means that he had made preparation for
countering foreign invasions that came
from the sea. He became the ruler of
Swaraj officially through his coronation,
he later, had a second Coronation from
a different religious perspective. All these
actions show his revolutionary aspects in
the field of religion.
When there were threats to Swaraj,
he would face them with or without his
associates. Due to this, even his associates
were ready to sacrifice their lives for
Swaraj. Of course, his greatness was not
confined to the quality of facing calamities
bravely and fearlessly. He wanted to have
an ethical, qualitative base to the Swaraj.
That is why he would give orders, even
regarding minor issues along with the
important ones. The order that prohibited
soldiers from taking vegetables from the
fields of the peasants by force, is
exemplary from this point of view. The
restrictions on the cutting of trees enforced
by him are also noteworthy.
He had ordered that the garbage on
the fort should be burnt in an allotted
space without dumping it elsewhere, and
vegetables should be grown on its ash. It
becomes clear from this fact that he
would pay close attention to the minutest
details while establishing Swaraj. He was
not just a warrior, but also a sculptor
who created a new, independent, ethical
and cultured society. His greatness is
comprehensive.In our national movement, Maharaj
was a great source of inspiration. In his
struggle for equality, Mahatma Jotirao
Phule described in his powadas the greatness
of Shivaji Maharaj. Lokmanya Tilak
brought about national awakening through
the medium of Shivajayanti celebrations.
Lala Lajpatrai has written a book about
the greatness of Maharaj. The great Tamil
poet Subramanyam Bharati has written a poem about an imaginary incident in which
Shivaji Maharaj talks to his associates.
Vishwakavi Rabindranath Tagore has
written a long poem on Maharaj. Tagore
sees his efforts to found Swaraj as efforts
for realizing a noble cause. Sir Jadunaath
Sarkar has praised his achievements in his
book ‘Shivaji and His Times’. Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru has said that Maharaj
did not belong to Maharashtra alone, he
belonged to the whole Indian nation. ... he
was a symbol of many virtues, more
especially of love of country.
All Indian languages have works that
talk about him as an ideal ruler and a
source of inspiration.
Future generations too, will continue
to look upon this work of Shivaji Maharaj
of founding the Swaraj and turning it into
Surajya as a source of inspiration, as an
ideal. Shivaji Maharaj was a great
national hero.
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