Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Birth - [February 19, 1630] This Day in History

19 February 1630

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born.

What happened?

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, great Maratha ruler was born on 19 February 1630 at Shivneri Fort in District Pune in the present-day state of Maharashtra.

• Some records claim Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s date of birth as 6 April 1627 but 19 February 1630 is the official version. Shivaji Jayanti is observed on this day.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born to Shahaji Bhonsle, a Maratha general who held the jagirs of Pune and Supe under the Bijapur Sultanate. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s mother was Jijabai, a pious woman whose religious qualities had a profound influence on him. Shahaji had also served the Ahmednagar and Deccan sultanates.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was given excellent training in military warfare and administration. He was married for the first time in 1640 to Saibai.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj displayed his military zeal for the first time in 1645 when as a teenager, he successfully got control of the Torna Fort which was under Bijapur.
• He also acquired the Kondana Fort. Both these forts were under Adil Shah of Bijapur. Shah then got Shahaji imprisoned in a bid to contain Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Some accounts say that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj surrendered these forts to get his father released. Shahaji died in 1664-65 in an accident. After this, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj resumed his raids and extended his territories.
• He achieved a great name when he defeated Afzal Khan, a veteran general of Adil Shah.
• In the Battle of Pratapgarh in 1659, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s forces vanquished the Bijapur Sultanate’s army. From this victory, he acquired a large number of weapons and horses which greatly added to his growing Maratha army’s strength.
• In the same year, another battle was fought with the Adilshahi camp at Kolhapur where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s outnumbered army defeated the enemy force. He displayed great military prowess during this battle. This victory now alarmed Aurangzeb.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj raided Mughal territory near Ahmednagar and in Junnar. Aurangzeb’s forces under Nasiri Khan did defeat Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Ahmednagar in 1657 but the Mughal prince soon became engaged with his own battles with his brothers for the possession of the Mughal throne upon his father’s illness.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj defeated a large force of Shaista Khan (Aurangzeb’s maternal uncle) and the Bijapur army in Pune. In 1664, the wealthy Mughal trading port of Surat was sacked by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
• In June 1665, the Treaty of Purandar was signed between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Raja Jai Singh I (representing Aurangzeb). Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj signed this agreement realising that a war with the Mughals would cost him men and money. As per this treaty, many forts were relinquished to the Mughals and it was agreed that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj would meet Aurangzeb at Agra. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also agreed to send his son Sambhaji as well.
• At Agra in 1666, when Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj went to meet the Mughal emperor, the Maratha warrior felt he was insulted by Aurangzeb and stormed out of the court. He was arrested and kept prisoner. The clever escape of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son from imprisonment in disguise out of Agra is legendary today.
• After that there was peace between the Marathas and the Mughals until 1670. After that, the jagir of Berar which was granted to Sambhaji by the Mughals was taken back from him. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in response attacked and recovered many territories from the Mughals in a short span of four months.
• In October 1670, he also harassed the English forces at Bombay for their support of the Mughals.
• Through his military tactics, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj now acquired a large part of the land in the Deccan and western India. He was crowned as the king of the Marathas on June 6, 1674, at Raigad. He took on the title of Chhatrapati, Shakakarta, Kshatriya Kulavantas and Haindava Dharmodhhaarak.
• The Maratha Kingdom founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was about 4.1% of the Indian subcontinent but it grew larger over time and became the dominant Indian power in the early 18^thcentury.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj fell ill and died of ill-health on 3 April 1680 at Raigad.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj laid the foundations of a great empire which played significant parts in modern Indian history. He established a strong army and a navy across the Konkan coast. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was also considered a master of the guerrilla warfare.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is today considered a national hero in India and especially in the state of Maharashtra.

Also on this day

1915: Death of Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

1956: Death of Acharya Narendra Dev, socialist leader and independence activist.

See previous ‘This Day in History’ here.

Also see:

Related Links