The youth rose in rebellion. He writes in 1645 A.D. to one of his compatriots severely protesting against the allegation of being faithless to the Shah of Vijapur, and appealed to superior morals by reminding him that the only faith they pledged was not to any Shah, but to God alone. Did he not in company of Dadaji, his guardian, and his comrades solemnly swear in the presence of God on the summits of Sahyadri to fight to a finish and establish ‘Hindavi Swaraj’, a Hindu-Pad- Padshahi in Hindusthan? ‘ God is on our side and He shall win!’
This word ‘Hindavi Swaraj’, coming from the pen of Shivaji himself, reveals, as nothing else could have done, the very soul of the great movement that stirred the life and activities of Maharashtra for a hundred years and more. Even in its inception the Maratha rising was neither a parochial nor a personal movement altogether. It was essentially a Hindu movement in the defence of Hindu Dharma for the overthrow of the alien Muhammadan domination, for the establishment of an independent, powerful Hindu Empire.
It was not only the leader of the Maratha who was actuated by this patriotic zeal, but it was more or less shared throughout his camp and his country. The people were as fully conscious of the patriotic spirit that actuated the efforts of Shivaji, as he himself was. He was everywhere hailed as a deliverer of the Hindus.
And even those, who still ranged themselves on the Muhammadan side were doing so either through their natural failure to conceive that a rebellion against the great Muhammadan Padshah could ever succeed, or through a natural hesitation to accept the lead of a raw and young enthusiast as Shivaji must have appeared, to the more callous and calculating minds, as well as to those who had vested personal interests in the permanence of the Muhammadan rule.
But to the Hindu people as a whole, not only in Maharashtra, but throughout the Deccan and even in the North, he was the one great champion of their cause, the chosen hero of his race who was destined to win the political independence of his Land and his Race. History, tradition and literature of that period teem with passages and events that give noble expression to his popular regard and appreciation which the mission and work of Shivaji, Ramdas and their generation won throughout Hindudom, district after district; and town after town, longed and pressed for the coming of the Marathas under Shivaji and rejoiced to see the Muhammadan flag being torn as under from its flag-staff and the sacred Geruva of the Marathas rise and wave triumphant in its stead.
To Cite only One example to substantiate this statement, let us refer to the letter which the people of Savnoor sent to Shivaji when the Hindus of that district could no longer tolerate the Muhammadan rule. ‘We are groaning under the tyrannical sway of the aliens and our Dharma is trampled under foot. Come! Oh, champion of the Hindu faith, come ! Oh, destroyer of the wicked and the unbelieving aliens’ rule! Here we are at the mercy of the Muhammadan general, Yusuf and his army who, because we sympathise with Thee and conspired to invite our Hindu compatriots under Thee, have made us prisoners in our own house , placed guards at our gates, and are trying to starve us out by interdicting food and water. So turn thy nights into days and come, oh Deliverer of the Hindu race!’+++(5)+++ It is needless to state that Shivaji did not turn a deaf ear to this moving appeal of his Co-religionists beyond the borders of Maharashtra. Hambirrao, the famous Maratha captain, hastened to the scene and inflicting crushing defeats on the forces of Vijapur in more than one battlefield, delivered the Hindus from Muhammadan clutches and rid that district of their rule.
Having put in order hjs little Jahagir, comprising Poona and Supa, and organising the 12 Mavals (districts) when he was but 14 to 16 years old, Shivaji with his chosen band, took Torana and other important forts by tactful surprises and daring raids. After gaining one of his moat decisive victories over the forces of Vijapur under Afjulkhan, Shivaji came in open conflict with the Moguls too. Having routed several of their Captains and GeneraJs now surrendering, now surprising, but always outwitting them, he struck such a terror in the hearts of his foes that even Aurangzeb thought it prudent to drop opposition for a while and lure him into a trap. But Shivaji proved more than a match even for an Aurangzeb in his intrigues, and frustrating his treacherous designs at Agra, escaped unscathed from captivity and reached Raigad safe. The war with the Moguls was resumed and Sinhgad was recaptured by Shivaji. Several other Captains, distinguished themselves by inflicting crushing defeats on the Muhammadans wherever they met, till at last Shivaji thought it prudent and safe to have himself formally crowned as the Hindu Chhatrapati-the champion of Hindu Dharma and Hindu civilization . Since the fall of Vijayanagar, never had a Hindu Prince dared to have himself crowned as an independent ruler, as a Chhatrapati. This coronation broke the spell of Muhammadan superiority in arms. Never again did they prove a match for the Hindus in the battlefield.
The results seemed miraculous even to the actors themselves. Ramdas, himself the high priest and prophet of that war of Hindu Liberation, sings in one of his mystic utterances of the vision he had seen and triumphantly asserts that much of what he had seen in his vision had already come to pass. ‘In utter darkness I dreamt: behold, the dreams are realised. Hindusthan is up, has come by her own and those that hated her and sinned against God are put down with a strong hand. Verily, it is a holy land and happy. For God has made her cause, His own and Aurangzeb is down. The dethroned are enthroned and the enthroned are dethroned! Actions speak better than words. Verily, Hindusthan is a holy land and happy; now that Dharma is backed up by Rajadharma, Right by Might, the waters of Hind, no longer defiled, can enable us once more to perform our ablutions and austerities.’
It was this consciousness of fighting under the banner of God that made Shivaji, when he succeeded in founding an independent Hindu Kingdom, to lay, it all at the feet of his spiritual and political guide, Ramdas Swami. It is again this consciousness of a great mission that made Ramdas return it all to his illustrious disciple as a trust to be administered for the good of man and to the Glory of God.
Witness again in what glowing terms, the author of Chhatra Prakash, the historical poem that narrates the deeds of Chhatrasal, though a Bundela Hindu by birth, as well as Bhushan, a great national poet who though not himself a Maratha by birth, yet feels as much proud of the victorious march of the Maratha warriors from Shivaji to Bajirao, and going up and down all over Hindusthan roused all Hindusthan into action and achievement in that War of Hindu Liberation, sings the deeds of Shivaji and his comrades, in what light they view his achievements.
Thus the stirring appeal and the battle-song that the Maratha trumpet sounded from the summits of Sahyadri in the name of Hindu Dharma and Hindu-Pad- Padashahi touched and roused all Hinduism far beyond the borders of the Maharashtra and made them feel that the cause that was being fought out by the Maratha aimed at nothing short of the deliverance of the Hindu people and the Hindu land from the hated alien bondage.