Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj 387... - Page 2

Originally posted by: Marathi_Mulgi

slow read will read it

thanks for sharing

Originally posted by: The.Lannister

Thanks for those kind words Maddy! 😳 I really dont know much about Shivaji Maharaj, especially when compared to the likes of Abhay or you or a few others here. What I know is what I have read from various sources.

Shruti you are a wonderful writer.  I loved your post on Abhay's thread where you wrote about Shivaji Maharaj's letter to Aurangzeb, your take on that letter.

Whatever I know is also from reading different sources, that too about Shivaji Maharaj.  I can truthfully say whatever knowledge I NOW have of Rajput history - all thanks to Abhay 😆

But to celebrate his birth let me write a little something about his warfare tactic, the famous guerilla warfare or ghanim-i-qavvait (ganimi kaava in Marathi). While this technique is very old & was used even by Shri Krishna to defeat Kaal Yavan, it was reintroduced in the Deccan by Malik Ambar. Ganim -i- kaivvat is an Arabic word in which "ganim" means successful. This strategy of war is supposed to be so sure shot in nature that it guarantees a win to anyone who employs it successfully & hence "success" is in its name itself. 

We see Indians giving a lot of importance to fighting fairly. However with the repeated attacks of the Mughals who did not fight fair, Indians started suffering immeasurable losses due to their fair fighting principles when facing an unprincipled enemy, a need to reply back in the same coin was felt & that was why ganim-i-kaivvat was adopted. According to this principle the ends define the means. This method included causing max losses to the enemy with little or minimum losses to our side. It gives the common man, who isnt a soldier, who isnt trained in warfare a chance to fight a powerful enemy by any means with just one goal: survival! Hence it is OK to run away from the battle field if you see the enemy is stronger & you cannot win (Rannchod!) Hence it involves pillaging villages, looting, setting fire to crops, avoiding direct confrontation, etc.& adopting all means to ensure the enemy cannot proceed unharmed through your territory. It includes making the land inhospitable for the enemy. All this is starkly different to the "kshatriya dharma" which was popularly followed by Indian Kings since times immemorial.  It would be very difficult for a soldier to run away from the battle field but not for a common man who is following this method. The goal here was to survive to fight another day. 

Originally posted by: MaddyO

PS : Shruti if you watch Marathi tv channels, Raja Shivchhatrapati Marathi serial starring Dr. Amol Kolhe, Mrunal Kulkarni started again from today on Star Pravah Marathi channel.  Check it out if interested.

Originally posted by: The.Lannister

Oh wow! What time??? I have been waiting for that show!! YouTube just has a few episodes I will definitely watch it this time. Had missed it last time

Originally posted by: MaddyO

It was telecast at 9.30 pm.  I watched the first episode and even missed part of Chala Hava Yevu Dya for it 😆

They might have repeat so check out timings on StarPravah so you might be able to watch first episode you missed.

I just absolutely love it's titles.

Originally posted by: _goofyCat_

Thanks for this wonderful post Maddy. Its very very difficult to write about Shivaji Maharaj in just few sentences or paragraphs but you summarized it well.

@Abhay, do you have any references available about letters exchanged between Shivaji Maharaj and Mirzaraje Jaysingh? The two shared cordial relationship if I am not wrong, and I am not sure if there were many letters exchanged between them, but I would love to read them if there are any. Or any other writeups that shades some light on their interactions. At your leisure though!!

Originally posted by: MaddyO

Glad to know you liked the post Rashmi.  Line in bold, so true.  Have read so much, heard so many stories about Shivaji Maharaj - just can write so much without realizing! 😆

Would like if you can share a long post 😆

Originally posted by: RadhikaS0

Maddy

Great post! Learnt a lot about Shivaji Maharaj and look forward to more posts from you 😊

Enjoyed the discussion here, esp the informative write-ups from Abhay and Lannister. Thanks to both of you for sharing such interesting snippets.

Here is a small poem about the legendary Maratha from Rabindranath Tagore:

In what far-off country, upon what obscure day

I know not now,

Seated in the gloom of some Mahratta mountain-wood

O King Shivaji,

Lighting thy brow, like a lightning flash,

This thought descended,

"Into one virtuous rule, this divided broken distracted India,

I shall bind."

Truly a noble thought - the words in bold, and the trademark of a far-sighted nationalist and statesman. Shivaji dreamed an impossible dream and resorted to all kinds of tactics and strategies to realise that dream within his lifetime. But his greatness lies in the fact that he continued to inspire generations of people to fight for self-rule and self-respect, long after he passed away.