New History of the Marathas v1.c5.118

v1.c5.118

The rise of the Bhosles to power will be the theme of the next chapter. In addition to the several causes which facilitated and hastened that rise, one can doubtless notice in the ancestry of Shivaji the two traditions of royalty and independence, one handed down to him through his mother, who entertained a vivid memory of the glory of the royal rule of her Yādav ancestors; and the other reaching him through his father Shahji, who had taken his cue for his life’s exploits from the theatre of the old Vijayanagar Empire, the traditions of which could not have yet become totally lost to memory. The Bahamani kingdom although Muslim in character, was not able to destroy or obliterate these old lingering traditions; the actual sway of the Vijayanagar Empire over Mahārāshtra, over, for instance, Karhad, Sangameshwar, Prabhavali and other places is still preserved in the anecdotes of Dado Narasinh and the colonization effected by the black and the white Khojas.²² Shivaji’s father performed his life’s work in the old Vijayanagar territories as the sequel will show.