Chhatrapathi Shivaji

[Bodhi]

HH thanks for the explanation. I had not been able to figure out a satisfactory meaning so had left that out. by 'habasAna' (>Abyssinia) the reference is no doubt to the moslem Ethiopians, i.e. the siddI-s, as our poet uses that word elsewhere too, but the rest of phrase did not strike an immediate meaning. I am still struggling with the etymology and meaning of kAdarI.

[Bodhi]

<b>dADhi ke rakhaiyan kI DADhi sI rahati cHAti bADhI marjAda jasa hadda hinduvAne kI!!
kaDhi gaI raiyati ke mana kI kasaka saba miTi gaI Thasaka tamAma turakAne kI!!
bhUShaNa bhanata dilIpati dila dhakadhakA suni suni dhAka sivarAja mardAne kI!!
moTI bhayI chaNDI binu-choTI ke chabAya sIsa khoTI bhaI sampati chakatA ke gharAne kI!!</b>

No matter how well translated, no english will ever be able to convey the fire which bhUShaNa emits in the above masterpiece! Simply reciting the above lines can instill some courage even in a most timid hindu.

Hearts of the bearded fellows burn like bonfire, such now are growing the bounds of the Hindu Nation!!
Hopes of people are all answered, such is being demolished the vainglory of turuShka-s!!
bhUShaNa says this hearing the hartbeat of the dillI-king in awe of shivA the manly --
that chaNDI grows fat chewing the shikhA-less heads and wealth of the house of chakatA (moghuls) now lays in waste!!

==
veda rAkhe vidita purAna rAkhe sArayuta rAmanAma rAkhyo ati rasanA sughara mai!!
hindun kI choTI roTI rAkhI hai sipahiyan kI kAndhe mai janeu rAkhyo mAlA rAkhI gara mai!!
mIDi rAkhe mugal maroDa rAkhe pAtasAh bairI pIsi rAkhyo varadAna rAkhyo kara mai!!
rAjan kI hadda rAkhI tega bala sivarAja deva rAkhe devala svadharma rAkhyo ghara mai!!

Protected the veda-s renowned, and the essence of purANa-s, keeping the name of rAma at your worthy tongue;
Protected the shikhA of Hindus, and empoy of the warriors, keeping yaj~nopavIta on your shoulder and a mAlA in neck;
Kept mughals wrenched, pAtishAha writhed, and crushed all enemies, with the divine-boon in your hand;
Blessed be you and empowered your sword O shivarAja rAjan, that the deities are protected in temples and swadharma in homes.
==

mAri kari pAtisAhI khAkasAhI kInhI jina jera kInho jora soM lai hadda saba mAre kI!!
khisi gaI sheikhI phisi gaI sartAI saba hisi gaI himmati hazaaro loga sAre kI!!

[Hauma Hamiddha]

<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+Jun 11 2009, 12:41 AM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ Jun 11 2009, 12:41 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->wealth of the house of chakatA (moghuls) now lays in waste!!
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It is interesting that he uses this term. Clearly it is derived from Chagadai -- the Mongol Ulus of Chagadai the 2nd son of Chingiz Khan. The Timurids were always in awe of the Chingizids and wanted to claim a link to them. It is true that the Timurids descended from a pagan Mongol general of Chingiz Khan named Qarachar Barlas. But by the time of Baboor they had mixed thoroughly with the Turks and and were ethnically Turkified than Mongol. They did retain a highly Mongol influenced dialect of Turkic known as Chagadai turki which was their mother tongue (At least till Jehangir they spoke this language). In Akbar's days Abu Fazl tried to create a genealogy where he claimed that Qarachar Barlas and Chingiz Khan shared a common ancestor a few generations before them. But this could well be false as I have been unable to confirm it any Mongol source. But the Timurids did marry Chagadaid princesses from time to time so Baboor and his successors could legitimately claim descent from Chingiz and owners of the Chagadai Ulus after the decline of the original Chagadai Khans. Awrangzeb frequently called himself descendant of Chingiz in addition to Silsila-i-Timuria.

The Chagadaid Yunus Khan whose family had converted to Islam had daughters Qutluq Negar Khanim and Khub Negar Khanim. The first was the mother of Baboor and the second was the mother the Mongol Amir Mirza Mohammad Haider a fierce ghazi who belonged to the Dughlat tribe of Mongols. The Chagadai Khan known as Said Khan sent Baboor's cousin Mirza Haider to wage Jihad on the bauddha-s of Ladakh. After conquering Ladakh and massacring the locals he joined his nephew Humayun to help him out with his wars. At his behest he invaded Kashmir and carried out temple destruction. Mirza Haider was a prolific writer who also claimed to be of the Chagadai Ulus and left a detailed account of it. He was finally killed by the Sultan of Swat over the ownership of Kashmir.

During his attack on Surat Shivaji demolished and completely plundered the Sarai of the Chagadai Khan who was visiting -- I wonder if this might also qualify in the reference.

[Bodhi]

could be posted with BhV's post about falconry.

bhUShaNa jU khelata sitAre me sikAra sambhA sivA ko suvana jAte rana mai rachai nahI
bAjI saba bAja kI chapeTe chaMga chahU ora tItara-turaka dillI bhItar bachai nahI
(shivabAvanI.19)

In above bhUShaNa calls bAjIrava a bAja (hawk) let loose in sky, causing havoc on the turuShka partridges of dillI.

[Bodhi]

As we have seen, in his later life bhUShaNa was a professional diplomat more than a poet, and in that capacity he had met many Hindu kings of north during his long life of over hundred years. On one occasion he seems to have visited jaipur on a mission and recited the following lines before rAmasiMha, rightly wondering about the contribution of the house of ambar to the rule of Moghals:

akbar pAyo bhagavanta ke tanai soM mAna bahuri jagatasiMha mahA-mardAne soM
bhUShaNa tyo pAyo jahangIr mahAsiMha so sAhijahAn pAyo jaisiMha jagajAne soM
ab awrangzeb pAyo rAmasiMha-jU soM aura dina dina paihai kUrama ke mAne soM
kete rAjA rAya mAna pAvai pAtasAhan soM pAvaiM pAtasAhan mAna ke gharAne soM
(sphuTa.9)

In the above, bhUShaNa has used his poetic talent to convey a diplomatic message. On one hand the surface meaning is a simple praise of rAmasiMha's ancestors, but the second meaning is an inquiry into the balance sheet of the house of ambara - howmuch have they given to the moghals and what have they received in return?

[Bodhi]

pretinI pisAcharu nisAchara nisAcharihu mili-mili Apasu mai gAvata badhAI hai
bhairUM bhUta preta bhUdhara bhayaMkara se jutthajuttha joginI-jamAta juri A.I hai
kilaki kilaki kai kutUhala karati kAlI Dima-Dima-DamarU digambara bajAI hai
sivA pUcHai siva soM samAja Aju kahAM chali kAhU pai siva-naresa bhR^ikuTi chaDhAI hai
bAvani.4

The ghosts and ogres, male and female fiends, along with vampires, together all are singing joyfully;
Terrifying bhairava, ghosts and snakes, joining them now are bunch upon bunch of yoginI-s;
digambara kAlI dancing with pleasure, showing terrible acts, beating rhythmically her Damarava;
Seeing all the excitement among his shAsana, umA remarked to sha~Nkara: looks like the eyebrows of the king with your eponym are raised towards someone!

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Researcher finds reference to Shivaji Maharaj in foreign newspaper

Posted: Thursday , Sep 18, 2008 at 0221 hrs
Pune, September 17:



A reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a Master of the Country (India) has been found in a newspaper, “The London Gazette” in its issue dated February 1672 by a Pune-based researcher recently. Interestingly, the news is based on the extract of letters of the then Surat Governor. Shivaji has been referred as “Shivaji, the rebel, who having beaten the Mogul in several battles, remains almost Master of the Country.”



Saili Datar, a researcher in history found the copy of “The London Gazette” in the British Museum in London. She claimed that it was the first such reference found by any researcher which had appeared in the newspapers of that time.



“The reference of Shivaji Maharaj is in the context of the famous incident of Surati Loot of 1670. The report is written on the basis of letters sent by the Governor of Surat to Aleppo describing the condition of Surat in 1672,” said Datar. “The report also analyses the condition in Surat and there is a reference that due to plundering of Surat by Shivaji Maharaj the British rulers were forced to shift their trade base to Bombay from Surat,” she added.



http://www.indianexpress.com/news/research...-mahara/362848/<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Bodhi]

देवल गिरावते फिरावते निसान अली ऐसे डूबे राव राने सबी गये लबकी
गौरागनपति आप औरन को देत ताप आप के मकान सब मारि गये दबकी
पीरा पयगम्बरा दिगम्बरा दिखाई देत सिद्ध की सिधाई गई रही बात रबकी
कासिहू ते कला जाती मथुरा मसीद होती सिवाजी न होतो तौ सुनति होत सबकी

सांच को न मानै देवीदेवता न जानै अरु ऐसी उर आनै मैं कहत बात जबकी
और पातसाहन के हुती चाह हिन्दुन की अकबर साहजहां कहै साखि तबकी
बब्बर के तिब्बर हुमायूं हद्द बान्धि गये दो मैं एक करीना कुरान बेद ढबकी
कासिहू की कला जाती मथुरा मसीद होती सिवाजी न होतो तौ सुनति होत सबकी

कुम्भकर्न असुर औतारी अवरंगज़ेब कीन्ही कत्ल मथुरा दोहाई फेरी रबकी
खोदि डारे देवी देव सहर मोहल्ला बांके लाखन तुरुक कीन्हे छूट गई तबकी
भूषण भनत भाग्यो कासीपति बिस्वनाथ और कौन गिनती मै भूली गति भव की
चारौ वर्ण धर्म छोडि कलमा नेवाज पढि सिवाजी न होतो तौ सुनति होत सबकी

When temples were demolished by those marching under nishAn-i-alI [1], rAvals-rANA-s had been tamed and every Hindu intimidated
When foresaken by gaura-gaNapatau themselves, the Hindus becoming timid were afraid even to come out from their homes
When renouncing their siddhi, siddha-s and digambara-s were happy to become pIra and paigambara, and talk was heard only of ‘raba’
kAshI was losing its kalA, mathurA becoming a masjid, and everyone was about to lose his foreskin, had shivAjI not been born!

All hearts were deluded, and faith in deities evaporated, such were the days that I speak of
Akbar the earlier pAtisAh had shown regard for the Hindus, even shAhajahAn will bear witness to it
The grandson of bAbur[2], and also humAyUn, had follwed the policy of not allowing the creed of Qoran to consume up the sacred religion of the veda-s
But now? kAshI was losing its kalA, mathurA becoming a masjid, and all were about to lose their foreskin, had shivAjI not happened!

Awrangzib, the very devil incarnated, the perpetrator of the genocide of mathurA in name of ‘Rab’
When he was uprooting abodes of devI-s and deva-s, and converting millions upon millions to mahomedanism across the cities and mohalla-s, have you forgotten that day?
bhUShana had thought that even mahAdeva, the Lord of kAshI, had fled away renouncing the world to its own, counts who else!
All four varNa-s were about to renounce dharma to read kalamA and do namAz and everyone was ready to lose his foreskin, had shivAjI not happened right then, that is!

Notes:
[1]nishAn-i-alI, also known as the nishAn-i-haydar, is today the highest award of military honour in terrorist country.
[2]bhUShaNa uses the epithet ‘babbara ke tibbara’, we think for Akbar. ‘tibbar’ can be from trivara, and might be used for 'third one', 'third time', ‘third generation’, or grandson.

[Guest]

Thankyou Bodhiji

Up until now I had only heard "Jo Shivaji naa hote to sunnat hotee sabkee" (its a very popular saying). Hearing the rest of the poem was great.

----

reg nishan-i-ali, a side ques - were Tipu/Hyder Shia muslims or Sunni ?

[Bharatvarsh2]

Visualizing shivAjI’s svarAjya



Long ago in my school days I accessed a book by a marATha scholar in which he had carefully catalogued all the battles of shivAjI. These battles comprise a most remarkable series of events in the struggle of the Hindu nation against the army of Islam. So I decided to visualize them in different ways and drew a series of graphs. I hope to recreate some of these here to review that journey.



The first graph illustrates the chronological density of the battles that were fought during the foundation of the svarAjya.



https://spreadsheets.google.com/oimg?key...t7hu-3tj9l



In 1644, shivAjI, still in his teens, conquered the stronghold atop the mountain of kauNDinya and followed it up seizing rohidA. This rohidA is not too far away from the hill of Rairi atop which sits the old shiva temple of rAireshvara.The current structure is from the marATha period but in the interior one can see an old temple of at least yAdava period. It was on the li~Nga here in Rairi that shivAjI performed an abhisheka with his own blood to take the vrata of the war for svarAjya.We know that shortly after this he adopted his ambitious seal with the shloka in saMskR^ita:

pratipach-chandra-rekheva vardhiShnur vishva-vanditA |

shAhasUnoH shivasyaiShA mudrA bhadrAya rAjate ||

Like the sliver of the first day moon will grow, thus [will grow] the universal respect for this seal of Shaha’s son shiva which shines forth as a mark of protection.



The early quiescence might be related to lack of data on his early battles in mahArAShTra between 1650-55. We known that he was strengthening his defences by building new forts such as Vijaydurg that was completed in 1653 and noticed and took in the full breadth of the Isaistic threat from the Europeans. To counter this he initiated building of a navy with great foresight. He also tried to diplomatically negotiate with hostile parties like sambhAjI mohite, the black Africans of Janjira, and Mogols to stave off any attack during this phase of build up. He also sent a letter with a dakShiNa to a brAhmaNa named siddheshvara bhaTTa of Chakan to perform abhichAra rituals on his behalf. Starting 1656 with his military build up complete he initiated a wide range of campaigns. The period of quiescence of 1663 marks the invasion of mahArAShTra by the Mogol army under Shaista Khan who occupied most of the marATha territory forcing shivAjI to retreat and play the waiting game till he suddenly launched his commando attack to strike the Khan. The next phase of quiescence was at the end of 1667 and in 1668 when jaisingh was poisoned to death by Awrangzeb and shivAjI successfully negotiated the submission and payment of tribute of the Adil Shah (Sep 1667), the Portuguese (Dec 1667) and the year long ceasefire with the Mogols in (Mar 1668).



The second graph gives a break-down of the battles as per shivAjI’s principal adversaries



https://spreadsheets.google.com/oimg?key...t3i-iqi1yp



The third graph gives a picture of how shivAjI’s military focus changed over his reign.



https://spreadsheets.google.com/oimg?key...c04-tqwenj



The above two pictures show that shivAjI devoted roughly equal energy in terms of battles fought against his two principal Mohammedan adversaries – this, of course as they say, is history. However, while he struggled constantly with the local Adil Shah, the struggles with the Mogols were more episodic. While he devoted relatively lower energy to the Isaistic Europeans, he clearly realized their potential to cause danger and at the same time appreciated trade with them. The conflict with the Europeans has been underplayed in histories written during the Isaist occupation of bhArata. In 1659 he initially negotiated for a peaceful trade agreement with the Portuguese during which he bought an expensive German-made sword from them that served him well in many encounters. But their waging holy war on the Hindus and demolition of temples all the way from Shri Lanka to the Gujarat coast made shivAjI exert himself to protect Hindus from their monstrous atrocities and wished to eventually sweep them off Goa. Later in 1659 he occupied positions close to Bassein and Chaul and sent warships to launch a sortie on the Portuguese. The viceroy of Goa sent an alarm to the king of Portugal after this raid on their outposts. In 1660 he built the sea fort of Suvarnadurg to launch further attacks on the Isaists and recruited the black naval officer Siddi Misri to strengthen his naval artillery. The English intelligence dispatch sent by Abbe Carre mentions that shivAjI had started a cartography division to prepare accurate maps of both the land and coast in preparation of occupying strategic geography along the coastline. In early 1660, shivAjI attacked the port of Dabhol and conquered it from the Adil Shahi governor Mohammed Sharif. But Sharif and Fazl Khan took 3 ships belonging to Afzal Khan, who had been killed earlier, with the help of the British commandant Remington to their coastal outpost of Rajapur. With the English siding with the Moslems shivAjI sent a force under dorojI to attack Rajapur. He rapidly defeated the English force and Remington fled for his life on a ship, while his assistant Gifford was arrested and released upon paying a fine. Few months latter Remington returned to the scene as a collaborator of the black ghazi Siddi Jauhar (in those days apparently there was no white identity?) and helped the Moslem forces with an artillery squadron and powerful bombs to undermine the fortification of Panhala. In course of the battle they planted the English flag proudly on the flanks of Panhala, despite shivAjI sending them a message to stay away from Indian conflicts as foreign traders. In 1661 despite being attacked severely from the north by the Mogol horde, shivAjI decided to teach the British a firm lesson. He dispatched his brAhmaNa officer somnAth paNDit to take Rajapur and capture the English officials. Having crushed the English and destroyed their settlement he arrested Remington and his officers. Remington fell ill and shivAjI released him for treatment, but he died on reaching the English trading post in Surat. Finally, two years later after paying 24,000 hons the English were released under the condition that they would only stick to trade.



The fourth graph gives the distribution of the number of battles in which shivAjI and his generals led as the principal field commander in different phases of his career.



https://spreadsheets.google.com/oimg?key...eya-31yl7m



The mark of a true king is that he leads his men in person. Throughout his career the rAjan led his men in person being the field commander in numerous battles. In his earliest days, he even fought personally on the field and even killed or struck down adversaries with his own hands – e.g. the encounter with Musa Khan and his remarkable commando attack on Shaista Khan. The above picture shows the succession of his commanders: In his earliest days raghunAth korDe, a senior warrior assisted him considerably especially in campaigns against renegade Hindus, like the mauryan at Javli. Then netAjI pALkar became the chief of staff until he was captured, converted to Mohammedanism and dispatched to Afghanistan. Then pratAprav gujjar became the next chief of staff, who died in the mad charge at Bahlol Khan at Nessari. In the interim he appointed his half-brother Anandrav to lead the forces. AnandrAv had the unusual command of a haft-hazAri, though he was not officially ever made the chief. However, in many encounters he was the de facto field commander but often not the official one. In the final phase of shivAjI’s career he appointed hambirrav mohite as the chief of the army and he continued even after shivAjI’s death till his own death in the great battle of Wai against the Mogols. Early in his career he dismissed the inept shamrao paNDit and replaced him with moro tryaMbak paNDit. This move was most fruitful, as the brAhmaNa prime minister proved effective in many aspects, an administrator, fort-designer and field commander leading shivAjI’s armies to some of their best victories. It is interesting to note that the school textbooks in my days completely downplayed his role. The reasons for this are hardly surprising to the astute.



http://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/201...-svarajya/

[Bharatvarsh2]

http://shivajimharaj.wordpress.com/

[Bharatvarsh2]

The slaying of Afzal Khan: Adnyandas/Agindas Powada



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU3UXTEnnho&feature=player_embedded[/media]



The following is an English translation of the earliest available Powada known as “Afzal Khancha Vadh”. Adyandas/Agindas the author who wrote the Powada was comissioned by Veeramata Jijabai herself to commemorate the victory over Afzal Khan (here referred to as Abdul Khan by the Agindas). So this Powada was written within Dharmayodha Chhatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj’s lifetime and describes Shivaji slaying Afzal Khan, which happened in 1659. It should also be noted that Veeramata Jijabai bore a long standing grudge against Afzal Khan for his treacherous murder of her elder son Sambhaji (not to be confused with Shivaji’s elder son) and Shivaji’s older brother. I have highlighted those parts that I thought were important in bold font.



HAIL in all faith in Shiwa,

God over gods supreme!

The iron age grows golden,

His eyes propitious beam,

Whenas the royal ensigns

And steadfast faith afford

Witness to Samb(1) incarnate

In Shiwaji our lord.

Drink from the royal fountain,

Whose living streams o’erflow;

Come, fellows, bathe within it,

And Shiwa’s promise know.

Rajghur(2), the royal castle,

The fort benam’d of gore,

And that stronghold which first the flag

Of victory proudly bore,

Fair Jowlee’s crown of palm-leaves,

High soaring into heaven,

And Mundun’s clust’ring palaces

The faithful god hath given;

Sonashila, and Pertapghur,

With Rajghur’s hidden gold,

The homes of ancient deities,

Gray forts and bastions old,

All, from a god propitious,

Holds Shiwaji the king;

Hearken, Maratha princes,

His glorious state I sing.



Oh hearken! bards and princes,

Young pillars of the state;

The conqu’ring viles of Shiwaji,

And wisdom I relate;

How the dark world of mountains,

With every fortress grim

That lowers above their valleys,

Were seiz’d and rul’d by him.

The dying eyes of Chandra(3)

beheld the lofty wall

Of Jowlee, then of Prabalghur,

And strong Panala fall;

The huge and rocky castle

which all the whirlwhinds sweep;

Ghosala, and the hamlets

By Matunghur that sleep;

The lovely homes that nestle

Above the Konkan green,

Like the sacred lotus swimming

On the water clear and sheen;

My song shall not forget you,

Nor you, the peasant’s home,

Fair lowlands of the Konkan,

To whose twelve harbours(4) come

The laden keels of nations;

Nor all the Deccan wide,

From Indapur to those old fanes

Where Moslem saints abide;

Piecemeal by town and hamlet,

They yielded to the king;

Hearken, Maratha princes,

His glorious state I sing.



When Kallian and Bhewndi

Were given to the sword,

The cry went up to Beejapore,

And Adil Shah its lord.

Fierce was the monarch’s anger,

Like flame his summows flew

To the valiant Moslem nobles,

And every good Hindu;

From all his wide dominions

They throng’d to the durbar;

But Abdul Khan the mighty

Seiz’d the betel leaf of war.

A sword that gleam’d like lightning,

A stately battle steed,

Were the grateful monarch’s guerdon

To the servant of his need.



Seven hundred rocket camels

Their eager riders mount;

The horse were fourteen thousand,

The footmen who could count?

Forth march’d they, but near Torweh(5)

Whene’er the vanguard drew,

Down fell the royal standard

That o’er the cannon flew;

‘Alas! an evil omen,’

Said Krishnaji, ‘we bring.’

Hearken, Maratha princes,

The raja’s state I sing.



To Tooljapore and Punderpore

Slow roll’d host along;

There to the gods most holy

They wrought grievous wrong;

Bhowani’s sacred image

They levell’d with the dust,

And into Bhiwra’s(6) shudd’ring depths

Great Vitobha they thrust.

Then rais’d the Khan a costly shrine,

That men again might pray;

The outrag’d gods received it,

And his sins were wash’d away.

Slow rolled the Mogul army

Round Pali’s ancient shrine,

Then Khundoba put forth his might,

And show’d an awful sign;

The quaking Moslem turn’d them,

And cried a dreadful cry,

And full two leagues in furious rout

Like hunted deer they fly;



Then straight they build a lamp tower,

That night may be as day;

The god appeas’d receiv’d it,

And their sin was wash’d away.

Towards Awoond’s sacred towers

The Moslem host aspire,

There the great goddess Yemai

Display’d a portent dire;

A holy feast the Khan proclaim’d,

And call’d the priests to pray;

The goddess check’d her fury,

And his sin was wash’d away.

Slow rolling, widely wasting,

The Mogul army went,

Trouble and woe to Sambhu

When the Khana pitch’d his tent!

At last at Wye he halted,

Which once his sway had known;

And Krishnaji his letters bore

To the great raja’s throne.

The Brahman stood before him;

‘To Shiwaji be health!

‘Receive the Khan, and peace be thine,

‘And joy, and mighty wealth.’

‘What are his gifts?’ the raja said;

‘Were we at peace, I vow,

‘With four-and-forty castles strong

‘The Khan I would endow;

‘In the fair halls of Jowli

‘A stately pageant awaits;

‘There will I bide the Khan’s approach,

‘And greet him at my gates.’

He touch’d the holy Brahman’s feet,

Dismissing him, and sent

With him the Mhaldar (Mace-Bearer) Jiwaji

To seek the Abdullya’s(7) tent.

With aspect blunt he greets him,

As one untaught to fear;

‘If not to bow before our gods,

‘Why are thy horsemen here?’

No more obeisance paid he,

But turn’d and went his way;

And the furious Khan upstarted,

And bade his host array.

Straight to Rantondi’s fortress

His haughty troops he led,

And fourteen days around it

The baffled host was spread.

The raja rous’d his chieftains,

They came from far and near,

With many a Mawul swordsman,

And many a horse and spear;

In council close the leaders

Were gather’d round the king.

Hearken, Maratha princes,

His glorious state I sing.



‘Brothers and friends,’ quoth Shiwaji,

‘No stripling is our foe;

‘The holy gods themselves are aw’d

‘When Abdul’s name they know;

‘Say, shall we hail him as a guest,

‘Or greet him with our sword?’

‘The captain of the fort is here,

Give counsel to your lord.’

‘O Shiwba!’ the Gaikwar cried,

‘The coming feast is sweet;

‘But sword and spear and helm and mail

‘For such a guest are meet.’

The counsel pleas’d him; they arm him,

And round his waist they take,

The one-edged sword that coils and bites(8)

Like the deadly hooded snake;

The two-edg’d glaiwe by Jiwaji,

The Mhaldar stout, was borne,

And the curv’d steel of the tiger claws

On the raja’s hand was worn.

O’er his snowy vest of cotton

His robe imperial flow’d:

He sought his mother’s blessing,

She met him on his road;

In a palki(9) Jeeja met him,

And bless’d the goodly king.

Hearken, Maratha princes,

His glorious state I sing.



‘If in thy lot, Shiwba,

‘Or woe or bale be writ,

‘On me let all the evil fall,

‘Towards me I conjure it.’

Thus pray’d his mother Jeeja,

‘Be prosperous and brave,

‘I give thee here the betel,

‘Remember Mahadev.’

She spoke, low bow’d the raja,

And filial reverence paid;

‘O mother! would the Dewan’s(10) hand

‘Could on my head be laid;

‘Wide spread my lands and rich my halls,

‘But where is he – my sire?’



‘Son, meditate thy purpose high,

‘And fulfill thy soul with fire.

‘The blood of Sambhaji(11) doth cry,

‘His wrong is unredress’d.’

‘Mother I go; but tell my sire,

‘I thought of him, and bless’d’

He fill’d his forts with warriors true,

And till he came agen,

He gave his power to Nettaji,

With full five hundred men;

And with him Umaji was join’d

The royal seat to fill,

While Tookya’s eager troops were drawn

Around Rantondi hill.

Then forth to Jowli’s audience halls

The prudent raja far’d.

And there, to greet the Khan’s approach,

A pageant great prepar’d.

Through every spacious chamber

The silken sheets were spread,

Gay with their various borders

Of plumage blue and red;

On carv’d and painted pillars

Rich wreaths of coral hung,

Garlands of pearls and rubies rare

From every cornice swung.

Bright as the glorious Sun in heaven,

Their glow the lamps enhanc’d,

And like the tall and graceful crane,

The fountains leap’d and danc’d.

A canopy of costly cloth

And curtains fine enfold,

Gleaming with many a diamond,

The raja’s throne of gold.

Four stalwart Moslem marching

Their monarch’s missive bring.

Hearken, Maratha princes,

Tha raja’s state I sing.



For them no courtly greeting,

No prayer, or gift, or bribe;

Rough, in the first and second courts,

The speech of guard and scribe.

But better far than greeting,

In the third court they found

A troop of lovely dancers

Approach them with a bound.

Rapt were the gazing Moslem,

And Abdul laughed aloud;

When Shiwaji and Jiwaji

Enter’d amid the crowd.

‘First to my guardian Mahadev,

To Shahji next, my sire,

‘Then doth to the world’s great mother

‘My reverence due require;

‘Then to the gallant free men

‘Who guards my forts in mail;

‘And last to thee, Abdullya;

‘I bow, and bid thee hail.’

Such was the raja’s greeting,

And lofty the reply;

‘Whence did a peasant’s son achieve

‘To raise these walls so high?

‘And whence the wealth that far outshines

‘The courts of Beejapore?’

‘Hence to thy wells and gardens,

The royal rents restore.’

‘Abate thy pride,’ said Shivaji

‘The gods alone I fear;

‘They rule the fates that govern

‘All issues far and near;

‘For thee-thy birth and rank I know;

Thus far the undaunted king.

Hearken, Maratha princes

His glorious state I sing.



‘Back to thy father’s oven!

Back to thy mother’s store!

‘Whose toothsome sweetmeats oft delight

‘The boys of Beejapore

‘Shall rajas brook the insult

‘Of thee-the baker’s son?’

He look’d upon Abdulla,

And knew his work was done.

The Moslem leap’d upon him,

His grasp was fierce and fell,

And how he plied the dagger

The dinted mail might tell.

But Shiwaji the raja

In answer made him feel

The twin sting of the scorpion,(12)

The deadly claws of steel.

His entrails torn and bloody

Gap’d through the horrid wound;

But Abdul was a warrior bold,

And faltr’d not nor soown’d.

He loos’d his girdle deftly,

Uncoil’d the sword below,

And dealt upon the raja’s head

A fierce and furious blow.

It cleft the emroider’d turban,

And twisted chains foruteen,

And the raja felt, as steed the spur,

The sword edge sharp and keen.

His blade leap’d out and wrapp’d the Khan,

Like the sacred thread to view,

Between the neck and shoulder

It struck, and clove him through.

He fell, down fell the Moslem

While steadfast stood the king.

Hearken, Maratha princes,

His glorious state I sing.



Up leap’d the Syud Bundoo,

And rais’d his sword in haste;

But the wary raja turn’d it,

And cleft him to the waist.

Then forward stepp’d the Brahman,

Seeing the Syud die;

‘Turn back, turn back,’ cried Shiwaji,

‘Turn back, and haste to fly.

‘I may not smite a Brahman,

‘Lest the curse of God should sound.’

The raja laugh’d, and cast his sword

Down clatt’ring to the ground.

But Jiwaji the Mhaldar

His broad spear raised on high,

And, leaping at the Brahman,

He whirl’d, and made it fly;

It met him in the navel,

The steel of Burhanpore,

Through the backbone it pierc’d him,

He fell and spoke no more;

Twice did he call on Shiwa

And then his breath was gone;

‘Forward!’ exclaimed young Kowji,(13)

‘The raja’s gallant son;

‘Have at the palki-bearers,

‘That not a man remain,’

And with his sword he dash’d among

The trembling menial train.

They dropped the stately palki,

And wild with wounds they fled;

He bore it to Bhowani,

Most like a conqu’ring king.

Hearken, Maratha princes,

His glorious state I sing.



To her, the world’s great mother,

In Pertapghur that dwelt,

And bore him through victorious,

He offer’d it and knelt;

‘Receive my gift, O mother,

‘This goat(14) of goodly frame;

‘His teeth are as the teeth of men,

‘And Abdul is his name.’

Then was the signal given,

The raja’s cannon spoke;

Their twelvefold voice the people heard

And saw the whirling smoke.

Out dash’d the rapid footmen,

With weapons bare to kill,

They followed the gallant Trimukh,

And crown’d the Rantondi hill;

Down went the Moslem standards,

As on the swordsmen dash,

The elephants that bore them

Fell with an echoing clash.

The Moguls fear’d and turn’d them

And they fled with all their force,

And Tookya clos’d and captur’d

Full sixty Arab horse.

Back march’d the host victorious,

Hanmunta at their head,

And to Panhala’s fortress

By Shiwaji were led;

There the strong walls were strengthen’d

And arm’d on every side,

And the raging hosts of Beejapore

Victoriously defied.



The noise of war is over,

The songs of victory sound,

The lady Jeeja calls the chiefs,

The loyal chiefs around;

They throng the halls of Jowli,

The minstrels sing and play,

And, master of all melodies,

Agrindas(15) gains the day.

With the sweet Kadaka rhythm

A village rich he won,

For ever free from tax or fee

From father unto son;

Two golden bracelets deck’d him,

Gifts from the goodly king.

Hearken, Maratha princes,

His glorious state I sing.



Notes



(1) – SAMB is Shiwa, i.e., one with Amba; स sa, with, and Amba, अंबा, the wife of Shiwa. Shive gave half his body to his wife, who is called Devi, Amba, Bhowani, Amba Bhowani, and a score of other names. Shiwaji was and is believed by Marathas to have been an incarnation of Shiwa.



(2) – Rajghur, not to be confused with Raighur, is a small hill fort in the Bhore state. Shiwaji took it when he was only twenty years old, and made it his headquarters or capital, till he moved to Raighur.



(3) – The murder of Chandradevrao More, raja of Jowli, was one of Shiwaji’s worst actions. He held the Ghat Matha or hilly tracts of Western Deccan under the king of Beejapore from the Krishna to the Warna. As he would not join Shiwaji, the latter compassed his assasination by emisarries, who pretended to wish to negotiate a marriage between Shiwaji and Chandrarao’s daughter. Shiwaji had assembled his troops in the wild hills and jungles, and, on hearing of the murder, attacked and took Jowli and subdued the whole of Chandrarao’s dominions.



(4) – The ‘twelve harbours’ of the Konkan are Alibag, Revdanda, Bankot, Harnai, Dabhol, Jaygad, Ratnagiri, Jaytapure, Vijaydroog, Devgad, Malwan, Vingorla.



(5) – Torweh is a suburb of Beejapore.



(6) – Bhivra, the Bheema.



(7) – This is a familiar form of Abdulla, intended by the writer to be contemptuous.



(8) – The sword called Firangi is spoken of as having been twisted round the waist in the copy of the poem from which the translation is taken, and which differs in some details from that which was published by Mr. Shaligram and myself in 1891.



(9) – It was a good omen to meet the raja in a palki. The sight (darshana) of a horse, elephant, or a palki at the time of starting on an expedition is considered very auspicious (vide Dharma Sindh, p. 516).



(10) – ‘The Diwan’ means Shahji, Shiwaji’s father. He seized the regency of the Nizam Shahi dominions in 1634, and seems to have kept the title of Diwan ever since.



(11) – Sumbhaji was Shiwaji’s elder brother. He was killed in the Carnatic in 1653 in an expedition against the killedar of Kanikgeeree.



(12) – The bicchu, or scorpion, is a double-bladed dagger, two curved blades about half an inch apart, and parallel to each other, projecting from the same handle.



(13) – The copy from which the translation is taken calls Kowji the son of Shiwaji; the published copy says correctly Sambhaji, the son of Kowji. He was a devoted Maratha follower of Shiwaji, who, with Ragoo Bullal, was principally instrumental in the assassination of Chandrarao More.



(14) – The usual offering to Bhawani was a goat or a buffalo.



(15) – This is an evident corruption of Adnyandas (अज्ञानदास), which is the name given in the published copy of the original. It was Agrindas in the copy from which the translation was made, and which was obtained some years before the other.



Source: Ballads of Marathas By Acworth Harry Arbuthnot, pgs. 1-13 & pgs. 119-120.



The complete book is online here:



http://www.archive.org/details/balladsma...01acwogoog



The complete Powada in Marathi in Devanagari script can be viewed here:



http://www.powade.com/lyrics/agindas/agindas.pdf



Some author’s have condemned Shivaji for his alleged treachery in killing Afzal Khan (e.g. Nehru in his “Glimpses of World History”) but seem to conveniently ignore or forget a few facts which I will point out here:



1) As the powada and other contemporary sources make it clear, Afzal Khan and his army had desecrated several important Hindu shrines including Tuljapur Bhavani.



2) They laid waste to the countryside (briefly referred to here in the Powada) and committed many atrocities against Hindu civilians according to other contemporary sources.



3) Afzal Khan was personally responsible for the treacherous murder of Shivaji’s elder brother Sambhaji, this incident is glossed over. Sambhaji saw the remnants of past Hindu glory in Kanakagiri and with a view towards establishing an independent Hindu kingdom like his younger brother, removed the Muslim officials and appointed his Hindu ministers instead. Abba Khan the local Muslim Adil Shahi warlord was furious about this and a war broke out. Adil Shah then sent Afzal to settle the matter, it must be noted that Sambhaji defeated Afzal in a battle earlier in Bangalore and for this Afzal bore a grudge against Sambhaji. Afzal Khan laid a cunning plan. He sent a message to Sambhaji that he would help him against Abba Khan and asked the former to storm the defences of Abba. Sambhaji vigorously attacked and was in the thick of battle when the detachment of Afzal Khan which had supposedly come to help turned against him and surrounded him. He tried to cut his way out, but received several shots and was killed. Thus at the age of 25, Sambhaji, the poorly known brother of Shivaji died in front of Kanakagiri.



4) In 1637 Randulla Khan was sent by Adil Shah to invade the South to crush the remnants of the Vijayanagara empire which were still holding out. They were completely victorious and took a lot of wealth and Hindu women after committing many atrocities, for the second invasion Randulla sent Afzal to destroy Kasturiranga, the prince of Shira. Kasturiranga kept up valiant resistance for a while but his supplies ran out and he agreed to negotiate, but when he came to meet Afzal Khan the latter treacherously stabbed him to death.



5) All the Maratha sources are unanimous in stating that it was Afzal Khan who made the first strike in his meeting with Shivaji.



Keeping these facts in mind it must be said that Shivaji was completely justified in killing Afzal and even if he was the one who struck first, it would be justified considering Afzal’s treatment of Hindus and his treacherous murders of Sambhaji and Kasturiranga. Sri Krishna himself told Arjuna to shoot Karna while the latter was on the ground trying to get his chariot wheel out of the earth by pointing out Karna’s earlier behavior towards Draupadi and his role in the killing of Abhimanyu.



http://dharmayuddha.wordpress.com/2010/1...as-powada/

[G.Subramaniam]

I remember reading that Shivaji beheaded some xtian missionaries, anyone find a URL to confirm

[Bharatvarsh2]

Shivaji’s letter to his father Shahaji



http://dharmayuddha.wordpress.com/2010/1...r-shahaji/

[Bharatvarsh2]

[quote name='G.Subramaniam' date='05 November 2010 - 09:55 PM' timestamp='1289011651' post='109115']

I remember reading that Shivaji beheaded some xtian missionaries, anyone find a URL to confirm

[/quote]

I was looking into that last night but didn't see your post till now.



The original source of this seems to be the English factory records.

The English factories in India, 1665-1667: Volume 12

Sir William Foster - 1925 - 354 pages - Snippet view



The Dutch forces on that coast numbered 920 men.

A letter from Goa of 30 November said that the Viceroy, being 'Jesuite-ridden', had prohibited on pain of banishment, the exercise of any religion but the Roman Catholic.

Sevagee, deeply resenting the rigour, invaded the precincts...

not farre distant from Goa, and there cutt off the heads of four padres that refused to turne



[url="http://books.google.ca/books?id=IkzI9_XHaAQC&q=not+farre+distant+from+Goa,+and+there+cutt+off+the+heads+of+four+padres&dq=not+farre+distant+from+Goa,+and+there+cutt+off+the+heads+of+four+padres&hl=en&ei=mXfZTPX-JY2bnwft66nQCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA"]My link[/url]

Google books only allows a snippet view so I checked on archive.org website.



Unfortunately they only uploaded upto Volume 11.



But here is what Bal Krishna says in his Shivaji The Great Volume 4, pgs. 178-179:

In 1667 " he cut off the heads of four padres ! that refused to turn Marathas of his

own persuasion, they having counselled the destruction of all that

were opinionated as themselves; which so terrified the Viceroy that

he was forced to revoke his fierce and severe edict. Shivaji burnt and

destroyed all the country, and carried away 150 lack of pagodas/ 9

Thus he was not only ready to take back apostates, but even persons

of other religions were welcome into Hinduism. (4) Shivaji issued

a proclamation to the Hindus of Goa in 1668. An extract from it

will reveal the intensity of his religious and patriotic sentiments

and the means adopted by him to prevent conversion. Here is a

small extract from the long document. " Slaughter of the most

revered cows by Yavanas and Mlechhas, destruction of our Hindu

temples, disrespect of our all-honoured and all-pervading religion

shown by these low people, violation of the most sacred chastity of

our sisters and mothers brought about by these villains such

horrible things happen constantly. . Does it become us who call

ourselves Kshatriyas to silently see these acts like cowards, and to

turn a deaf ear to them ? Alas ! Alas ! It is a most shameful

thing that instead of striving restlessly till death for the uplift of our

country which should be dear to us like our parents, we should be

whiling away our time foolishly, tactlessly and indifferently even in

the critical times like the present. What more deplorable thing can

there be than the fact that we, with our own hands, should destroy

our houses, our gods, our religion and culture by adopting a

fawning attitude towards the Mlechhas, only for the sake of a little

livelihood ? " *



(5) Here is some English evidence on the religious policy of

Shivaji towards the Portuguese. Both the parties used to " daily

quarrel, the cheifest cause of his hatred to them being for forcing

orphans of his caste to turn Roman Catholics." (6) The Captain

of Bassien turned against the Jesuits for bringing troubles on the

state by their proselytizing zeal, and even went to the length of

burning their houses. Thus it is clear that a very great pressure

was brought by Shivaji on the Portuguese government for stopping

conversion.*



http://www.archive.org/details/shivajithegreat035466mbp

It seems that Dr. Bal Krishna translated into modern English the English factory letter from 1667.



Another book that refers to this incident is:

The Portuguese also ( though alone of all Western peoples who had come to India ) often resorted to religious oppression through fanaticism, like Aurangjeb, and we find from a Goa letter1, dated 30th November 1667, that the then Governor of Goa had ordered the expulsion of inhabitants who did not belong to the Roman Catholic faith and that four Padres had even advised that the Hindus should be massacred. Shivaji in his invasion of Bardesh caught hold of these Padres and on their refusing to become Hindus executed them. The Governor of Goa2 thereupon found it necessary to cancel his order.



Shivaji The Founder Of Maratha Swaraj, C V Vaidya, Pg 208.



http://www.archive.org/details/shivajith...e035304mbp

For the original source you have to check "The English factories in India, 1665-1667: Volume 12" by Sir William Foster, pg. 286.



Hope that helps.

[Bharatvarsh2]

Shivaji beheads Christian missionaries for persecuting Hindus

Posted on November 11, 2010



The following is a scan of page 119 from a book titled “English records on Shivaji (1659-1682)” published in 1931:



http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/2198/sivjesuits.png



The letter of interest dated “30th November 1667″ at the top of the scanned page reads thus:



“Sevagee, deeply resenting this rigour, invaded the precincts of Bardese, not farre distant from Goa, and there cutt off the heads of four Padres that refused to turne Moretto’s [Marathas-Hindus] of his owne pereuasion, they having councelled the destruction of all that were not opinionated as themselves; which so terrifyed the Vice Rey that he was forced to revoke his fierce and severe edict. He [Shivaji] burnt and destroyed all the country, and carried away 150 lack of pagodaes. [E. F. India 1665-1667 p. 286]“



Available online at: http://library.du.ac.in/dspace/bitstream...282%29.pdf



But do note the fact that they were given the chance of becoming Hindus and it was only upon their refusal that they were beheaded.



To understand this act of Shivaji one must know the background which is summarized thus in a couple of books on Maratha history:



“In 1667 ” he cut off the heads of four padres ! that refused to turn Marathas of his own persuasion, they having counselled the destruction of all that were opinionated as themselves; which so terrified the Viceroy that he was forced to revoke his fierce and severe edict. Shivaji burnt and destroyed all the country, and carried away 150 lack of pagodas/ 9 Thus he was not only ready to take back apostates, but even persons of other religions were welcome into Hinduism. (4) Shivaji issued a proclamation to the Hindus of Goa in 1668. An extract from it will reveal the intensity of his religious and patriotic sentiments and the means adopted by him to prevent conversion. Here is a small extract from the long document. ” Slaughter of the most revered cows by Yavanas and Mlechhas, destruction of our Hindu temples, disrespect of our all-honoured and all-pervading religion shown by these low people, violation of the most sacred chastity of our sisters and mothers brought about by these villains such horrible things happen constantly. . Does it become us who call ourselves Kshatriyas to silently see these acts like cowards, and to turn a deaf ear to them ? Alas ! Alas ! It is a most shameful thing that instead of striving restlessly till death for the uplift of our country which should be dear to us like our parents, we should be whiling away our time foolishly, tactlessly and indifferently even in the critical times like the present. What more deplorable thing can there be than the fact that we, with our own hands, should destroy our houses, our gods, our religion and culture by adopting a fawning attitude towards the Mlechhas, only for the sake of a little

livelihood ? ” *



(5) Here is some English evidence on the religious policy of Shivaji towards the Portuguese. Both the parties used to ” daily quarrel, the cheifest cause of his hatred to them being for forcing orphans of his caste to turn Roman Catholics.”



(6) The Captain of Bassien turned against the Jesuits for bringing troubles on the state by their proselytizing zeal, and even went to the length of burning their houses. Thus it is clear that a very great pressure was brought by Shivaji on the Portuguese government for stopping conversion.*”



Source: Shivaji The Great by Bal Krishna, pg’s. 178-179, Available online at: http://www.archive.org/details/shivajithegreat035466mbp



“The Portuguese also ( though alone of all Western peoples who had come to India ) often resorted to religious oppression through fanaticism, like Aurangjeb, and we find from a Goa letter1, dated 30th November 1667, that the then Governor of Goa had ordered the expulsion of inhabitants who did not belong to the Roman Catholic faith and that four Padres had even advised that the Hindus should be massacred. Shivaji in his invasion of Bardesh caught hold of these Padres and on their refusing to become Hindus executed them. The Governor of Goa2 thereupon found it necessary to cancel his order.”



Source: Shivaji The Founder Of Maratha Swaraj by C V Vaidya, pg. 208, Available online at: http://www.archive.org/details/shivajith...e035304mbp



The full English factory letter can be seen in “The English factories in India, 1665-1667: Volume 12″ by Sir William Foster, pg. 286.



There are many “eminent (communist) historians” in India who to this day try to reduce Shivaji to one of those local rebels whose only aim was plunder and nothing else because it disturbs their narrative of peaceful Islamic and Christian rule in India. A mere plunderer would never go to the lengths Shivaji went to put an end to forcible conversions of Hindus at the hands of Christians and Muslims.



A couple of other well known actions of Shivaji are relevant here, these may not be widely known outside Maharashtra so I will refer to them here. Netaji Palkar one of Shivaji’s ablest commanders (sometimes referred to as the second Shivaji) was captured and forcibly converted by Aurangzeb who sent him Northwest to suppress the rebellious Pathans where he spent many years, then he was sent to the Deccan again as part of a Mughal army to suppress Shivaji. Needless to say Netaji never forget his true loyalties and escaped as soon as he could and joined Shivaji, who upon his wish reconverted him and made sure he was admitted back honorably among the Hindus. Another well known incident is that of Balaji Nimbalkar his brother-in-law through his first wife Sai Bai who was forcibly converted to Islam by the Bijapuri Sultanate, at the personal initiative of Mata Jijabai and Shivaji he was also reconverted and to show his full acceptance back into Hindu society Shivaji married one of his own daughters to the son of Balaji.



It is for this reason that Kaviraj Bhushan a contemporary poet from Bundelkhand said this of Shivaji in Braj Bhasha (not in Marathi as today’s Marathi chauvunists like Raj Thackeray who use Shivaji’s name would want):



“देवल गिरावते फिरावते निसान अली ऐसे डूबे राव राने सबी गये लबकी

गौरागनपति आप औरन को देत ताप आप के मकान सब मारि गये दबकी

पीरा पयगम्बरा दिगम्बरा दिखाई देत सिद्ध की सिधाई गई रही बात रबकी

कासिहू ते कला जाती मथुरा मसीद होती सिवाजी न होतो तौ सुनति होत सबकी



सांच को न मानै देवीदेवता न जानै अरु ऐसी उर आनै मैं कहत बात जबकी

और पातसाहन के हुती चाह हिन्दुन की अकबर साहजहां कहै साखि तबकी

बब्बर के तिब्बर हुमायूं हद्द बान्धि गये दो मैं एक करीना कुरान बेद ढबकी

कासिहू की कला जाती मथुरा मसीद होती सिवाजी न होतो तौ सुनति होत सबकी



कुम्भकर्न असुर औतारी अवरंगज़ेब कीन्ही कत्ल मथुरा दोहाई फेरी रबकी

खोदि डारे देवी देव सहर मोहल्ला बांके लाखन तुरुक कीन्हे छूट गई तबकी

भूषण भनत भाग्यो कासीपति बिस्वनाथ और कौन गिनती मै भूली गति भव की

चारौ वर्ण धर्म छोडि कलमा नेवाज पढि सिवाजी न होतो तौ सुनति होत सबकी



When temples were demolished by those marching under nishAn-i-alI [1], rAvals-rANA-s had been tamed and every Hindu intimidated

When foresaken by gaura-gaNapatau themselves, the Hindus becoming timid were afraid even to come out from their homes

When renouncing their siddhi, siddha-s and digambara-s were happy to become pIra and paigambara, and talk was heard only of ‘raba’

kAshI was losing its kalA, mathurA becoming a masjid, and everyone was about to lose his foreskin, had shivAjI not been born!



All hearts were deluded, and faith in deities evaporated, such were the days that I speak of

Akbar the earlier pAtisAh had shown regard for the Hindus, even shAhajahAn will bear witness to it

The grandson of bAbur[2], and also humAyUn, had follwed the policy of not allowing the creed of Qoran to consume up the sacred religion of the veda-s

But now? kAshI was losing its kalA, mathurA becoming a masjid, and all were about to lose their foreskin, had shivAjI not happened!



Awrangzib, the very devil incarnated, the perpetrator of the genocide of mathurA in name of ‘Rab’

When he was uprooting abodes of devI-s and deva-s, and converting millions upon millions to mahomedanism across the cities and mohalla-s, have you forgotten that day?

bhUShana had thought that even mahAdeva, the Lord of kAshI, had fled away renouncing the world to its own, counts who else!

All four varNa-s were about to renounce dharma to read kalamA and do namAz and everyone was ready to lose his foreskin, had shivAjI not happened right then, that is!



Notes:

[1]nishAn-i-alI, also known as the nishAn-i-haydar, is today the highest award of military honour in terrorist country.

[2]bhUShaNa uses the epithet ‘babbara ke tibbara’, we think for Akbar. ‘tibbar’ can be from trivara, and might be used for ‘third one’, ‘third time’, ‘third generation’, or grandson.



http://bharatendu.wordpress.com/2009/10/...baki”



In Roman script the famous line of Bhushan reads: kAshI kI kalA jAtI mathura masId hoti sivAjI na hoto tau sunnati hota sabakI.



To these communist “historians” and assorted buffoons the following words of the late Shri Sita Ram Goel apply well:



“Shivaji first. It is sheer mischief to suggest that Shivaji is glorified in Maharashtra alone. The fortunate fact is that he is honoured by every Hindu worth his name, wherever that Hindu may reside in the length and breadth of India. Rabindranath Tagore, who was not a Maharashtrian, paid his homage to Shivaji in a long poem pulsating with the great poet’s image of a Hindu hero. Many more poems and dramas and novels about Shivaji’s chivalry and heroism are to be found in all Indian languages. It is, therefore, presumptuous on the part of some very small people to lay down that Shivaji shall not be overglorified. The fact is that he cannot be overglorified, such is the majesty of his character and role. The historian who will do full justice to the personality of Shivaji as well as to his role in Indian history is yet to be born. Some puny politicians pretending to be historians are trying to cut Shivaji to their own size. They are like street urchins spitting at the sun.”



Source: THE STORY OF ISLAMIC IMPERIALISM IN INDIA by Sita Ram Goel, Available online at: http://www.voiceofdharma.com/books/siii/ch2.htm & http://www.voiceofdharma.com/books/siii/



http://dharmayuddha.wordpress.com/2010/1...ng-hindus/

[Bharatvarsh2]

Annual Hindi‐Urdu Workshop, 12 April 2008

Southern Asia Institute, Columbia University

Introduction to the Śivrājbhūṣaṇ by Bhushan Tripathi (fl. 1673)

By Allison Busch

The Śivrājbhūṣaṇ (Ornament of King Shivaji) by Bhushan Tripathi is a remarkable collection of

nearly four hundred Brajbhasha poems written at the court of the famed Maratha leader Shivaji

(r. 1674-80). The near concurrence of the date of the text’s composition (1673) with Shivaji’s

ascent to the throne (1674) makes it extremely likely that the Śivrājbhūṣaṇ was composed for the

coronation.1 In terms of its genre the Śivrājbhūṣaṇ is a lakṣaṇgranth (poetry textbook), the word

“bhūṣaṇ” (ornament) in the title cleverly playing off both the poet’s name and the ostensible

function of the text: a discourse on the subject of “ornaments” or figures of speech. As one

would expect in a lakṣaṇgranth, Bhushan defines each of the figures of speech under discussion,

but his definitions (lakṣaṇ) are almost always perfunctory and the poet is typically much more

interested in the accompanying example verses (udahāraṇ). Many of Bhushan’s example verses

use the traditional praśasti style to highlight Shivaji’s kingly perfections: his generosity, his

valor, etc. A more unusual feature of the Śivrājbhūṣaṇ, and the one highlighted in the selection

that I prepared for our workshop, is the number of strongly satirical poems about contemporary

politics and personalities.

In order to facilitate the annexation of a regional kingdom the Mughal emperor would offer a

formerly independent ruler a position in the Mughal administration such as control of a particular

province (ṣūbā). Although this fact is regularly glossed over in the modern construction of

Shivaji as a Hindu leader warding off the Mughals, Shivaji served briefly in the Mughal

administration after a series of heavy losses in the 1660’s, brokering peace with Aurangzeb in

1665. In 1666 Shivaji felt humiliated by the lack of proper respect accorded him at the Mughal

court in Agra, a theme that emerges in several of Bhushan’s poems. By 1669 the accord had

totally disintegrated. Shivaji remained a thorn in the side of the Mughals until his death in 1680.

Several of Bhushan’s poems are powerful critiques of the mansabdari system, as is the case with

verse 163, excerpted below, in which Bhushan likens a Mughal governorship (ṣūbā ) to a

prostitute (by extension, I suppose, that makes Aurangzeb a pimp). For Bhushan an important

component of celebrating Shivaji’s kingly persona was to denigrate his enemies. Although none

of Shivaji’s enemies is spared, Aurangzeb is the subject of numerous scathingly satirical poems,

as in verse 87 below when the emperor faints at the thought of doing battle with Shivaji.

The Brajbhasha of Bhushan is strongly hybridized, allowing for interesting effects that play on

both Sanskrit and Persian meanings. Take his manipulation of the name “Aurangzeb.” In Persian

this is a flattering title, meaning “adorning the throne.” Bhushan frequently refers to him as

“Avaraṅg” instead. Avaraṅg is a plausible enough “Brajification” of the emperor's name, but if

you invoke Sanskrit etymology (and surely this point was not lost on Bhushan, a Brahman), the

word means "sickly pale." By its capacity to be understood in the Sanskrit register this epithet

1 Shivaji’s coronation had originally been planned for 1673, but his low-caste birth required some last-minute

intervention by Pandit Gāga Bhaṭṭa, a Maharashtrian scholar resident in Banaras. Bhaṭṭa concocted a fictitious

genealogy for Shivaji, tracing his ancestry to the Sisodiya Rajput clan. With his newly discovered ancestry

ritually-approved, the coronation procedures could safely proceed, only slightly delayed, in 1674. See Stewart

Gordon, The Marathas: 1600-1818. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, p. 87.

2

subverts the positive meaning contained in the Persian, and gestures towards Aurangzeb’s

putative cowardice in the face of Shivaji, a recurring theme in the work.2

A (rough) English translation of the selected Braj verses

Verse 31

As soon as Shivaji met the Chaghtai (i.e. Aurangzeb) and saw his harsh disposition

he subdued him, as Krishna had Indra.

Bhushan says, when for no good reason they had allotted Shivaji an inappropriate position at court,

Shivaji roared and made the Muslims (mleccha) faint.

Aurangzeb’s noblemen emerged from the bathroom (where, it seems, the emperor had been driven to hide

out of fear of Shivaji3)

And tried to appease Shivaji.

It was like an army general trying to coax a powerful, angry, stubborn elephant.

Verse 87

One day Alamgir assembled his troops and set out on a hunting trip

“Watch out! Sarja is coming!” People called out and warned him.

Aurangzeb misunderstood (the word Sarja) and thought

it was the Bhonsle King Shivaji who was causing terror.

His hunting attendants ran and explained that they only meant “lion”

They came and lifted up [the emperor] who had fainted4

Verse 93

They are teachers of emperors, and emperors of soldiers, lion-like in battle.

Bhushan says, they keep trembling in fear of Shivaji’s might.

They don’t find the will in their hearts (to fight him).

Afzal Khan’s5’helplessness, Shaista Khan’s crookedness, and Bahlol Khan’s adversity

have set fear in the hearts of the nobility.

The Muslims (mlecchas) have made up their minds to abandon their mansabs.

They cross the ocean on the pretense of going to Mecca.

2 More information about Bhushan (and his brother Cintamani Tripathi) can be found in Allison Busch, “Riti and

Register.” Forthcoming in Francesca Orsini, ed. Hindi‐Urdu Before the Divide. Delhi: Orient Longman, 2008.

3 The syntax here is a little obscure to me.

4 This verse is an illustration of a “false attribution” (bhrāntāpahnuti‐alankāra). Its power stems from the dual

meaning of the word “sarjā[h].” It is both a common title of Shivaji and also, I am told, an Arabic word for “lion.”

5 These are various agents of Aurangzeb who were losing out in skirmishes with Shivaji in the Deccan.

3

Verse 101

In the houses of the enemies the name “Shiva, Shiva,” is chanted day and night

It’s as if to save themselves the Turks too recite the name of Hara (Shiva).

Verse 144

Bhushan says, Aurangzeb, who is twice as cruel as Duryodhana, has deceived the world.

Ghazi Shivaji has exhibited prowess even greater than that of the Pandavas.

He mobilized the moral courage of Yuddhisthira, the strength of Bhima, the fortitude of Arjuna,

the intelligence of Nakula and the power of Sahadeva.

The five of them snuck out from a wax house in the dark of night--

Shivaji on his own escaped from 100,000 watchmen in broad daylight.6

Verse 163

Seeing her beauty, who doesn't long to possess her?

Her manner is to conquer the world by the power of trickery.

Whomever she approaches she immediately renders penniless7

Bhushan says, spending time in her company brings no reward.

A governorship under the Delhi government is like a clever, desirable prostitute.

She does not stay faithful to one man.

But Shivaji is under the sway of a woman called "fame”

The woman who traps everybody else can’t touch him.

Verse 169

Maharaj Shivaraj, out of fear the women folk of the Abbyssinans are seen fleeing to the dense jungles

Bhushan says, among the army (?) of Ramnagar rivers of blood flow.

Lion, powerful hero, the wives of your enemies in Bijapur don’t bear even the marks of their bangles.

Because of your wrath, the moon-like faces of Muslim women are seen to be marked with Sindur.

Verse 346

Seeing that he is worried about something,

And that his eyes brim with tears,

His wife says, "My lord, why don't you tell me (what is troubling you)?

Bhushan says, it seems you have just come from the darbar

Why do you keep shaking, losing control of yourself?

Your chest is throbbing, you have broken out into a sweat

Your complexion has gone pale, you stare into space, looking neither to the right or left

It looks as though the emperor has made you a governor (suba) in the Deccan–

And you have completely withered up due to fear of Shivaji.

6 This verse refers to an incident when Shivaji escaped from Aurangzeb’s court in Agra (not Delhi, as the verse says)

in 1666. There is a pun on the word “lakha,” meaning both wax and 100,000.

7 Here too is a “slesha” with double meaning: the word “nidhana” means both death and poor.



http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritc...lation.pdf

Hindi text of ShivrajBhushan:



http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritc...hushan.pdf

[Bodhi]

Bhushan frequently refers to him as “Avarang” instead. Avarang is a plausible enough “Brajification” of the emperor's name, but if you invoke Sanskrit etymology (and surely this point was not lost on Bhushan, a Brahman), the

word means "sickly pale."

Bhushan also frequently mutilates awrangzib's title in many other forms, such as 'awran':



"auran ko jo janam hai so vako ik hi roj

awran ko jo raj hai so siv sarja ki mauj"



[What others (auran) accomplish in whole life Shivaji performs everyday

And the reign of awran (awrangzib) is, till Shivaji allows.]



Bhushan also calls awrangzib Narang (Colourless) besides chakatta which although derived from the moghal ancestor Chagdai suits Bhushan for using it in its popular hindi meaning from Sanskrit: Blot.



At places he also puts many a pun on Awrangzib's name Alamgir.

This verse refers to an incident when Shivaji escaped from Aurangzeb’s court in Agra (not Delhi, as the verse says)

in 1666. There is a pun on the word “lakha,” meaning both wax and 100,000.

The verse does not say Shivaji escaped from Dilli (instead of agra). The reading has to be proper to get the meaning. Here is how I would translate the verse in question:



" Wonders Bhushan, isn't Awrangzeb twice as much wile and cunning as Duryodhana ever was, in wrapping the world in his designs?

And yet, Shivaji certainly exceeds too in his puruShArtha, ever more than that of the five pANDava heroes, so as to raise his tumult in dilli it seems with more dharma, strength, valour, lucidity and splendour respectively of yudhiShThira, bhIma, arjuna, nakula, and of sahdeva!

Why, didn't all the five pANDava-s escape from the lAkShAgrR^iha together , that too in the dark of night, whereas when shivAjI came out from his confinement, he did so in broad daylight, single-handedly, and from under the noses of a lakh watchposts."



Here the line in which "dili" comes -- is not in reference to the place of confinement of Shivaji, but in alluding to the tumult raised by Shivaji in the moghal capital which was the very city founded by the pANDava-s to poetically position them in comparison with shivaji.

[Bharatvarsh2]

Bodhi thanks for the clarification.

English records: Shivaji stops forced conversion by Christians & other observations

Posted on November 13, 2010



The letter dated 26th November, 1675 reads:







Source: English records on Shivaji 1659-1682 by Shiva Charitra Karyalaya, pg. 74, Available at: http://library.du.ac.in/dspace/bitstream...281%29.pdf



The rest of the letter can be read at the above link on pg. 75.



In a letter dated 23 January 1669/1670 from the English records President Gary of Surat wrote the following to Lord Arlington, pg. 140:



“The archrebel Sevagee is againe engaged in armes against Orangsha, who, out of a blinde zeale for reformation, hath demolished many of the Gentues temples and forceth many to turne Musslemins.”



http://library.du.ac.in/dspace/bitstream...282%29.pdf



http://dharmayuddha.wordpress.com/2010/1...t-shivaji/

[Bharatvarsh2]

I have been meaning to make this post for a while but kept putting off.



The greatest Hindu ruler of all time IMO is none other than Shivaji and I will give my reasons.



Of all the Hindu rulers he alone had a pan Indian vision that he acted upon. Let us remember that even Vijayanagara at its height under Krishnadeva Raya with its vast resources never had the vision of destroying Muslim rule in Delhi itself and planting the saffron flag at Attock.



Second he realised the Christian threat and the importance of raising a navy to counter them, the foundations he laid were to bear fruit under Kanhoji Angre.



Third he made great efforts to check forcible conversions of Hindus by Muslims and Christians, one may check the above posts for more info. Not only that he set a good precedent by personally overseeing the shuddhi of Netaji Palkar and Balaji Nimbalkar (to whose son he gave one of his daughters in marriage to show full acceptance back into Hindu society).



He rightly foresaw the evil's of jagirdari and abolished it, this wise policy was later abandoned and would later prove to be the ruin of the Marathas with the Shinde's, Holkar's etc engaged in intercine struggles while the British swallowed them up one by one.



He laid out a policy to be followed by the later Marathas, they were to liberate all of India from Muslim rule, rebuild the Kashi mandir, and Europeans were to be checked and only allowed to trade. This is found in the ajnapatra of Ramachandra Amatya who worked as Panta Amatya for Shivaji and saw the rule of Shivaji, Sambhaji, Rajaram, and Sambhaji II (second son of Rajaram and Rajasbai), this was composed at Sambhaji II's behest around 1715 and talks about Shivaji's policies. In it he says about the Europeans:

Their masters, every one of them, are ruling kings. By their orders and under their control these people come to trade in these provinces. How can it happen thatrulers have no greed for territories? These hat-wearers have full ambition to enterinto these provinces to increase their territories, and to establish their own opinions [religion]. Accordingly at various places they have already succeeded in their ambitious undertakings. Moreover this race of people is obstinate. Where a place has fallen into their hands they will not give it up even at the cost of their lives.



However, while great care was to be taken in allowing them to build something, they should be allowed to carry on their trade, considering the importance of commerce to the prosperity of the kingdom: "If they live inthis way by accepting the above conditions it is well; if not, there is no need of them. It is enough if they occasionally come and go, and do not trouble us; nor need we trouble them."



https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstre...l+file.pdf

It is thanks to his vision and the foundations he laid that the Marathas not only survived his sudden death and Sambhaji's death but triumphed at the end of the 27 year war during which Aurangzeb descended on them with the entire might of the Mughal army and tried to crush them.



He may never have built magnificent temples like the Pallavas or Cholas, nor written beautiful poetry or accomplished in the arts like Bhojadeva or Krishnadeva Raya but he accomplished much more than any of them. In fact he most likely was illiterate. For the first time in centuries an attempt was made by the Marathas to bring all of India under Hindu rule thanks to his vision.



Unlike the suicidal Kesariya Bana charges of Rajputs which may make for good heroic poetry but are militarily stupid, he was practical and knew his limitations. He surrendered when hemmed in by Mirza Jai Singh and knew that the fight could always be resumed in the future under more favorable circumstances.



He inspired Chhatrasal Bundela and told him to liberate his own lands which he set about doing. He tried to make the servile Hindu fools like Mirza Jai Singh see the light and the need for a united Hindu front, one may read his letter to Jai Singh regarding this.



The way he slew Afzal Khan, his commando raid on Shaista Khan and his escape from imprisonment at Agra were a stuff of legend in his own lifetime.



He forbade camp followers and women in the army, the penalty for the latter offense was death. This made his forces much more mobile than the cumbersome Mughal army with its thousands of camp followers and unnecessary burdens. One may contrast this with the later Maratha army that fought the disastrous Panipat war under Bhau, in this Maratha army camp followers and women on pilgrimage outnumbered the actual fighting men. Even the great Baji Rao seems not to have been as strict in this regard for he took Mastani with him on his campaigns.



He also forbade the slave trade in South India between Muslims and the Europeans (mainly Dutch), so much for the claim that he only went to South India for plunder.

A final example of the intimate connection of Shivaji’s ideologies

to his practices, or of the nigh impossibility to separate the two, is the

following passage from his qaul granted to VOC ambassador Herbert de

Jager in 1677. In it Shivaji puts his proscription of the slave trade discussed

above in the context of a radical (and ideological) break with the past:



In the days of the Moorish government it was allowed for you to buy male slaves

and female slaves here [the Karnatak], and to transport the same, without anyone

preventing that. But now you may not, as long as I am master of these lands, buy

male or female slaves, nor transport them. And in case you were to do the same,

and would want to bring [slaves] aboard, my men will oppose that and prevent it in

all ways and also not allow that they be brought back in your house; this you must

as such observe and comply with.92



Even if Shivaji’s measure was motivated, as Herbert de Jager suggests, by a

concern about revenues (which would be less if there were fewer

inhabitants) rather than a concern for the welfare of the potential slaves, it

is quite impossible to distinguish in this passage the practical measure from

the patriotic appeal conveyed by it, directed as it is against Muslim rulers

allowing the slave trade and Europeans carrying slaves off to foreign parts,unless one would want to argue that Shivaji was not planning to enforce the

measure despite his assurance that his men would do so “in all ways.”



https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstre...l+file.pdf

Having said that he had his limitations.



1) His artillery was always weak as was his navy, this prevented his numerous attempts to take Janjira from the Siddis. He relied on the English and the French for artillery, the English usually refused to supply him or sold him defective guns. The artillery of the Marathas continued to be their weak point even as late as Panipat, it was only under Mahadji's rule that some progress made but by then it was too little and too late.



2) While he realised the threat of Europeans he did not seem to have ordered his court intellectuals to study the Europeans in detail, the various groups and their histories which the Europeans had begun to do at that very time about the Hindus.



3) And this was his biggest limitation, he was mostly your typical nice Hindu ruler and did not understand the need for targeting Muslim civilians the way Muslims did with Hindus. One may contrast this with Banda Bahadur who massacred almost all Muslims in his sack of Sirhind and the terror he inspired among the Mughals as a result. The later Marathas too were a failure in this regard. The only one's who showed some initiative in this regard were the Sikhs, so no wonder they were much hated by the Jihadists and feared.



For example:

By the time of Sodhi Vadhbhag Singh there were complete relations between Akali Nihang Khalsa Panth and Dhirmalias. Around the early 1750s, Nasir Ali the military governor of Jullander, burnt the sacred Sikh shrine ‘Tham Sar’. Vadbhag Singh got together with the deposed Moghal governor of Punjab, Adina Beg, to capture and destroy the Afghans of Jullander.



Rattan Singh Bhangu writes how the Sodhi Guru summoned ‘Dal Khalsa’ (combined forces of Budha and Tarna Dals) to assist him take Jullander:



‘Vadbhag Singh writing said:

“I am Guru you are the true Singhs. Come to do deed of the Guru. Come all Khalsa prepared for war The Nawab [Adina Beg] has prepared. He has called upon the mountain people to help him”.’

‘Pracheen Panth Prakash’, Translated by Baba Santa Singh, Vol. 2, Pa. 3440



The Akali Nihangs drinking ‘Sukha’ writes Ratan Singh, took Jullander. Vadbhag Singh demanded complete the massacre and dishonor of Jullander. Adina Beg and his Moghals did not come to the rescue of their co-religionists. In the past, these Afghans had perpetuated atrocities on Adina Beg. The Jullander Afghans had also been indiscriminately kidnapping and raping Sikh and Hindu women. By order of Vadbhag Singh, those Afghans who had perpetuated these crimes had their women taken away by the Khalsa. The women were made to eat pork, and marry the Khalsa by simple ceremony of circumventing a small Sikh prayer book on top of a spear or given over to low caste Sikh Hindus.



Nasir Ali, who had died, writes Rattan Singh, had his grave desecrated and pig’s flesh put in his dead corpse’s mouth. Nasir Ali had beaten Vadbhag Singh to inch of his life and desecrated the Sikh shrines at Kartarpur by slaughtering cows in them and burning them. Sodhi Vadbhag Singh the extractor of this terrible revenge on Jullander died in 1819.



http://www.sarbloh.info/htmls/article_sa...dhis2.html

However, he was regarded with hatred by the Afghans and Muslims of what became the North West Frontier. It was claimed that the four years in which he was Governor of Peshawar were characterised by looting, vandalism and rapine. For decades after his death, Yusufzai women would say Raghe Hari Singh ("Hari Singh is coming") to frighten their children into obedience.[20]



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari_Singh_Nalwa

Believe me had the Marathas implemented that along the lines of the Spanish Inquisition after the reconquista there would be no Pakistan or Beggardesh today. No talk of composite culture, no Imam Bukhari sitting in Delhi thundering "inshallah we Muslims will rule India again", none of that crap. The failure of Hindus always lay in their prediliction for "daya" and "kshama" (mercy and forgiveness) and still does, it is a weakness not something to celebrate as many Hindus think. When people say, look how noble Shivaji was he forbade his followers to destroy mosques etc, I think to myself "ya and look where that got us today, look at Pakistan and Bangladesh which would have never been born had it not been for such foolishness".