26 B. I. S. M. Puraskrita Grantha Mali, No. SHIVAJI THE FOUNDER OF MARATHA SWARAJ BY C. V. VAIDYA, M. A., LL. B. Fellow, University of Bombay, Vice-Ctianct-llor, Tilak University; t Bharat-Itihasa-Shamshndhak Mandal, Poona* POON)k 1931 PRICE B8. 3 : B. Printed by S. R. Sardesai, B. A. LL. f at the Navin ' * Samarth Vidyalaya's Samarth Bharat Press, Sadoshiv Peth, Poona 2. BY THE SAME AUTHOR : Price Rs* as. Mahabharat : A Criticism 2 8 Riddle of the Ramayana ( In Press ) 2 Epic India ,, 30 BOMBAY BOOK DEPOT, BOMBAY History of Mediaeval Hindu India Vol. I. Harsha and Later Kings 6 8 Vol. II. Early History of Rajputs 6 8 Vol. 111. Downfall of Hindu India 7 8 D. B. TARAPOREWALLA & SONS History of Sanskrit Literature Vedic Period ... ... 10 ARYABHUSHAN PRESS, POONA, AND BOOK-SELLERS IN BOMBAY Published by : C. V. Vaidya, at 314. Sadashiv Peth. POONA CITY. INSCRIBED WITH PERMISSION TO SHRI. BHAWANRAO SHINIVASRAO ALIAS BALASAHEB PANT PRATINIDHI,B.A., Chief of Aundh In respectful appreciation of his deep study of Maratha history and his ardent admiration of Shivaji Maharaj, THE FOUNDER OF MARATHA SWARAJ PREFACE The records in Maharashtra and other places bearing on Shivaji's life are still being searched out and collected in the Shiva-Charitra-Karyalaya founded by the Bharata- Itihasa-Samshodhak Mandal of Poona and important papers bearing on Shivaji's doings are being discovered from day to day. It is, therefore, not yet time, according to many, to write an authentic lifetof this great hero of Maha- rashtra and 1 hesitated for some time to undertake this work suggested to me by Shrimant Balasaheb Pant Prati- nidhi, Chief of Aundh. I have now, however, accepted this suggestion, as the materials already discovered are plentiful enough and throw new light on many incidents in Shivaji's life. They deserve to be described afresh with the help of this new light and many wrong ideas about Shivaji require to be corrected or eradicated at once. First among these new records of Shivaji is the Shiva- JSharata, a poetical life of Shivaji, written by Paramanand, his court-poet and by his order. Though a poem, especially one called Bharata, exaggerates many things, there are some facts which can never be exaggerated or invented* Thus Shiva' Bharata may exaggerate the beauty of Shivaji's mother or the prowess of Shivaji in battle. But it cannot invent a new date or a new name or even a new incident. Especially we may bear in mind that Paramanand was a contemporary poet writing at Shivaji's suggestion and had thus at command the assistance of reliable papers and ii PREFACE persons. Those who seek to minimise the value of this work because it is a poem are really mistaken in their view and may be said to be inexpert in the appreciation of evidence. And when they compare it to Prithviraj- Rasa for this view, they forget that the latter poem is of little historical value, not because it is a poem, but because it was written 300 years after Prithviraj, when people had forgotten many facts about him and had necessarily to invent them to fill up gaps. They should rather compare Shiw-Bharata with Prithviraj- Vijaya, a poem composed in his time and by his order. It has been corroborated by many in of inscriptions recently found ( as shown my History former Mediaeval Hindu India, Vol. Ill ). Indeed like the only a portion of this poem has been found and probably like it again it was half-finished by the poet himself. The next material to be noticed is a heap of papers found in recent research such as letters, sanads, kaifiyats, mah jars (testimonials of persons present in court at the settlement of a dispute), etc* All this material hitherto found by Rajawade, Parasnis, Deva and other researchers has been collected and printed according to sequence of dates in a volume specially prepared and published by the Shiva-Charitra-Karyalaya called "Shivakalin-Patra-Sara- " Sangraha. Thirdly, we have the correspondence from English, Dutch, French and Portuguese settlements in India at the time, published already under their respective authority* Extracts from English letters referring to Shivaji have PREFACE in been put together and published by the Mandal in a separate volume ( called English Records of Shiva ji ). Of other papers, Jedhe S'akavali, which is a list of events by dates prepared in the family of Jedhes who were co-workers of Shivaji, is particularly important. Finally, Mahomedan writings of the time have also been collected by the Shiva-Charitra-Karyalaya and extracts from them have been published, especially from Muhammadnama. It goes without saying that statements in all these documents made by friends, foes and foreigners have to be tested in the crucible of probability and trustworthi- ness. The temptation to exaggerate or falsify is natural to many writers, as also the desire to record mere hear- say* But events, dates or names cannot be questioned when noted by contemporary writers. And generally the rule may be followed that when two documents contradict each other, the older document may be trusted for facts though not for motives or opinions. An attempt has been made in the following pages to give a detailed and con- nected account of Shivaji's life from these sources, as tested by these rules. Assistance has been taken from papers written on successive topics in Shivaji's life by " noted persons and collected in a volume called Shiva- " Charitra-Nibandhavali. But on many points 1 have taken my own view of the matter. It may lastly be noted that this life, though written by a Maratha and an admirer, tries to keep the balance IV PREFACE of a judge's mind in apportioning blame or praise* I hold that a life should be written by an admirer and a country- man, who naturally takes a favourable view of his hero's motives, wherever possible. But I also hold that in as- certaining facts and in judging of moral and political justi- fications, the writer must maintain an impartial attitude. How far I have succeeded in this direction, I leave it to my readers to judge* My thanks are due to Shrimant Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, Chief of Aundh, for strongly suggesting to me the writing of this book, Shrimant Balasaheb is a care- ful student of Maratha history and an ardent admirer of Shiva ji. But for his encouragment this book could not have been written and consequently has been dedicated to him. He has been kind enough to supply the pictures inserted in this book. My thanks are also due to Sardar K. C. Mehendale for going over the book while in press and for suggesting corrections and additions where necessary. P a * V. Vaidya. Septe ber 'l931. } ABBREVIATIONS PS = Patrasarasangraha. J=JedheS'akavali. S=Sabhaad. SB = Shiva-Bharata. SNS= S'ukramtisara. ER= English Records on Shiva ji. TABLEICtff(CONTENT^ Chap. Nanm; Page 1-5 Introduction^ I Shiva ji's Ancaq 6-10 II BabajiandMal 11-17 III Shahaji 18-24 IV Birth of Shivaji 25-28 V The Fall of Nizamshahi 29-34 VI Childhood and Education 35-38 VII Investment with Jagir Authority 39-48 VIII Plan for Founding Swaraj 49-57 IX Imprisonment and Release of Shahaji 58-63 X The Supposed More Murders 64-71 XI Time and Place Favourable for Shiva ji's Plan 72-78 XII Conquest of Konkan 79-87 XIII The Momentous Meeting 88-96 XIV The Terrible Tussle 97-104 XV Taking of the Fort of Panhala 105-1 12 XVI The Thermopylae of Indian History 113-122 XVII Moguls Mousetrapped in Umber- khind. 123-125 XVIII Conquest of South Konkan. 126-133 XIX Midnight Rush of Mogul Camp 134-142 XX Conquest of Kudal 143-147 XXI Shivaji now a de facto Independent King 148-156 XXII The Sack of Surat 157-163 XXIII Other Surprise Attacks in 1664-5 164-173 XXIV The Mogul and the Maratha 174-182 XXV The Most Romantic Episode in Indian History 183-194 XXVI Conciliation and Consolidation 195-203 XXVII The Astonishing Escalade of Sinhgad 204-2 1 2 XXVIII Second Sack of Surat 213-219 XXIX Signal Mogul Defeat near Saler 220-225 XXX War with Bijapur 226-232 XXXI Preparations for Coronation 233-243 XXXII The Imposing Ceremony 244-254 XXXIII Shivaji and Ramadas 255-267 XXXIV Fresh Fights and Further Acquisi- tions in 1675-1676 268-277 XXXV Daring Expedition into Distant Karnatak 278-292 XXXVI Double Success of Dilerkhan's Duplicity. 293-299 XXXVII The Last Great Exploit of Shivaji 300-308 I XXXVII Shivaji's Character ; Aspersions Answered 309-324 XXXIX Shivaji's Greatness 325-333 XL Shivaji's Greatest Achievement 334 APPENDIX I Shivaji's Personal Appearance 345 II Wives and Children 345-348 III Power and Possessions 349-353 IV t , Ministers; Their Names and Functions 354-356 V Revenue Administration 357-359 VI Judicial ,. 360-362 VII Military if 363-368 VIII Currency in Shivaji's Time 369-377 IX Chauth and Sardeshmukhi 378-383 X Additional Notes 384-388 Chronology 389-394 Index of Names and Places 395-410 SHIVAJI THE FOUNDER OF MARATHA SWARAJ. Shivaji. ; l rom an old painting in the British Museum, before 1707. SHIVAJI THE FOUNDER OF MARATHA SWARAJ INTRODUCTION The greatest figure in the modern history of India is undoubtedly that of Shivaji, the founder of Maratha independence in the seventeenth century. Indeed he may be said to rank high among the highest men in the history of the world, both ancient and modern.