New History of the Marathas v1.c16.100

v1.c16.100

“ All this national expansion proceeded from the initial energy of one man. Shivaji was the central power-house of the new Mahārāshtra. He had the supreme royal gift of quickly judging every man’s character and capacity and choosing the best instrument for every task that he wanted to be done. But he was a self-taught man, he never visited any great capital, court or camp. His administrative and military systems perfectly suited to his country and age, were his own creation. Everything proceeded from his own heart and brain. Therefore the historian of Shivaji at the end of a careful study of all the records about him in eight different languages, is bound to admit, that he was not only the maker of the Maratha nation, but also the greatest constructive genius of medieval India. States fall, empires break up, dynasties become extinct, but the memory of a true ‘hero as King’ like Shivaji, remains an imperishable historical legacy for the entire human race,