1 Component-I (A) – Personal Details

Component-I (A) – Personal details: 1 Component-I (B) – Description of module: Subject Name Indian Culture Paper Name Outlines of Indian History Module Name/Title Maratha Kingdom-Shivaji-Achievements Module Id I C/ OIH / 29 Pre-requisites Factors leading to establishment of Maratha Kingdom and Marathas in Indian history To understand the nature of Maratha Kingdom- Objectives role of the Maratha leaders and Saints-Shivaji’s achievements and administration Keywords Maratha Kingdom / Shivaji /Ashta Pradhans / Swarajya E-text (Quadrant-I) 1. Introduction During the first half of the seventeenth century, the Mughal empire was at the height of its glory. The Maratha nationalism grew up when the Mughals had nearly completed their conquest of Indian subcontinent. Gradually the Marathas developed a strong spirit of nationalism which made them most powerful group of people in India. The rise of the Marathas was the result of the efforts of entire Maratha people who on the basis of unity of their language, literature, community and home land gave birth to Maratha nationalism and desire to create an independent state of their own. The result was the formation of an independent state of Hindus in South India under the great courageous leader Shivaji. He emerged as the most formidable power in India. It was the strength of Nationalism which inspired Maratha leaders to establish Hind- pad- padshahi in India by capturing the power of Delhi emperors and bringing India under one rule. Aurangzeb had to spend the last twenty five years of his reign in the Deccan desperately fighting against Marathas. This glory of Marathas came to an end when they were defeated in the third battle of Panipat in 1761. The history of Marathas can be divided into two well–marked phases namely; the earlier phase from the middle of the seventeenth century tills the death of Aurangzeb. The latter phase relates to the Peshwas who became the de facto rulers. The rise of the Marathas in the seventeenth century was not a sudden conflagration. Numerous factors, including geography, polity, social, religious, and cultural influences played an equal part in their rise as the most formidable challenge to the Mughal power in India. 2. Factors Leading to the Rise of the Marathas 2.1 Geographical factors : The geography of Maharastra exercised a profound influence in molding the character and history of Marathas. The region inhabited by the Marathas is surrounded by mountain ranges Sahyadri, Satpura and the Vindhyas and also the rivers like the Narmada and Tapati. On one hand the mountainous country provided security to the Marathas. On the other, it made them sturdy soldiers with a spirit of self-reliance and capacity for hard work. The broken ranges of hills enabled the Marathas “nature-made defensible rock forts”. 2 Western Maharashtra and Konkan were the actual homeland of the Marathas. The region remained almost free from Muslim political interference. The hold of the Bahmani Sultans of Bijapur and Golconda-over this region was only superficial. Even before the rise of Shivaji, the Marathas occupied a privileged position in administrative and military fields. Many Maratha Silahdars and Mansabdars were employed in the Bahmani sultanate and later under Adilshahis of Bijapur and Nizamshahis of Ahmednagar. Malik Amber of Ahmadnagar made friends with the Marathas and used their best talent and cooperation, both for war and administration. In this grand political struggle, Shivaji’s father, Shahji, and grandfather Maloji, were closely associated with Malik Amber, in such a manner, that they gradually realized their strength and asserted their own power in course of time. 2.2 The Bhakti movement: The spread of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra inculcated the spirit of oneness among the Marathas. There had been social and religious awakening in Maharshtra prior to the political awakening. The saints of the 15th and 16th centuroes who emphasized Bhakti cult also preached social equality. Saints like Tukaram, Ramadas, Vamanpandit and Eknath who belonged to Maharashtra were the soul of social and religious awakening. Shivaji’s teacher, Samarth Ramdas (1608-82), the author of the book Dasbodh, taught the philosophy of action (karma). It exhorted to unite all Marathas and to propagate the ‘Maharatha Dharma’. Maharatha dharma meant liberal religion, which was free from caste discriminations, raised the status of women, preferred Bhakti to rituals and checked the excesses of polytheism. This was the dharma preached by the saints from the days of Jnaneshvar and Namdev to Tukaram. Samarth Ramdas gave expression to this noble vision in his work Anandvana Bhuvana. The ‘elevated teachings’ of these saints played a significant role in provoking and sustaining a new national spirit among the Marathas and provided a fresh spiritual background for their political activities. 2.3 Political factors: The balance of power between the Hindus and the Musliems also helped the Marathas in attaining political power. Politically speaking, the ground for establishment of an independent Maratha state was prepared by the advance of the Mughal armies into the south. Three important factors namely the fall of Khandesh, the gradual disappearance of Ahmednagar and the creation of the Mughal viceroyalty in the Deccan affected every aspect of Maratha life. They induced an awakening among the Marathas as a nation under the leadership of Shivaji and others who followed him. Thus, prior to the rise of Shivaji on the political horizon of the south, conditions existed suitable to produce a solid base to the rise of the Marathas. 3. Shivaji (1627-1680) 3.1 Early life Shivaji was one of the most remarkable personalities in the medieval history of India. Shivaji was born in 1627 in the fort of Shivner, belonged to the Bhonsle clan. Jijabai and Shahji Bhonsle were the parents of Shivaji. From his mother side he was a descendent of Yadavas of Devagiri and from his father’s side of the Sisodiyas of Mewar. Shahji was a military commander under the Nijamshahi ruler of Ahmednagar. After the occupation of Ahmednagar by Mughals he shifted his political activities to Bijapur. It was during this time he neglected his first wife Jija Bai and his son Shivaji. Shahji assigned the Poona jagir to his wife and left one of his loyal officers, Dadaji Konadev to look after them. Shivaji’s mother influenced him in moulding his character. She taught stories which depicted acts of bravery on the part of warriors from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. She was largely responsible for inspiring him a determination to defend Hindu Dharma against the inroads of Islam. Dadaji Kondadev who was the administrator of Poona Jagir of Shahji also played important part in the life of Shivaji. He gave him training in art of fighting and in the art of administration. 3 Shivaji also drew inspiration from Samartha Ramadas who taught him that “mother and mother country are dearer than heaven itself”. Shivaji from the beginning developed strong determination, courage, desire to fight against injustice, faith towards his religion and became master in the art of fighting.With the death of his guardian, Dadaji Konadev in 1647, Shivaji assumed full charge of his Jagir. 3.2 Conquests Shivaji aimed to create an independent kingdom of his own right from the beginning of his career. Shivaji took the advantage of the confusion that prevailed in the sultanate of Bijapur .Shivaji made his first military conquest at the age of 16 even during the tutelage of Konadev by attacking and capturing the hill forts near Poona against wishes.Shivaji started his adventures on a wider scale from 1647. He captured the forts of Torna, Raigarh, Kondana etc., from the ruler of Bijapur. Adilshahi ruler had realized the danger involved and brought pressure on Shahji, to dissuade his son, from such anti Adilshahi activities. Fearing the rising power of Shivaji, the Bijapur Sultan Mohammad Adilsha I imprisoned his father. Shivaji as a counter measure negotiated with prince Murad, the viceroy of Deccan, and expressed the wish to join the Mughal service. This diplomatic move of Shivaji not only alarmed the Bijapur sultan but also made him to release his father. During the next six years i.e. (from 1649 to 1655) Shivaji turned his attention towards consolidation of his power and re-organizing administration. Shivaji, after 1655 renewed his inroads deep in to the state of Bijapur. Shivaji began his real career of conquests in 1656 when he conquered Javali fort from the Maratha chief Chandra Rao More. The occupation of Javali fort brought a quantitative change in his economic position, for he secured large treasure hidden in the fort. With the help of that booty, Shivaji increased the strength of Mawali foot soldiers and conquered a series of hill forts located in the neighborhood of Poona which formed part of the Bijapur Sultanate. The conquests of Javali made him the undisputed master of Mawali area. Mawali foot soldiers became a strong part of his army. 3.3 Episode of Afzal Khan The capture of Javali by Shivaji in 1656 alarmed the Adilshahi authorities. Bijapur Sultan then grew suspicious of the rising power of Shivaji in the Deccan and decided to crush him. Accordingly a huge army of 10,000 troops was sent under the command of Afzal Khan with instruction to capture him either alive or dead. Afzal Khan to terrifi Shivaji started his campaign by wholesale destruction of temples, agriculture and massacre. Treachery was common in those days, and both Afzal Khan and Shivaji resorted to use the same. Afzal Khan sent an invitation to Shivaji for a personal interview, promising to get him pardoned from the Sultan of Bijapur. He met Shivaji on the small plateau of Pratapagarh. Sensing that it was trap, Shivaji went prepared and murdered Afzal Khan in cunning and daring manner in 1659.

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