The legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

I am too small a person to talk about the legacy of the great Warrior King Shivaji Maharaj. In my small book Theory of Reference Building : Legacy Matrix I have mentioned about him twice.

Chhatrapati is a sanskrit word for denoting the royal title of a King or Ruler. Chhatra means umbrella or parasol and pati means the leader.

When I was in 4th grade at St. Mary's High School, Dahanu Road, Maharashtra, history subject was dedicated to him. Every child who has studied from Maharashtra Board would have learned about the greatness of the legend.

Also, living in Maharashtra, I had heard about his stories, seen people celebrating on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti and I was not having a clarity and understanding of the background.

As I evolved with time and got access to social media, I learned what a humble and humanitarian person he was. How he respected and treated everyone, especially women even if they belonged to enemy empire.

His ethics made him different from other Kings. He was a very principled and honest person.

From childhood he was taught on all the significant Hindu texts like Shrimad Bhagvad Geeta, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Shiv Puran among others. Most of the times his mother taught the scriptures to him and instilled good values and cultures.

He was absolutely fearless, but not ruthless, he was compassionate, empathetic and kind. A rare quality among Kings in that era. If we study him from Public Policy perspective, he was a King who thought of welfare for all. He was truly a humanitarian with hundreds of stories adding to the testimony.

He was not only the founder of Maratha Empire but is also regarded as the Father of the Indian Navy.

His vision for Hindavi Swaraj was very humanitarian and progressive and also global. He was very secular, inclusive, just, equal and peaceful as a King and wanted Bharat or India to be like his Hindavi Swaraj.

Shree Balasaheb Thackeray named Shiv Sena after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was also seen multiple times with Statue and Portraits of Shivaji which shows his affection and respect for the Chhatrapati.

I happen to visit his birthplace Shivneri Fort in November 2022. Many forts in Maharashtra and other places tell his stories. Some paintings and pieces of art in honor are preserved. Songs are composed and dedicated to him. Multiple movies have been made on his personality, his life, his story and his teachings. Several books have been drafted on him. Airports, Railway Station, educational institutes, NGOs and avenues are named in his honour.

He is a story of inspiration, a personality of humanitarian vision, a role model for all the leaders and pride of India.

If I observe this GREAT King from my Legacy Matrix, he integrates all the elements very well with examples and shows why he was a Legend.

Jai Bhawani. Jai Shivaji.

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