Early life:

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born on February 19, 1630, in Shivneri fort. Shivaji Maharaj was taken from Jijabai's womb (Rajmata Jijau), the wife of Shahaji Bhonsle Kunbi Maratha.

 

Shivneri's defense was near Junnar Nagar on the north side of Pune. His childhood was spent under the guidance of his mother, Jijau Maa Saheb. He was an expert in all the arts; he had studied politics and war in his childhood.

 

Shivaji's elder brother's name was Sambhaji, who lived with his father Shahaji Bhosle most of the time. Tukabai Mohite was the second wife of Shahaji Raje. He had a son named Ekoji Raje.

 

His mother, Jijabai, was an exceptionally talented woman born in the Jadhav clan and his father was a powerful feudal lord. His parents greatly influenced Shivaji Maharaj's character. From childhood, they began to understand the environment and events of that era well. They used to get frustrated and restless over the deeds of the ruling class.

 

The flame of freedom was ignited in his child's heart. He organized some Swami Bhakta Saathi's. As the situation worsened, his resolve to break the shackles of foreign rule became stronger. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was married to Saibai Nimbath on May 14, 1640, at Lal Mahal, Pune.
Conflict from Bijapur:

 

  After Aurangzeb returned to Agra (north), the Sultan of Bijapur also breathed a sigh of relief. Now Shivaji was the most potent enemy of Bijapur. Shahaji had already been asked to keep his son under control, but Shahaji expressed his inability to do so. To deal with Shivaji, the Sultan of Bijapur sent Abdullah Bhatari (Afzal Khan) against Shivaji.

 

Afzal marched in 1659 with 120,000 troops. Destroying the temples of Tuljapur, he came close to Shirwal, 30 km north of Satara. But Shivaji remained at the fort of Pratapgarh. Afzal Khan sent his envoy Krishnaji Bhaskar for peace talks.

He sent a message that if Shivaji accepted the subjugation of Bijapur, the Sultan would give him authority over all the territories under Shivaji's control. At the same time, Shivaji will get a good post in the court of Bijapur.

 

    Although Shivaji's ministers and advisers favored the treaty, Shivaji did not like the talks. He kept Krishnaji Bhaskar in his court with due respect and sent his envoy Gopinath to Afzal Khan to take stock of the situation. From Gopinath and Krishnaji Bhaskar, Shivaji felt that Afzal Khan wanted to make Shivaji, a prisoner by conspiring for a treaty.

 

 So he sent a valuable gift to Afzal Khan in return for the war and thus persuaded Afzal Khan to negotiate a treaty. At the site of the treaty, the two had ambushed their soldiers. At the meeting place, when the two met, Afzal Khan attacked Shivaji with his dagger. In defense, Shivaji killed Afzal Khan with his robe Vaghankho (November 10, 1659).

 

   After the death of Afzal Khan, Shivaji took possession of the fort of Panhala. After this, besides taking control of Pavangarh and Vasantgarh, he also thwarted the invasion of Rustam Khan.

This also captured Rajapur and Davul. Now an atmosphere of terror was created in Bijapur, and the feudal lords there forgot their differences and decided to attack Shivaji.

 

   On October 2, 1665, the Bijapur army captured the Panhala fort. Shivaji was in trouble, but he managed to escape by taking advantage of the darkness of the night. The Sultan of Bijapur himself took command and took back his authority over Panhala, Pavangarh, looted Rajapur, and killed the Pradhan of Sringargarh.

 

   Simultaneously, due to Siddi Johar's revolt in Karnataka, the Sultan of Bijapur agreed with Shivaji. Shivaji's father Shahaji mediated in this treaty. According to this treaty made in 1662, Shivaji was recognized as an independent ruler by the Sultan of Bijapur.

 

According to this treaty, the territory from Kalyan in the north to Ponda in the south (250 km) and Indapur in the east to Davul in the west (150 km) came under Shivaji's control. By this time, Shivaji's army had grown to 30,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalries.