Jijabai Bhonsle (January 12, 1598 – June 17, 1674), also known as Rajmata, was the mother of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. She was the daughter of Sindkhed Raja’s Lakhujirao Jadhav.
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Jijabai, also known as Rajmata Jijabai, is the mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha kingdom. Shivaji’s mother, a national and religious protector. She was his tutor from a young age, and she helped him develop his ideas. She showed self-respect. That great mother suffered quietly while inspiring her valiant kid. The fact that a mother was the first guru and that the entire heaven is said to be beneath her holy feet can be used to establish a mother’s true significance in a person’s life. Jijabai, a mother and gutsy woman, was his best friend, mentor, and source of inspiration. She never lost her bravery or patience in the face of adversity.. In the face of challenges and adversity, she never lost bravery and patience. She instilled in her kid moral principles and morals. She raised her son as a strong defender of Hindu civilization, and he became known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Early Life
Jijabai was born in the village of Sindkher on January 12, 1598. Mahalasabai Jadhav was her mother, while Lakhuji Jadhav was her father. Lakhuji Jadhav was from Deulgaon, which is adjacent to Sindkhed in Maharashtra’s modern Buldhana district. He was brave, aspirational, and patriotic all at the same time. He was proud of his family and lineage without being excessively clannish. After being struck by his outstanding qualities, the Nizam appointed him as leader of an army. Jijabai was not only beautiful, but she was also endowed with many virtues; her personality was a lovely synth. Jijabai was Lakhuji Jadhav’s only child, and she married Shahaji Bhosle, the village of Verul’s Maloji Bhosle, when she was only eight years old, in accordance with the traditions of the time. The wedding took place in Sindkhed on November 5, 1605. Jijabai was eight years old, and her husband was about to turn twelve. Jijabai stayed with her parents for a time before marrying, as was traditional at the time.esis of her mother’s virtues and her father’s bravery and pride. Maloji Bhonsle, Jijabai’s father-in-law, started his military career as a shilledar working under her father, Lakhujirao Jadhav. Due to the disparity in the backgrounds and social standing of the two families, her father was not pleased with his daughter’s marriage. Jijabai gave birth to up to eight children for Shahaji (six daughters and two sons). Only the two sons, Sambhaji and Shivaji, survived into adulthood, but all of the daughters passed away infancy. The older son was Sambhaji, while the younger was Shivaji. Jijabai welcomed a co-wife into her home in 1630, three years after Shivaji was born, when Shahaji wed Tukabai. Shahaji was a devoted, fearless, and brave Maratha Sardar. He wanted to create a Swaraj for himself. He began his career working for the Nizamshahi. He made an effort to defend the Nizamshahi against the Adilshahi and Mughal armies. But he was powerless against the combined Adilshahi and Mughal forces. Shahaji rose to the rank of Sardar in the Adilshahi court following the abolition of the Nizamshahi. As per the provisions of the treaty, he was made Jagir of Bengaluru and was compelled to relocate there. Shahaji gave Shivaji a first-rate education while he and Jijabai were in Bengaluru. Sambhaji was with his father Shahaji in Karnataka while Jijabai moved to Pune with young Shivaji and a select group of friends. Nijamshah of Ahmadnagar and Adilshah of Bijapur ruled over a sizable portion of Maharashtra during that time. These two kings were in constant conflict to establish their dominion over various regions of Maharashtra. Along the Konkan coast, Siddis, Portuguese, British, Dutch, and French monarchs coexist alongside these other powers. There were numerous outstanding Maratha sardars, but they all worked for the Adishah or the Nizamshah. They were preoccupied with their own jagirs and were at odds with one another. Jijabai was dissatisfied with the fact that her father and husband both worked for the Muslim sultans. She had always imagined a sovereign kingdom. In his royal court, Nijamshah deceitfully killed Jijabai’s father Lakhuji Jadhav and his sons. This tragedy left Jijabai with lasting effects.
Jijabai as an inspiration
Jijabai was a wise and devout woman who had a clear vision for a sovereign kingdom. As Shivaji grew older, he started his struggle for freedom. He took control of the Thorangadh fort at the tender age of sixteen. Shivaji would always contact his mother before making any significant decisions. It is widely believed that Jijabai raised Shivaji in a way that contributed to his future grandeur. She told stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata to motivate Shivaji. Jijau used to teach Shivaji about the lives of Shriram, Maruti, and Shrikrishna from a young age in order to instil in him a sense of patriotism and piety. She planted the seeds of patriotism in him from an early age. She instilled in him a variety of virtues like bravery, modesty, honesty, and fearlessness. She served as his inspiration for starting Hindavi Swaraj. Jijabai’s contribution to Shivaji’s impeccable character and courage is significant. Jijau contributed to Shivaji’s development as an ideal administrator and tyrant. Jijabai was an inspiration to Shivaji’s associates because she treated them as if they were her own son. She felt tremendously sorry, like a mother, when valiant Maratha soldiers fell one after another after battling heroically for their motherland. She was absolutely broken after the death of Shivaji’s brother Sambhaji Maharaj and her husband. On June 17, 1674, in the village of Pachad, she died shortly after Shivaji’s coronation. Shivaji was devastated by her death; she was not only Shivaji’s mother, but also a source of inspiration. Jijabai has navigated life on her own; she married at the age of seven. She absorbed and adapted to the Bhonsale family’s rituals and traditions the moment she stepped into their home. She had made a firm commitment in life to raise Shivaji to be an exemplary king, one who would uphold the values of secularism, whose subjects would have enough to live on, and in whose reign the female species would be treated with honour and respect. Shivaji helped her realise a long-held desire.
