10 Excavating Identity through Tradition Who was Shivaji? ANANYA VAJPEYI Introduction Shivaji (CE 1630–80) came from a family by the name Bhosa_ le, native to northern and central Maharashtra for several generations before him. His father and grandfather served one or the other from among the rulers of the neighbouring kingdoms of Ahmadnagar and Bijapur (both in the Deccan plateau) and the Mughal emperor in north India, by raising armies and collecting revenue from lands assigned to them. As landholders and warlords, the Bhosa_ les enjoyed a reasonably high social status. This social status was tied to their j" ati (the localized endogamous kin group to which they belonged), called ‘Mar" a_ th" a’. Being Mar" a_ th" a encompassed three im- portant features of their identity and activity: control over land, martial prowess, and a connection to the linguistic-cultural region of Maharashtra. From this background, Shivaji inherited his father’s ties of subordinat- ion and service to various Muslim kings. However, slowly but steadily, through battle, conquest, resistance, massive exercises in fort-building, as well as a series of strategic alliances and conflicts with rulers all across south India, the western coast, the Deccan, and the Mughal empire, he carved out an independent sphere of territorial and military control for himself. When he had, over the course of twenty-five years, established his power on par with if not exceeding that of his former masters, he decided to confirm his attainments by formally assuming the title of a king. To do this, he planned a ritual of royal consecration (r" aj" abhi] seka), in CE 1674. It is at this juncture that the story of Shivaji takes a curious turn. For he felt that before he could be king, he had to establish an unassailable