राजगड राजाचा, प्रतापगड जिजाबाईंचा

When the new kingdom of Swarajya came into being, the need arose for a royal seal (rajmudra) with which to authenticate state documents. For this purpose a Sanskrit verse was chosen: "Pratipaccandra-lekheva vardhishnur vishvavandita, Shahasuno: Shivasyaisha mudra bhadraya rajate" — meaning, this seal of Shivaji, son of Shahaji, though as slender at first as the newborn crescent of the moon, will grow day by day until it is revered by the whole world, and it shines for the welfare of all. What a profound meaning lies packed into this compact sentence. It expresses that Shivaji had inherited from his father the inspiration to build swarajya; that this kingdom, having begun small, would go on growing until it became a Hindu imperial power — a Hindupadpatshahi — recognized and honoured by the entire world. The welfare of the people, lokakalyan, was the true and central purpose of this whole undertaking, and the seal itself was meant to carry that entire meaning within it.

लोककल्याणकारी राजा म्हणून कीर्ती

From the very outset, the people came to know Shivaji by his conduct: he would not trouble the poor, he dispensed justice to his subjects fairly and looked after their welfare, and he directed the valor of his people toward the building of the nation rather than toward plunder for its own sake. Because this character of his became apparent to the people early on, his enterprise grew rapidly. In every undertaking he took his mother's counsel before advancing a step. As soon as the Mores of Jawali were eliminated, the people's conviction grew firm that Shivaji, and no one else, was their true king — and in exact proportion to that growing conviction, the prestige of the Muslim kingdoms around him diminished.

शिवापट्टणचा सीमोल्लंघन समारंभ (सन १६५६)

On the Dasara of 1656, at Shivapattan, the settlement at the foot of Rajgad fort, Shivaji and Jijabai held a grand ceremony of sīmollanghan, the traditional crossing of the boundary that marked the start of martial undertakings. Notable sardars and respected men from various parts of the country were gathered together; a great pavilion was raised and arrangements made for feasting all who attended. Wrestling bouts, displays of horsemanship, and exhibitions of military discipline were staged on the occasion, and after the customary worship of the shami tree, gold was distributed among those present. It was on this occasion that the army was formally organized: Shyamraj was appointed Pradhan (chief minister) and Netaji Palkar was made Sarnobat (commander-in-chief). At this gathering Shivaji rose and spoke, declaring his overall aims and purposes to the assembled company.

तुळसीदासांची उक्ती - "राजगड राजाचा, प्रतापगड जिजाबाईचा"

The poet Tulsidas's well-known saying, "Rajgad rajacha, Pratapgad Jijabaicha" — Rajgad belongs to the king, Pratapgad to Jijabai — is best understood, Sardesai explains, as referring to the kingdom that had now truly come into being, whose seat and capital was Rajgad. Since the central purpose of this kingdom was the upliftment of one's own faith, swadharmotkarsha, Jijabai took it upon herself to undertake, quite deliberately, the work of bringing back into the Hindu fold, through the prescribed rites of penance, those who had been converted to Islam. This was a task she pursued with particular resolve, seeing in it an essential part of the larger purpose for which the kingdom existed.

बजाजी निंबाळकरांची शुद्धी व सखूबाईंचा विवाह

One notable instance of this work concerned Bajaji Nimbalkar, who had earlier converted to Islam and was living at Bijapur in Muslim style and pomp. Jijabai had him brought back to Phaltan, and there, through the rites of prayaschitta, had him ritually purified and restored to Hindu society. She then went further: she gave her own daughter, Sakhubai, in marriage to Bajaji's son, Mahadaji, thereby raising anew the honour and prestige of that ancient Kshatriya house. In this whole episode was revealed Jijabai's own forward-looking wisdom and skill, exactly suited to the demands and possibilities of her age — a progressive astuteness (pragatishil kaushalya) that Sardesai singles out as characteristic of her.