Shivaji Maharaj was a great man
We celebrate his birth anniversary with great pomp and reverence
It is a happy day for you children you sing songs and powadas in his honour
You garland his picture and say Shivaji
Maharaj ki Jai
Who was this Shivaji Maharaj What was
the great work he did that we celebrate his
birthday every year
The time in which Shivaji Maharaj lived was that of the medieval period
In those days monarchy or the rule of kings prevailed everywhere
Many of the kings pursued their own
pleasures and enjoyment instead of the welfare
of their subjects
But even in those days there were some
kings who looked after the welfare of their
subjects
The Moghul Emperor Akbar in the North and Emperor krishnadevraya of vijaynagar in
the south are famous in history for their
benevolent rule
Likewise Shivaji Maharaj aslo commands
great respect even today
Shivaji Maharaj established Swaraj in Maharashtra
Swaraj means self-government our own rule
For about four hundred years before Shivaji Maharaj Maharashtra was not free.
A large portion of it was under the rule of
the Nizamshah of Ahmadnagar and the Adilsh-
ah of Bijapur
These two sultans had divided Maharashtra among themselves
They were not liberal in their Outlook
They oppressed the people over whom they ruled
They were also sworn enemies of each other
They constantly fought against each other with the result that the people suffered and were harassed
The people could not get enough to eat
nor could they celebrate their festivals or
worship their gods openly and freely
They were not sure of safety even in their
own homes
There was injustice everywhere
Maharashtra there were many watandars
like Deshmukhs and Deshpandes who owned
Jagirs
They loved only their jagirs and not their
country
The constant fighting among them brought
great misery to the people there was misrule
everywhere
People were tired of this oppression and were very unhappy
Shivaji Maharaj saw all this
He undertook the noble task of establishing Swaraj in Maharashtra which would bring happiness to the people
He first brought to book the watandars who fought among themselves
He than used them in his plan to establish
Swaraj
He fought against the powers that oppressed the people and defeated them
He established Hindavi Swaraj based on
Justice fair play and equal treatment to people
of all castes and religions
Shivaji Maharaj made no distinction between Hindus and Muslims
He honoured the saints of all religions we
draw inspiration from these noble deeds of
Maharaj
During a period of about three to four hundred years before Shivaji Maharaj many
saints were born in Maharashtra
Their work helped Shivaji Maharaj in his
successful effect of establishing Swaraj
We shall see in the next chapter what these saints did