Shivaji Jayanti: All you need to know about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Shiv Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is being celebrated with traditional fervour in Maharashtra today. It is the Maratha warrior king's 368th birth anniversary today. Here are a few interesting facts about the ruler.

-  Shivaji was born in Shivneri Fort in Junnar which is 100 km east of Mumbai.

- As per the government of Maharashtra, the date of the birth anniversary falls on February 19. However, Shiv Sena wants the anniversary to be celebrated as per the 'tithi ' of the Hindu  calendar which is the Falgun Vadya Tritiya.

By Victor Surridge, Illustrations by A.D. Macromick - Romance of Empire India

- Unlike what is believed, Shivaji Maharaj was not named after Lord Shiva, but after Goddess Shivaai, as his mother had prayed to her for a son.

- Shivaji was known to be a secular ruler and had a sizeable number of Muslims in his army. He wanted to overthrow the Mughal rule to create a Maratha empire and not a Hindu empire. 

By Aatakke - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

- He captured his first fort "Torna" (Tornagad) or "Prachandgad" when he was 16-years-old which was the first step towards building a Maratha empire. 

- He was a strategic military commander and who was clever enough to establish a navy to protect the coastline when no other Indian ruler thought of about it. He is called the 'Father of Indian Navy'.

Chitrashala Press

- He also protected women from territories he occupied. No one under his rule was allowed to harm the women. In his kingdom, there were strict punishment for crimes against women. 

- Shivaji was a devout Hindu and had great respect for saints. He was a huge admirer of Samarath Ramadas and even gave him the Parali fort. It was renamed as Sajjangad later. The saint also wrote the famous poem Shivastuti (Praise of King Shivaji)

- A very well known story of Shivaji's bravery and shrewdness is the one where he escaped an attack by Afzal Khan. Khan had called Shivaji for negotiations and had planned to attack Shivaji. But the Maratha ruler had worn an armour beneath his clothes which saved his life. 

- He also defeated the famous general and governor Shayista Khan who was sent by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. 

- He also introduced the guerilla warfare tactics to his army and devised many military strategies.

- Shivaji was imprisoned by Mughal king Aurangzeb and lost many of his forts to him in the treaty of Purander. But he escaped from the prison and fought back to recover most of them.