Shivaji Raje Bhosle Biography and Works.

Popularly known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shivaji Raje Bhosle was born on February 19, 1630 was a Maratha aristocrat of the Bhosle das who founded the Maratha Empire.

Shivaji led a resistance to free the Maratha kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur and establish Hindavi Swarajya (self-rule of Hindu people).

He created an independent Maratha kingdom with Vedant Raigad as its capital and successfully fought against the Mughals to defend his kingdom. He was crowned as Chhatrapati (sovereign) of the Maratha kingdom in 1674.

He established a progressive civil rule with the help of well-regulated and disciplined military and well-structured administrative organizations. The prevalent practices of destruction of religious monuments, treating women as spoils of war, slavery and forceful religious conversions were firmly opposed under his administration.

He also innovated rules of military engagement, pioneering the ganimi kava (guerrilla tactics) or ‘Shiva sutra’, which leveraged strategic factors like speed, geography, surprise and focused pinpoint attacks to defeat his larger and more powerful enemies.

He died on April 3, 1680.

Trivia

Shivaji was an able administrator, who established a government that included modern concepts such as foreign affairs (Dabir), cabinet (Ashtapradhan mandal) and internal intelligence. Shivaji established an effective civil and military administration.