New History of the Marathas v1.c5.102

v1.c5.102

But there is another class of writings which tried to account for this new agitation in Mahārāshtrian life. They consist of early *bakhars* and *prashastis* (introductions) attached to Sanskrit works. Most of the *bakhars* of Shivaji, Hanmante's introduction to the *Rājavyavahār Kosh*, Gāgābhatt's foreword to the *Kāyastha-Dharma-Pradip* composed by him, and the *Bhatta-Vansha-Kāvya*, the elaborate exposition of Parmānand's *Shiva-Bhārat* (two long chapters), some of the Hindi works of poets Bhushan and Lal Kavi, an anonymous poem purporting to be Shivaji's letter to Jaya-Sinh, all these particularly treat the subject of the rise of Shivaji, but explain it in a different manner. They describe the Earth as personified, unable to bear the atrocities of the Mlechhas towards gods, brahmans and cows, and seeking relief from the god Brahmā, who in his turn appeals to Shankar, Vishnu or the goddess Bhavāni, and ultimately these gods heeded the solemn prayer of the Earth and agreed to undertake a fresh incarnation for redressing the prevailing wrongs, and thus is Shivaji described to have been born. This is the orthodox explanation