मोरे घराण्याचा विरोध

Once Shahaji was released in 1649, Shivaji's work proceeded with great speed, and by 1653 his independent kingdom stood firmly established; at that time he was about twenty-five years old. He had by now drawn a great many of the Maval people into his enterprise, but there were also, among his own caste-fellows, no small number who envied and opposed him. So long as his undertaking had not yet become universally known and accepted, opposition of this kind was inevitable. Chief among his opponents were those Maval deshmukhs who felt themselves obstructed or displaced by Shivaji's rise, and who accordingly became his enemies. At Javali, on the western slopes below Mahabaleshwar, lived a family of respected sardars called More, who held their position under Bijapur's authority. They considered themselves the descendants of the ancient Chandragupta Maurya and claimed Kshatriya status on that account, and they resisted Shivaji's encroachment upon their domain. As Shivaji threw off Bijapur's authority and began to call himself an independent king, appointing ministers, raising armies, assuming the title of Chhatrapati, and establishing his rule over Maval, the Mores refused to accept his authority over themselves. This thorn lodged in his side — as the saying goes, an ember carried in one's own sleeve — began to cause Shivaji real trouble, and matters at last came to a head.

विवाहप्रस्ताव व मोऱ्यांचा उर्मट जबाब

Shivaji sent envoys to open negotiations with the Mores, and among other things proposed a marriage alliance, asking for the hand of one of their daughters. The Mores, regarding the Bhosales as beneath them, refused to enter into any such marriage tie. Shivaji then sent them a further, conciliatory message: "We have established Swarajya over the Maval region and are working for the advancement of our own faith; you ought gladly to join us in this endeavour. This kingdom has been granted to us by Sri Bhavani herself. You should not go on calling yourselves 'Raje.' Do not conspire against us with Bijapur. Eat your own salt, and serve Swarajya in every way you can. Should you act wrongly instead, we will raze your Javali to the ground and place you under confinement." This proposal did not sit well with the Mores at all, and they sent back a sharp and defiant answer: "Who calls you king? You are a mere upstart of yesterday — what kingdom do you actually have? Does sitting at home and calling yourself Raje make you one? Come to Javali, and you will leave it a corpse. Come and fight us here in earnest, at Javali, and you will learn exactly how you will be trapped and undone! Not one of your men will leave here alive. If you meant to come tomorrow, come today instead. We are the true kings of this country. Our support is Sri Mahabaleshwar himself, by whose grace alone we rule. The Badshah has honoured us with the very title of Raje, with a throne, and with the royal peacock-feather fan; for generation after generation we have enjoyed this honour. Beyond this, you had best not come near us. Speak our name again, and you will live to regret it — think this over carefully."

जावळीवर स्वारी व मोऱ्यांचा पराभव

With this exchange, the matter came to a decisive head, and open confrontation became unavoidable. Shivaji had a strong personal wish not to draw the sword against fellow Marathas of his own community, but if he did not subdue them, the whole enterprise of Swarajya would have had to be abandoned outright. The Mores' contempt for Shivaji as a man of low standing stung him deeply; though the Mores were Kshatriyas by birth, Shivaji now had to prove that he himself was a Kshatriya by valour. His mother Jijabai, together with Sonopant Dabir, Netaji Palkar, and Naropant Hanmante, gathered and deliberated at length, and having resolved firmly on a course of action, sent a final message to the Mores through Krishnarao: "Set aside the royal fan, give up the title of Raje, come to us with your hands bound in a cloth as servants seeking pardon — or else be prepared to be killed, every one of you." This whole episode lays bare the essential character of Shivaji's statecraft, and shows, better than almost any other, what the founding of Swarajya truly meant in practice. An old account known as the "Moryanchi Bakhar" has been published, which sets out in proper detail exactly how this affair unfolded. True to his word, Shivaji at once sent his forces against Javali and overthrew the Mores, seizing the fort and their entire territory. Four of their leading men — Hanmantrao, Krishnarao, Yashwantrao, and Suryarao — were killed in the fighting; Baji Rao More alone escaped, fleeing to take refuge with Bijapur, where he continued to work and intrigue against Shivaji for many years thereafter. The Mores had traditionally held the hereditary title of "Chandrarao." The hill of Raigad had likewise been under their control; this territory now passed to Shivaji, and it was here, later, after his safe return from captivity under the Mughal emperor, that Shivaji gave up Rajgad and made Raigad the permanent capital of his kingdom.

प्रतापगड व मोहिमेचा समारोप

Of all the episodes in Shivaji's life, this affair of the Mores is the single instance in which his overall character shows a streak of stark and unmistakable ruthlessness. Yet the founding of a kingdom such as Swarajya, Sardesai observes, could hardly be accomplished without some measure of injustice and harsh dealing along the way. Soon afterward, near Javali, Shivaji built a new fort and named it Pratapgad; there he installed the goddess Bhavani, and it was at this fort that he often came to reside, frequently accompanied by his mother. With the fall of the Mores, Shivaji's authority became firmly settled on every side, and his further work proceeded thereafter without serious hindrance. The affair with the Mores came to a head in 1655 and was brought to its conclusion within some six months. It was precisely to answer the Mores' refusal to acknowledge him as a Kshatriya that Shivaji, at his later coronation, assumed the special title "Kshatriyakulavatans" — the crest-jewel of the entire Kshatriya race.