So-called secular historians have frequently attempted to construct a picture of Hindu heroes as inferior and Islamic invaders as magnificent, and it did not help that the majority of HRD Ministers from 1947 to 1975 were Muslims who oversaw Indian textbook history. These historians are attempting to portray Shivray as a secularist who fought for social justice rather than the Hindu cause. These phoney historians are also responsible for creating false myths about large numbers of Muslims in his army. Let’s look at the facts, which plainly show that he struggled to restore the glory of Sanatan Dharma and unify Hindus for the Hindu cause. Being a Hindu, he never despised any religion while opposing and fighting injustices against Hindus and their great heritage.
Swami Vivekananda’s viewpoints on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
“The greatest king India had produced in the previous three centuries was the very incarnation of Siva, about whom prophecies had been made long before he was born. All of Maharashtra’s great souls and saints eagerly anticipated his arrival as the one who would save the Hindus from the Mlechchas and establish the Dharma, which had been destroyed by the destructive hordes of the Mughals”.
Is there a bigger hero, saint, bhakta, or king than Shivray? Shivray was the epitome of a born king of mankind, as depicted in our ancient epics. He exemplified the true son of India, symbolising the nation’s consciousness. He demonstrated what India’s future would be sooner or later, a collection of separate units under a single umbrella, i.e., one supreme imperial suzerainty.”
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a real Hindu warrior, not a false secularist
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who possessed extraordinary talents and a clear vision, was the only one who spoke out against injustice. He also possessed an inspiring and appealing personality that elicited respect, loyalty, and the greatest sacrifices from his dedicated soldiers and peasants. To create his Swarajya, a daring mission inspired by the highest ideals instilled in him by his mother and the saints of Maharashtra, he had to awaken the Hindus’ sleeping conscience and demonstrate that it was possible to successfully defy Mughal power, cast off foreign domination, and gain freedom from Muslim rule.
Hindu temple redevelopment and strengthening Hindu Unity
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj maintained Hindus’ self-esteem and culture. When foreign invaders came to our land, they attempted to destroy the community by demolishing the monasteries and temples. Examples of such destruction include Babar’s demolition of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya to build a mosque and Aurangzeb’s demolition of the Kashi Vishwanath and Mathura temples. The constructions that the Muslim invaders erected in place of these temples are extremely offensive to us. Mr. Arnold Toynbee, a well-known historian, observed in a lecture in Delhi in 1960, “You have preserved the mosques erected by Aurangzeb in your country, though they were very humiliating.” When Russia annexed Poland in the early nineteenth century, they built a Russian Orthodox Church in Warsaw’s centre to commemorate their victory. When Poland gained independence during World War I, one of the first things it did was demolish Russian-built churches and eliminate reminders of Russian dominance. Because the church served as a continual reminder of their humiliation at the hands of the Poles, for this reason, nationalist organisations in India launched the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has already started this work. Temples at Saptakoteshwar in Goa, Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh and Samudrattirperumal in Tamil Nadu were restored by Maharaja.
“If you demolish our temples and insult our culture and harm our self-respect, then we will rebuild them stubbornly” was the message Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj gave to the Muslim invaders through his actions.
Shivaji Maharaj’s destruction of the mosque at Kalyan-Bhiwandi is also mentioned in Kavindra Parmanand Gobind Nevaskar’s book Shivbharata (chapter 18, verse 52).
In a letter dated 1678, Jesuit priest Andre Fair says in Historical Miscellany issued by BISM, Pune (1928, p 113), that Shivaji Maharaj destroyed Muslim mosques.
Dharma and culture cannot be taken away from any country. Self-esteem can never be taken away. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj taught us that if foreign aggressors attack our self-esteem, we must respond appropriately by erasing the marks of enslavement and restoring our dignity.
Many Hindu warriors had converted to Islam either under pressure or to please their Muslim masters (sultans). Shivaji encouraged and helped many of them to convert back to Sanatan Dharma.
His elder son and Legendary fighter Shambhoo Raje, in one letter, calls his father “म्लेंच्छक्षयदीक्षित”, meaning the one who has taken an oath to destroy Muslim invaders. When Portuguese people wrote to him, they started the letter with the words ‘To The General of the Hindu Forces’. Does that need an explanation? Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj revived the cultural and political Hindu power in India. He punished the mlecchas who dared to harass or persecute Hindus. He started bringing back people who were forcibly converted into the fold of Sanatan Dharma. He appointed a remarkable post and person called Panditrao to purify the language and remove all Persian and Urdu words. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj started the practice of deploying a dedicated army for the palkhi of Sant Tukaram Maharaj, which is continued even today.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj maintained and continued giving grants to Hindu temples, saints and causes.
Siva Chhatrapati: A translation of Sabhasad Bakhar with extracts from Chitnis and Sivadigvijya, His thoughts on Islamic invaders and those whose actions contradicted Hindu values and humanity.
“It is not good to live upon the bread of the Muhammadans and to witness cow slaughter. Death is far more desirable. I shall no longer tolerate any slight upon religion, or any act of Muhammadan injustice. If my father abandons me on that account, I shall not mind, but it is not good to stay at such a place.” (p.157)
“We are Hindus and they Yavanas. They are very low – in fact there is none lower – I feel a loathing to salute them. They commit evil deeds like cow slaughter. It is wrong to witness any slight on religion and the Brahmans. Cows are slaughtered as we pass by the roads. It pains me and I feel inclined to cut off the head of the offender. In my mind I feel disposed to decapitate the oppressor of the cows but I am helpless as I do not know what my father will think of it.” (p.160)
“Father is to a son as sacred as a god. His orders should be respectfully obeyed. But religion has been overthrown and in every thing the Mlechchhas are supreme. I should risk my life and all (that belongs to me) for preserving my religion by overthrowing them. How can I then do what my father has asked me (to do) in his letter. I have adopted this course because I thought it more creditable.” (p. 171–172)
“Our religion has been overthrown, gods and Brahmans are troubled, the Mlechchhas are supreme everywhere, every one is oppressed, my aim is to remove this state of things. If you are favourable to this idea, then tell me frankly what is in the mind of the Khan, what is his real design. I have no other question to ask you.” (p.187)
“My life was not long enough for the conquest of the Empire of Delhi and the kingdom of the north. In future, the kingdom I have founded, should be consolidated and extended, with more heroism than I have ever exhibited and you (my brave officers) should be promoted.” (p.248)
According to the book Shivaji and his times by Jadunath Sarkar ji, he mastered the epics (Itihasa) Shri Ramayana and Shri Mahabharata.
He learned the two main Hindu epics through recitations and storytelling rather than reading books. The stories of Rama and the Pandavas, which provide instances of action, sacrifice, military prowess, statecraft, political teachings, and moral maxims, had a significant impact on his young mind.
Many communist Indian and foreign authors attempted to disparage the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj out of a desire for money and fame, as well as a flawed philosophy. The hero who saved millions of people from foreign invaders and returned to “Ram Rajya” to preserve a wonderful civilisation. The king of calm yet active, alert, and down-to-earth leadership qualities that every young person should emulate for personal and national development.
