Murals

Shahajiraje and Jijamata seek blessings form Goddess Shivai at fort Shivaneri Shahaji Raje and Jijamata Vist Shivai Devi at fort Shivaneri. Jijamata was pregnant at that time. Experienced physicians were appointed at the fort to take care of Jijamata

Birth of Shivaji On 19 February 1630, under a very auspicious constellation, Jijabai, the wife of Shahaji Raje, gave birth to a son at Shivneri Fort. Since the child was born at Shivneri, he was named Shivaji. Shahaji Raje later came to see the newborn along with his elder son, Sambhaji. Overjoyed by the birth of his son, he gave generous charities in celebration.

“Shivaji and his friends take Oath at Rohideshwar” People of Pune provice are being influenced by the idea of “Swaraj”. They were raising theri voice against the atrocities of the Sultan. So on 23rd May 1642 a young 12 year old Shivaji and his accomplices collectively take oath of “Swaraj” in the holu Shiva Temple at Rohideshwar.xs

Education of Shivaji Young Shivaji became well-versed in the Shruti, Smriti, Puranas, governance, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, poetry, exercise, architecture, archery, various languages, verses, aphorisms, and riding elephants, horses, and chariots. He was trained in the use of the sword, bow, chakra, spear, and in various forms of warfare. He also learned about fort construction, military strategy, escape techniques, detection of poisoning, gemstone examination, and other arts and sciences.

Capture of Torna and Rajgad The fort of Torna lay uninhabited in the Kanad Valley, to the southwest of Pune. There was no Adil Shahi noble stationed there, and young Shivaji Raje captured the fort during 1645–46. A mountain called Murumbadev lay to the southeast of Torna, and it too was unattended. Shivaji took control of this mountain and immediately began constructing a fort on it. He named this fort Rajgad. Rajgad later became the first capital of the Maratha kingdom.

Beginning of the Maratha Navy Shivaji Maharaj conquered Kalyan and Bhiwandi on 24 October 1657. Later, Pen also came under his control. At these places, he began to build ships. With the help of Portuguese artisans, Shivaji Maharaj built warships and established Maratha dominance over the sea. The Maratha fleet consisted of warships such as Gallivat, Gurab, Machwa, Tarande, Pal, Tirkati, Mahagiri, Taru, and Fatemar, as well as merchant ships like Machwa, Batela, Taru, Shibad, Mahagiri, Balav, and Manji.

Afzal Khan To curb Shivaji Maharaj’s growing power, Ali Adil Shah and Badi Saheba decided to send a royal general to fight against the Maratha king. However, no chief in the Adil Shahi court was willing to accept this responsibility. At that moment, Afzal Khan stepped forward, picked up the tambul (betel leaf), and declared, “Who is Shivaji? I will bring him back alive as a prisoner, without even alighting from my horse.”

On Thursday, 10 November 1659, at 2 p.m., Shivaji Maharaj and Afzal Khan met. During this meeting, Afzal Khan asked Shivaji Maharaj to completely surrender himself and spread his arms to take him in an embrace. As soon as Afzal Khan hugged Shivaji Maharaj, he pressed Shivaji Maharaj’s head under his left arm and stabbed him in the side with a dagger hidden in his arm. Since Shivaji Maharaj was wearing armor, the dagger brushed against it, and only his robe was torn. In the blink of an eye, Shivaji Maharaj pushed and twisted the tiger claws on his left hand into Afzal Khan’s stomach. Afzal Khan was wearing only a robe. When Shivaji Maharaj attacked him with the tiger claws, his bowels spilled out. In his right hand, Shivaji Maharaj held a dagger, with which he tore open Afzal Khan’s stomach. On Thursday, 10 November 1659, at 12 p.m., Afzal Khan, who used to hate God, was killed by Shivaji Maharaj. Would you like me to make it sound more dramatic and story-like, or keep it factual and straightforward?

Bajiprabhu Deshpande faught hard at Ghodkhind On 13th July 1660, Siddhi Johar’s army sieged fort Panhala. Shivaji Maharaj’s spy network worked immensely to find loopholes and places to flee. Shivaji Maharaj reached Ghodkhind in this planquin. Mughal army chased marathas till Ghodkhind. Bajiprabhu Deshpande swa aproching Mugal army and decided to fight Mughals in Ghodkhind. Bajiprabhu fought hard and martyred in this fight. Bajiprabhu sacrificied his life but fought till the time Shivaji Maharaj was able to reach Fort Vishalgadh.

Commando Attack on Shaista Khan After Aurangzeb seized the throne of the Mughal Empire at Delhi, he appointed his uncle Shaista Khan as Subhedar of the Deccan in 1660. An army of 80,000 was given along with Shaista Khan. The new Subhedar of the Mughal Deccan started destroying the Maratha kingdom while staying at Shivaji Maharaj’s Lal Mahal in Pune. On the night of 5 April 1663, Shivaji Maharaj made a daring raid on Shaista Khan’s residence to unravel this entanglement of the kingdom. Since Shivaji Maharaj’s childhood was spent in this mansion, he knew the ins and outs of this place. Shaista Khan survived the attack but lost three of his right-hand fingers. Frightened, Khan took all the army and left Pune in three days, and the crisis in the state disappeared.

Sacrifice of Murarbaji Deshpande
To retaliate against Shivaji Maharaj’s successive victories, Aurangzeb sent two of his prominent mansabdars, Mirza Raja Jai Singh and Dilir Khan, to the Deccan. These two besieged the fort of Purandar. Here, Murarbaji Deshpande was leading the Marathas. After Dilir Khan launched a major attack on Purandar in June 1665, the Mughal army fought a fierce battle with the Marathas. Seeing Murarbaji’s passion during this battle, Dilir Khan lured him to join the Mughal army. Murarbaji Deshpande repulsed the bait and attacked Dilir Khan directly, but at the same time an arrow came from the front and pierced Murarbaji’s neck. Murarbaji Deshpande passed away. He sacrificed his life for the Maratha kingdom.

Shivaji Maharaj’s Visit to Agra
Shivaji Maharaj had gone to Agra to visit Aurangzeb. He met Aurangzeb on 12 May 1666 at Diwan-i-Khas in the Red Fort of Agra. Shivaji Maharaj was insulted during this visit, so he turned his back to the Peacock Throne and left the court in anger. Aurangzeb arrested him and was planning to kill him. Along with his son Sambhaji, Shivaji Maharaj escaped from the clutches of Aurangzeb on 17 August 1666. After a long journey of three months, Shivaji Maharaj reached Rajgad safely on 20 November 1666.

Tanaji Malusare
In order to check Shivaji Maharaj’s activities, Aurangzeb sent Mirza Raja Jai Singh to attack the Maratha kingdom with a huge army. Shivaji Maharaj had to make a pact with Jai Singh and took one step back. In this pact, Shivaji Maharaj had given twenty-three forts to the Mughals and a territory with a revenue of four lakh hons. The campaign to recapture these twenty-three forts was started by Subhedar Tanaji Malusare. He sacrificed his life in a fierce battle with Uday Bhan Rathore on 4 February 1670 and conquered Sinhagad. Shivaji Maharaj was deeply hurt by the death of Tanaji Malusare. He said, ‘He won one fort, but also lost a fort.’

Meeting of Shivaji Maharaj and Ramdas Swami
In the month of Shrawan in the year 1672 C.E., Shivaji Maharaj and Ramdas Swami met near Chafal. Later, a strong bond was formed between the two. Shivaji Maharaj gave the fort Parli, alias Sajjangad, to Ramdas Swami for his residence.

The Coronation of Shivaji Maharaj
On Jyeshtha Shuddha Trayodashi, Saturday, Shaka 1596, Anandanam Samvatsar, that is 6 June 1674, Shivaji Maharaj was crowned. When Shivaji Maharaj was enthroned at Raigad, the people in the Raj Sabha started to cheer by chanting the words, ‘Praudh Pratap Purandar, Kshatriya Kulavatans, Sinhasanadhishwar, Maharajadhiraj, Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Ki Jai!’ The English ambassadors Henry Oxinden, George Robinson, and Thomas Michael attended the coronation ceremony and presented very precious gifts to Shivaji Maharaj on this auspicious occasion. With the coronation ceremony, the sovereignty of India was re-established.

Shivaji Maharaj’s Visit to Abul Hasan Qutb Shah at Bhaganagar
Shivaji Maharaj visited Abul Hasan Tanashah Qutb Shah of Golconda. On 5 February 1677, he entered Bhaganagar. The entire city was adorned; kumkum-keshar rangolis were drawn, festoons and pennants were put up all over the city, and Gudhi-torans were erected. The whole of Bhaganagar was eager to see Shivaji Maharaj. As soon as Shivaji Maharaj entered Bhaganagar, gold and silver flowers were showered on him.

Shivaji Maharaj’s Karnataka Expedition
Agitated citizens of Koppal came to meet Shivaji Maharaj. They pleaded to rescue themselves from the cruelty and inhumane troubles of the Pathan. Shivaji Maharaj decided to depute General (Sardar) Hambir Rao Mohite for this task. Hambir Rao Mohite, with his army, went to Koppal to attack the Pathan. Nagoji Jedhe injured Khan’s elephant, while Husen Khan Miyana shot an arrow at Nagoji Jedhe. Hambir Rao Mohite captured and chained Khan. In this attack, Hambir Rao Mohite, along with Khan, also captured 2,000 horses, a few thousand elephants, and many priceless possessions, and presented them to Shivaji Maharaj for Swarajya.

Meeting at Dadmahal
Shivaji Maharaj and Abul Hasan Tanashah Qutb Shah met at Dad Mahal in Golconda Fort. The two embraced each other. Qutb Shah, pleased with Shivaji Maharaj, honourably made Shivaji Maharaj sit beside him. They had prolonged conversations and gave each other precious gifts. The Diwan of Qutb Shahi, Akkanna and Madanna Pingali, were present on this occasion.

Yesaji Fought Bravely with Qutb Shah’s Mighty Elephant
On 19 February 1677, Yesaji bravely fought against the mighty elephant of Qutb Shah. Yesaji managed to cut the elephant’s trunk with his sword. Every soldier of the Maratha Empire was as powerful as an elephant.

Shivaji Maharaj Dines at Madanna’s Home
Meetings and invitations went on in Hyderabad for over a month. One day, Pradhan Madanna personally invited Shivaji Maharaj to visit his home for dinner. Shivaji Maharaj happily accepted this invitation and went for dinner. Madanna’s mother, Bhagamma, herself cooked the food. Bhagamma, Madanna, and Akkanna freely discussed several issues with Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji Maharaj offered elephants, horses, and clothes-ornaments as gifts.

Shivaji Maharaj’s visit to Srisailam Mallikarjun at Srisailam, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, is well documented. Shivaji Maharaj came to Srisailam on 24 March 1677 and visited Mallikarjun. He stayed at this shrine on the banks of the Krishna River until 1 April 1677.

Balaji Shivaji Maharaj visited Tirupati Balaji on 4 May 1677. He reached Chennai via Tirupati Balaji and Sri Kalahasti, and from there, via Kanchipuram, he reached the strong fort of Gingee on 9 May 1677.

Gingee and Vyankoji Raja
Shivaji Maharaj besieged the huge fort of Gingee on 9 May 1677. The fort of Gingee is made up of three forts, namely Chandragiri, Krishnagiri, and Rajgiri. Muhammad Nasir Khan was the commandant of Gingee fort. Shivaji Maharaj conquered this strong fort of Gingee on 13 May 1677 and rebuilt it. From 1690 to 1698, the fort of Gingee served as the capital of the Maratha Kingdom for eight years. Shivaji Maharaj came to Tirumalwadi to meet Vyankoji Raja via Koleroon. He himself went ahead and brought Vyankoji Raja to the meeting place. The two brothers met after 12 July 1677 at the Pushpabhaneshwar Temple in the village of Tirupnruti. A lot of discussion took place between the two brothers, and both gave precious gifts to each other.