Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj !

Coronation Day of Shivaji Maharaj

The Saffron morning of the Rising Sun of Hindavi Swarajya

On the 13th day (trayodashi) of the first fortnight of the month of 'Jyeshtha' as per the Hindu calendar, in the year 1596, the coronation ceremony was held to enthrone Punyashlok Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as the King of Hindavi Swaraj. The grand function took place atop the 5,000-ft high Raigad fort in Maharashtra. He became thereafter a full-fledged Chhatrapati - a Hindu emperor in his own right. The occasion holds up for the Hindu people inspiring lessons for their future march - perhaps unequalled by any other single event during the past 3-4 centuries of their history. It is the golden day of glory in the history of Hindusthan and Hindus.

A tribute to Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj

When Hindustan was burning under barbaric attacks by the Mughals and when Hindus were loyally serving the Muslims Adilshahs and Badshahs all over India, there was oppression of women, cows, language and temples. The Sultans had converted the whole country into a slaughterhouse. Hindu society was going towards annihilation under Muslim assaults and the blazing Sun of independence had set. In such adverse conditions, exhibiting great bravery, valour and sacrifice, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj established the independent sovereign Hindavi Swaraj by defeating Mughal kings and thus protected Hindus, Hindu Dharma and Hindustan. It was these almost superhuman challenges that Shivaji had accepted even as a teenaged boy. He encouraged Hindus to obliterate Muslim attackers. He created a great future for Hindustan. Thus unto Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, undoubtedly, belongs the chief credit of lighting up the torch of the final freedom struggle against the backdrop of several centuries of Islamic aggression, and ultimately reducing that foreign slavery to ashes. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj created self-confidence amongst Hindus. He made Hindus realize that they had the might of lions but were leading their lives like sheep.

Shivaji Maharaj visited major shrines in Maharashtra before his coronation. He also performed pujas for Mahadeva, Bhavani and other Deities. The ceremony was going on from 30th May to 6th June i.e. for a full week. The crowning was being done with the chanting of holy Veda-mantras and sprinkling holy water from seven rivers and seven seas. People from all castes were allowed to anoint (sprinkle) the king with Panchamrit and holy waters from different places. While anointing him, they used to say. "You are our crowned king (Chhatrapati Raje), you are our protector. We pray unto you to please look after us like a father." Simultaneously the Ved Mantras were resounding in the hall.

As Shivaji mounted the throne for the coronation, the priests chanted the holy verses. Musical instruments began to play and the artillery of all the forts fired salvos of their guns. The main priest held the royal umbrella and hailed him as Shiva Chhatrapati. He was conferred the title of 'Kshatriya Kulavantas Sinhasanadheeshwar Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' by the priest.

This uprising by the Marathas was to protect the Hindu religion, to toss away the yoke of foreigners and to establish an independent and powerful Hindavi Samrajya (empire). All efforts of Shivaji were overflowing with intense patriotism. People also had become aware of it and hence he was welcomed every where in India, be it the South, North, East or West, as 'the protector of Hindus'. Hindus thought him to be a supporter of their cause.

The contemporary history, legends and literature of that time are full of appreciation and respect for him. There were requests pouring in for Shivaji to rescue Hindus from many towns and states of India. When the Marathas tore the green flags of Muslims and hoisted saffron flags, no Hindu had dared to get crowned after the fall of the kingdom of Vijayanagar. This crowning ceremony was a blow to the invincibility of Muslims. Shivaji had the feeling that he was not protecting his own kingdom but was striving for the protection of Dharma.

Rightly did the great Hindi bard Bhushana, who forsook the royal favours of the Mughal court to come over to Shivaji to record his glories, sing :

Kashiji ki kalaa jaati, Mathura masjid hoti |

Shivaji na hote to sunnat hoti sab ki ||

Read more...

Maharana Pratap - Mewar's greatest hero - History Of Chittorgarh

Born: May 9, 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan
Father's Name: Maharana Udai Singh II
Mother's Name: Rani Jeevant Kanwar
Died: January 29, 1597 in Chavand

Maharana Pratap was born on May 9th 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan. His father was Maharana Udai Singh II and his mother was Rani Jeevant Kanwar. Maharana Udai Singh II ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital at Chittor. Maharana Pratap was the eldest of twenty-five sons and hence given the title of Crown Prince. He was destined to be the 54th ruler of Mewar, in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

In 1567, when Crown Prince Pratap Singh was only 27, Chittor was surrounded by the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar. Maharana Udai Singh II decided to leave Chittor and move his family to Gogunda, rather than capitulate to the Mughals. The young Pratap Singh wanted to stay back and fight the Mughals but the elders intervened and convinced him to leave Chittor, oblivious of the fact that this move from Chittor was going to create history for all times to come.

In Gogunda, Maharana Udai Singh II and his nobles set up a temporary government of the kindom of Mewar. In 1572, the Maharana passed away, leaving the way for Crown Prince Pratap Singh to become the Maharana. However, in his later years, the late Maharana Udai Singh II had fallen under the influence of his favorite queen, Rani Bhatiyani, and had willed that her son Jagmal should ascend to the throne. As the late Maharana's body was being taken to the cremation grounds, Pratap Singh, the Crown Prince decided to accompany the dead body of the Maharana. This was a departure from tradition as the Crown Prince did not accompany the body of the departed Maharana but instead prepared to ascend the throne, such that the line of succession remained unbroken. Pratap Singh, in deference to his father's wishes, decided to let his half-brother Jagmal become the next king. However, knowing this to be disastrous for Mewar, the late Maharana's nobles, especially the Chundawat Rajputs, forced Jagmal to leave the throne to Pratap Singh. Unlike Bharat, Jagmal did not willingly give up the throne. He swore revenge and left for Ajmer, to join the armies of Akbar, where he was offered a jagir - the town of Jahazpur - in return for his help. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Pratap Singh became Maha Rana Pratap Singh I, 54th ruler of Mewar in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

The year was 1572. Pratap Singh had just become the Maharana of Mewar and he had not been back in Chittor since 1567. His old fort and his home beckoned to him. The pain of his father's death, and the fact that his father had not been able to see Chittor again, troubled the young Maharana deeply. But he was not the only one troubled at this time. Akbar had control of Chittor but not the kingdom of Mewar. So long as the people of Mewar swore by their Maharana, Akbar could not realize his ambition of being the Jahanpanah of Hindustan. He had sent several emissaries to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to sign a treaty but the letter was only willing to sign a peace treaty whereby the sovereignty of Mewar would be intact. In the course of the year 1573, Akbar sent six diplomatic missions to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to the former's suzerainty but Rana Pratap turned down each one of them. The last of these missions was headed by Raja Man Singh, the brother-in-law of Akbar himself. Maharana Pratap, angered that his fellow Rajput was aligned with someone who had forced the submission of all Rajputs, refused to sup with Raja Man Singh. The lines were completely drawn now - Akbar understood that Maharana Pratap would never submit and he would have to use his troops against Mewar.

Read more...