SIVAJI, founder of the Mahratta empire, was the second son of Shali-ji. lie WAS born about the year 1627, and was brought tip under the care of Dadaji Condi], a 13rahman whom Shali-ji had placed in charge of his Poona jaghir. Sivays associates were his father's soldiers and predatory highlanders, and by the ago of sixteen he got beyond Dadaji's control. He is suspected of sharing in gang robberies in the Konkan ; and he formed a band from amongst the Mil, the Koli, the Raisins', and the Mahrattas of tho Mawals to the west of Poona, with whom he surprised the garrison of Toina (A.D. 1646), a strong hill fort, 26 miles W. of Poona. On the death of Dadaji, he took pmsession of his father's jaghir, seized everal hill forts, amongst them that of Purandhar (A.D. 1647), and occupied the tract between Chacun and the Neera. Hitherto his acquisitions had been got without bloodshed, but in 1648 he plundered a convoy of royal treasure in the Kon kan, and before the court teem ered from its sur prise at this outrage, it heard Hist five of the principal hill forts in the ghats hail fallen into his hands, anti that a Brahman, one of his tinkers, had obtained poasession of Killian and of all the forts of the Northern Konkan. The Bijapnr 1Governnsent was tinder the impression that I Sivaji was acting by the advice of Ilia father Shali-ji. They therefore seized Shah-ji, threw him into a dungeon, and threatened to build up the entrance unless Sivaji should submit ; but on this Sivaji offered his services to Shah Jahan, who appointed him to the rank of commander of 5000, and Shalt-ji obtained his release from the dungeon, though for four years, 1649-1653, he remained a prisoner at large within the fortress of Bijapur. No sooner was his father free than Sivaji renewed his plans of aggrandizement. Ile procured the assa.ssi»ation and seized on the territories of the raja who held the whole of the hilly country south of Poona from the ghata inclusive to the Upper Kistna; and when prince Aurangzeb reached the Dekhan in 1655, Sivaji got himself recognised as a servant of the 3loghul Government, and obtained a confirmation of his possessions. 1313 , when Aurangzeb declared war against the king of !Golconda, Sivaji invaded the Moghul territolies, surprised Juncr, and made an unsticesful attempt on Alanadnaggnr. Ile was again forgiven (A.D. 11658) on promising to aid the prince with a body lof horse, a promise which lie never fulfilled. Ile renewed the attacks on Bijapur, and Afzal Khan, the commander of the troops, being, sent against him, Sivaji tendered his submission, and at Partabgurit obained a personal intersiew. At the
meeting Sivaji clutched him with the weapon called tiger's claws, and despatched him with a dagger, and at a signal from the fort his troops rushed out and slaughtered and dispersed Afzal Khan's army. He then overran all the country near the ghats, and took possession of all the hill forts. On another army being aent against him, he allowed himself to be shut up in the almost inaccessible fort of Panala, 31tsy A.D. 1660, from which he at length escaped on a dark night. The king of 13ijapur now took the field in person, A.D. 1661, and before the end of a year SD aji found himself stripped of almost all his conquests ; hut oil the Bijapur king being withdrawn to Cantata for the revolt of Sitli Johar, Sivaji recovered and increased his territories. A peace favourable to Sivaji was mediated by his father Shali-ji, which left bivaji (A.D. 1669) in possession of a tea:tory I, including upvards of 23U miles of the Konkan seaboard between Kahan and Goa, while above the ghats its length was more than 150 miles from , the north of Poona to the south of Mirich on the Kishila. Its extreme breadth from E. to W. wa.s 100 miles, on which he maintained an army of 7000 horse and 50,000 foot. At the end of 1662, he broke with the Moglittls, ravagsd their country near Aurangabad, took their forts near Juner, and occupied the hill fort of Singliar near Poona. Shaistah Khan was sent against Mtn, and occupied Poona, taking up his quarters in the house in which Sivaji had been brought up. Sivaji left Singhar one eveninf; after dark, posted sentries on the road to support hirn, and went on with 25 Mawali Mahrattas into Poona, where he joined a marriage procession, gained admission into the house by a back door, and surPlised Shaistah Khan in his sleeping room, who received a blow from a sword which cut off two of his fingers, as he was letting himself down from the window to a court below. Shaistah Khan's son and most of his attendants were cut down. Sivaji returned in safety, and reascended Singhar amidst a blaze of torches. This exploit, so congenial to the disposition of his countrymen, is the one of all his actions of which the Mahrattas still speak with the greatest exultation. On this, Aurangzeb superseded Shaistah Khan by sending his SOD Muazzain and Jeswant Singh. But Sivaji with 4000 horse came suddenly on the rich and defence less city of Surat, which he plundered at leisure for six days, and carried off his booty in safety to his capital of Reri or Raighur in tbe Konkan. He was beaten off from the Dutch and English factories.