SHAHJI - ONE OF THE BEST KINGS OF ALL TIME ....who maintained his own kingdom in a tricky way....

Shahaji Raje Bhosle was a Maratha general. He was an early exponent of guerilla warfare. He was the eldest son of Maloji Bhosale of Verul (present-day Ellora, Maharashtra). He brought the house of Bhosle into prominence. The princely states of Tanjore, Kolhapur and Satara are Bhosle legacies. He was father of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire.

Islamic ruler Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur, appointed Hindus to key positions and changed the official court language from Persian to Marathi.

Maloji was childless for a long time. Two sons were born to him after seeking blessings from a famous Sufi pir of the time, named Hazrat Shah Sharifji. In honour of the pir, Maloji named his sons Shahaji and Sharifji.Maloji was a capable soldier and eventually became Sar Giroh and was awarded independent Jagir of Pune & Supe districts in the court of Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar.
Shahaji was an extremely ambitious and capable general. At a young age, Shahaji had achieved a lot. He was well known not only for his military and leadership skills but also as a Man who kept his word. He had not lost a single battle in his entire life which made him the prominent Maratha legend who was treated even at par with Nizam and Adilshah.

Shahaji had defeated quite a number of eminent commanders of Mughals, Adilshah and Nizamshah. Shahaji was prominent in the whole of Hindustan (India) for he had not lost a single battle in his lifetime and had always prevailed no matter what the circumstances. Mughal, Adil, Nizam Sultanates were leaving no stone unturned to get Maharaja Shahaji on their side. When Shahaji was serving in the Adilshahi court, he was awarded the title of Farzand (someone placed much higher than a chief commanding an army of 10,000) which was equivalent to the designation of a Prince. Thus, Shahaji was highly revered in the Adilshahi court.