Autobiography of Shivaji Maharaj | English Autobiography
Autobiography of Shivaji Maharaj : The Lion who build Hind Swaraj
Chatrapathy Shivaji Autobiography : Autobiography of Shivaji Maharaj… history wrote in golden letters in the history of India. Thats why hearing this name makes Hinduism tremble. So credit for saving Hinduism from the attacks of the Mughals goes to that Maratha warrior. Shivaji, trained under the care of his mother, Bairam Khan, made the Sultans of Bijapur and Golconda and the Mughals tremble with his war tactics and defense of Hindu culture and sovereignty against Mughal dominance.
He tied the bracelet to the protection of Hinduism with the teachings of his teacher Samardha Ramdas and mother Jijiabai. There are many incredible facts about Shivaji( founder of Maratha Empire on his own ). Many people think that Shivaji’s name is not derived from Shiva. But that is not true, devotees in one area even call Shiva as Shivaay.
Autobiography of Shivaji Maharaj - Hind Swaraj :
Autobiography of Shivaji Maharaj – Hind Swaraj : Although Shivaji opposed the Muslim invaders. He practiced secularism in his kingdom. He treated people of all religions equally. He respected Hinduism converter from other religions. Not only that, he gave his daughter in marriage to those convert to Hinduism. He fought against Muslim invaders to protect Hinduism and never opposed their religion.
Many of his friends were Mohammedans. Not only that, he gave many Muslims a suitable position in the military system. He helped the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb to defeat the Bijapur Sultans. He played a key role in the siege of Ahmednagar.
Shivaji’s approach of war tactics was also incomprehensible. He was able to increase the 2,000 soldiers inherited from his father to 10,000. Shivaji’s unparalleled talent is about military assets and unwavering war strategies. Apart from having a strong army and a surveillance system, he also used modern war tactics. The most important of these was the gorilla attack.
Shivaji took great care of his army and soldiers. He was reluctant to fight at the cost of their lives. In case of danger to their lives, the soldiers would be unexpectedly evacuated from there.
Important Battles :
Important battles : A strong navy gave the Marathas more strength. The reason for this was the Shivaji strong foundations made of . This was very useful in protecting them from foreign invasions. It is noteworthy that no other king had such ideas at that time.
Shivaji cleverly killed Afzal Khan. He was stronger and more cunning than him. Shivaji Maharaj, the legendary warrior king of Maharashtra, who sensed Afzal’s plan in advance. He put tiger claws on his hands and killed him.
Shivaji had immense respect for women. When he invaded other kingdoms, he did not allow any attacks on women. Shivaji Maharaj, a ruler known for his progressive views on women’s rights and protection, ensured that If anyone did this, he would be treated harshly.
Defence System :
Only skilled people were accepted as soldiers. He did not care about any recommendations in the army. They also refused to give personal weapons to the soldiers.
Shivaji Maharaj, the visionary leader of the Maratha Empire enforced regulations that weapons stolen in the course of invading other kingdoms must be accounted for and transferred to the arsenal. They also did not accept attacks on religious places and homes.
Battle of Pratapgarh :
Both Shivaji and Afzal Khan met on 10 November 1659 in a hut near the fort of Pratapgarh. Both of them made a condition that they both brought only one sword with them. Shivaji did not trust Afzal Khan and put armor on his clothes. He kept a tiger’s claw on his right arm and then went to meet Afzal Khan.
Afzal Khan attacked Shivaji, but he escaped because of his armor, and then Shivaji attacked Afzal Khan with his Tiger’s Claw. Afzal Khan was seriously injured and died. After this, Shivaji’s soldiers attacked Bijapur.
Treaty of Purandar :
Aurangzeb already knew about Shivaji, so he made his maternal uncle, Shaista Khan, the Subedar of South India. Shaista Khan reached Pune with his 150,000 soldiers and started plundering there. Shivaji attacked him with his 350 Mavals, then Khan ran away for his life and lost 3 of his fingers in this attack.
In this attack, Shivaji Maharaj killed Khan’s son and 40 of his soldiers. Khan took refuge with the Mughal army outside Pune. Khan embarrassed Aurangzeb, so he removed Khan from South India and made him Subedar of Bengal.
Avenge his defeat, Shaista Khan, along with his 15,000 soldiers, burned and ravaged many of King Shivaji’s territories. Later, Shivaji started plundering the Mughal territories to avenge this devastation, which was at that time a Surat gateway for Hindu Muslims.
Aurangazeb invitation to Shivaji :
After that, Shivaji ordered the loot merchants of Surat with 4000 soldiers. Notably, Shivaji did not make any common man a victim of his loot.
Subsequently, Aurangzeb summoned Shivaji Maharaj to Agra. But he insulted and disrespected Shivaji. For this, he vented his anger on the court and then accused Aurangzeb of cheating. Therefore, Aurangzeb imprisoned him and surround guarded him with 500 soldiers.
Shivaji Maharaj escaped :
Shivaji escaped; consequently, Aurangzeb thought Jaisingh helped him. So Aurangzeb poisoned Jai Singh. Then Shivaji made a second treaty with the Mughals in 1668 that Jaswanth Singh initiated.
In the year 1670, again Shivaji looted the city of Surat for the second time. That time he took property worth 132 lakhs on his return. Therefore, he once again defeated the Mughal army in Surat.
Meanwhile, in 1674, Shivaji’s empire had expanded considerably. After the establishment of an independent Hindu nation in western Maharashtra.Then he wanted to crown himself, but Brahmins strongly opposed him.
Title as Chatrapathi :
Shivaji was not a Kshatriya. So, “he will crown only after needing proof of Kshatriya.” Further peshwa Balaji Rao ji sent proof of Shivaji’s relationship with the Sisodia clan of Mewar. Subsequently satisfied, he came to Raigad and got king crown.
Even after the coronation, the Brahmins of Pune refused to accept Shivaji as their king. After this, Shivaji established Ashtapradhan Mandal. Subsequently, he invited ambassadors, representatives of various states, and foreign traders to this function. Around 5000 people from Raigad gathered at this function. Therefore, Chatrapati is the title given to him in this function.
