New History of the Marathas v1.c8.81

v1.c8.81

Rājwāde maintained on the authority of some old papers, that the word Chhatrapati appeared to have been applied to Shivaji in 1648. Some pieces alleged to be of Sant Tukārām’s composition are found addressed to Shivaji in which the word Chhatrapati is used. Tukārām died in 1650, and if the compositions are not spurious, one must conclude that Shivaji styled himself Chhatrapati as early as that date. There are obvious difficulties in determining these points. Few authentic original papers have survived. What we now possess are copies of old papers, in which the copyists have taken liberties with the original text or unconsciously inserted their own additions. A letter of 1653 and others of many of subsequent dates, have seals of Shivaji’s Peshwa Shyāmrājpant¹⁷ and other officials, the actual words of which prove that the first phase of a full *swarājya* with the King and the necessary Ministers, was doubtless completed and announced by the year 1653, and this fact is fully corroborated by Shivaji’s own authentic letter addressed by him on 17 July 1653 to his Guru Siddheshwarbhatt Brahme of Chākan, whom probably he had employed to make spiritual invocations in his hazardous undertakings. Shivaji writes in this letter, “Through the strength of your penance my desire of establishing a kingdom has been accomplished in full measure as originally planned. Therefore I am pleased to assign to you an annuity of a cash payment from the Junnar treasury of one hundred gold hons” (Rs. 300).¹⁸ This is a definite statement and although the Kingdom mentioned in it may not be more than the patrimony of his jagir, one can conclude that Shivaji’s *Swarajya* was fully completed by the year 1653. It had to be expanded by further effort, but the first stage was completed within ten years of the capture of Sinhagad.