Shivaji - The Virtuous Warrior King

 

On February 19 every year, India lays aside all its differences to celebrate the birth anniversary of the great Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. To commemorate this day, Left, Right and 'Thoda sa' Centre brings you a post written by a guest author, Ms Poonam Nakade. She graciously accepted our request to pen a few lines on this immortal personality, who has carved an everlasting niche for himself in the pages of Indian history.  Over to Poonam --

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is venerated as God in Maharashtra.  While we celebrate his 391st birth anniversary today, I would like to share one of his stories that had impressed me as a girl and continues to impress me as a woman.  Having been born and educated in Maharashtra, studying in detail about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was inevitable. It is a well-known fact that he was a great warrior, administrator, and leader but he was also a very sensitive human being.  There are many stories that reveal this side of Maharaj that are not known outside of Maharashtra.  Today, I would like to share one such story that made the first strong impact on my mind.   It was a story narrated by our Marathi teacher.  The immense respect that our teacher had for Maharaj eventually led her to recite “ashich aamuchi aai asti sundar rupmati....”(had my mother been as beautiful as you are...).  Though she was teaching a lesson on "Hirkarni Buruj", she recounted a totally unrelated story that I repeat here.

The story was about an attack carried out by the Maratha army on the fortress of Kalyan to defeat the custodian of the fort, Ahmed, who was committing unmentionable atrocities on his Hindu subjects. The Maratha army not only seized the fort but also captured some prisoners of war that included the subedaar and his family.

The news of the Maratha victory and the captives spread like wildfire. Next day, the common people thronged the court hoping to see Maharaj heap insults on the captives. Consequently, the father-son duo was presented in chains before a crowded darbar, with the subjects filling up every available inch of space in the common hall, and even spilling out into the corridors outside. People craned their necks to see what fate would befall the hapless prisoners of war. Maharaj issued immediate orders for their release from bondage. Then Abaaji Sondev, a commander in the siege of Kalyan, stepped up to the throne and brought it to Maharaj’s attention that there had been one more arrest. When asked to produce  the captive in court without delay, the commanders led the Subedaar's daughter-in-law into the darbar and presented her before Maharaj. A deathly hush descended over the crowds surging to get a better look at the lady being led to the throne in chains. She was famed for her beauty throughout the land.

Completely taken aback at this unprecedented move on the part of his chieftains, Maharaj lowered his eyes for a few moments. With his eyes still lowered, he asked his commander as to what action was expected to be taken.

The chieftain replied in a loud tone, made bold with emphasis, “Maharaj, she should be kept in the natyashaala (the dancing girls’ quarters), as this is the practice followed by the Mughals with any women taken captive in war.” A ripple of assent ran through the audience hanging on to his every word.

A young boy dressed up as Shivaji Maharaj

All eyes were now on Maharaj. “Abaaji Sondev,” he said, loudly and clearly, deliberating on every word as he spoke, “I want to let it be known that I don’t believe in the principle of ‘an eye for an eye.’ I cannot disregard humanity and make laws that perpetuate injustice, merely because our enemies believe in doing so.”  

His righteous words and dignified demeanour gave the captive woman the courage to look up at him. The silent entreaty was not lost on Maharaj. He looked at her for an instant and then turned away, uttering the words that I remember to this day -- “had my mother have been as beautiful as you are, I too would have been handsome.” He ordered Abaaji to escort the Subedaar, his son and daughter-in-law to their home forthwith, and to see to it that the lady was extended the same courtesies as would have been extended to Jijamata.

This story is just one of the many examples which demonstrate that Shivaji Maharaj was not only a great warrior, administrator, and a great leader of men, but also a ruler immensely respectful of women and acknowledged their contribution towards the building of a just and honourable society and thence, a just and honourable state.

It is this human side of Shivaji Maharaj that never fails to stir my heart every time I recollect the story. Here was a battle-hardened warrior so feared by all his enemies, but loved and held in high regard by all his subjects who have continued to keep him on a pedestal at par with God for generations.

Whether we know him as the “Father of the Indian Navy” or a warrior king skilled in guerilla warfare, his sensitive side always makes me proud to be his descendant. 

Will we ever see another like him? Perhaps when Time turns a full circle, and Satyug comes round again.

So what did you think of Poonam’s stirring post? Don’t forget to leave your much-awaited comments in the section below, and as always, do share, subscribe and follow us.

About Poonam:

In spite of being busy with the family commitments and almost in love with all of it, I still grab some time for myself. Teaching Math gives me the necessary adrenaline rush and words, the coveted peace. Every time I pen down a quote, poem or an article it leaves me with heartfelt satisfaction. Words and thoughts are my most loved toys to dwell with.

A lot of people think Math and creativity don't go hand in hand. Maybe. But they definitely are the best of both the worlds for me.

Disclaimer:  This article is a reader contribution and all views and opinions in the article are those of the writer alone.  Other readers who may be interested in contributing to this blog may mail their articles with a short biography and a profile pic to left.right.tcenter@gmail.com.  The right to publication rests with the blog owners.

The Hero Behind

Early yesterday, my friend Shyama Patil, who lives in Kolhapur and is very proud of her Maharashtrian roots, reminded me that today was Shivaji Maharaj’s birth anniversary.  That reminder started a chain of thought. 

Who has not heard of Shivaji?   As school-going children in India, we have been brought up on tales of his bravery and heroism so much so that the very mention of his name, sends a thrill down one’s spine.  However today, as a mother and teacher, on being reminded of his birth anniversary, I caught myself reflecting on the people behind Shivaji and his glorious achievements.   Who were behind the making of Shivaji Maharaj, the legend?  How did they inspire him?  Is there anything that I can learn from them to create my own Shivajis?    

On the 19^th day of February, all of 389 years ago, in 1630 to be exact, was born to Jijabai and Shahaji Bhonsle, in the Shivneri fort of Maharashtra, a son, whom they named after the local diety, Shivai.  The world today honours him as Shivaji, the lion-hearted Maratha-warrior prince.   His father, Shahaji Bhonsle, was mostly away, being in the service of one or other of the Deccan sultanates in power at the time.  Young Shiva’s upbringing was left in the hands of his mother Jijabai and his guru, Samarth Ramdas.  In all the emphasis that is laid on his indomitable courage and valour, what most of us do not realise was that Shivaji was, first and foremost, and remained throughout his life, a man of spotless character and great personal integrity.  At the core of his greatness, his extremely soul-stirring charisma and heroism, is this devotion to a set of values instilled in him by both his mother and guru, no doubt from his very childhood.

Jijabai was not only a deeply religious and morally upright woman, but she was equally adept at managing and attending the day-to-day running of her husband’s small jagir around the Shivneri fort in Pune, where Shivaji was born.  If we reflect on this, we can already see how she might have been the role model for Shivaji, the very capable and balanced ruler of later years. His much-admired quality to cast aside all dilemmas and reach the heart of a problem as swiftly as his arrows, to take instant decisions that had far-reaching consequences was rooted in the ideals his mother set before him.  This was a quality that even his enemies both secretly admired and hated him for.   In fact, if there was any one quality of Shivaji which they ardently wished they had, it was this astuteness, this vision.  The more I read about him, the more I feel this was an attribute inculcated in him by his mother.   Quite clearly, she led him by example.  It is said that he consulted her all his life, and even when she was no more, he was guided no doubt, by her principles that were deeply ingrained in him.   

As a child, she kept her close to him throughout the day, as she went about her daily tasks of administrating the jagir, being sensitive to the needs of the people who lived there, being kind yet firm, allocating funds wisely and inventively, keeping them united in heart.  At bedtime, she would narrate to him stories of heroes from the Mahabharat and the Ramayana, who defended and upheld what was right with their very life and every breath.  Together with Guru Ramdas, she laid the foundation of obedience, of discipline, of valuing and cherishing true friends who stand by you through thick and thin and working on your strengths and weaknesses tirelessly.

Is it any wonder that in later years, when Lokmanya Tilak was looking to inspire Indians and unite them against the British, he revived the tradition of celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi and Shivaji Jayanti as a community festival. 

On his 379^th birth anniversary today, I feel as mothers and the first teachers of our children, we need to take a leaf out of Jijamata’s book, of leading by example and keeping our children close to ourselves.  Only then, can we can hope that Shivaji will live on, not just in textbooks, but in the hearts and minds of future generations of Indians.

(All images credited to Wikipedia: Commons)