In this episode, I am going to review the book titled "The Legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji – From Kingdom to Empire 1600 - 1818" written by Dr. Kedar Mahadevrao Phalke.
This book is originally published in Marathi and is named as शिवछत्रपतींचा वारसा स्वराज्य ते साम्राज्य १६००- १८१८.
The printed price of this book is Rs. 800/- but at the time of recordng this podcast, it is available at a discount for just Rs. 650/- at the official store of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. As a way of saying thanks to you, I am also giving a free copy of this book to one lucky subscriber on our Facebook page at facebook.com/historylogy
Coming up: A book review of 'The Legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji – From Kingdom to Empire 1600 - 1818' written by Dr. Kedar Mahadevrao Phalke.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
In this episode, I am going to review the book titled "The Legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji – From Kingdom to Empire 1600 - 1818" written by Dr. Kedar Mahadevrao Phalke. This book is originally published in Marathi and is named as शिवछत्रपतींचा वारसा स्वराज्य ते साम्राज्य १६००- १८१८.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author. Dr. Kedar Phalke is a historian of medieval India who has written about 5-6 books on the Maratha History. Dr. Phalke has got his Doctorate on the topic of: Administrative System of Chhatrapati Shivaji - Relevance to Modern Management. And also done a post doctoral on "Economy of the Maratha Kingdom".
Coming back to the book, The Legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Kingdom to Empire 1600-1818 contains history from Chhatrapati Shivaji to the Peshwa period based on primary and secondary sources.
Through this book, the author has stated that the 200-year Maratha history is actually the expanse of the entire Indian history of that period. After Babur’s victory, Sultan after Sultan won many battles so much so that the common people started thinking that Moghuls were invincible. All that changed after Chhatrapati Shivaji, who not only won battles against Moghuls, but the Maratha's established its supremacy on the seas with its naval fleet too. Some illustrious kings who succeeded Shivaji were role models in decentralization. The Maratha’s contribution to the nation is immense, especially in the last few hundred years. The Marathas were indeed the builders of modern India as we know the nation today. Shivaji Charitra continues to inspire us all today.
Some of the things you will come to know about after reading this book:
- What was the scene before the advent of Chhatrapati Shivaji
- What was the Watandari system
- Shivaji Maharaj in Agra and his escape route back to Maharashtra
- Battle for Sinhagad fort
- Battle at Salher
- About Chhatrapati Sambhaji and Chhatrapati Rajaram
- The dream of conquering Delhi
- Maharani Tararani
- End of Aurangzeb
- Era of Shahu Maharaj
- Nadirshah's loot of Delhi
- Treaty of Vasai
- Ahadnama of 1752
- Reasons for the defeat of the Marathas at Panipat
- The rise of Madhavrao Peshwa
- Clauses of the treaty of Salbai
- Relation between the Marathas and Southern Powers
- Goal of the Marathas to free the Hindu pilgrim cities of Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura and Prayag.
- Decline of the Maratha Empire and why they eventually lost to the British
- State of the Economy and faults in the military structure, administration, reforms in agriculture, economic system, administration of forts, judicial system, land revenue system
- Difference between buildings built by the Marathas and the Mughals
- Position of female rulers in the Maratha Empire
- End of Islamic Imperialism
- How the Marathas became creators of Modern India
As you can see from the range of topics covered, this is a very ambitious book and is the author is largely successful in his mission. He has done a fabulous job in covering the events and happenings from the year 1600 to 1818 in a very fast paced manner in approximately 350 pages. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to understand the contribution of the Marathas in India's history and its relevance to the modern times. I give this book 4.5/5.
The printed price of this book is Rs. 800/- but at the time of recoridng this podcast, it is available at a discount for just Rs. 650/- at the official store of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. As a way of saying thanks to you, I am also giving a free copy of this book to one lucky subscriber on our Facebook page at facebook.com/historylogy
Last but not the least, thank you for spending your valuable time listening to this book review. Really grateful. Please don't forget to subscribe to the Historylogy podcast on your favourite podcasting app and also feel free to leave a review. Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you.
Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji!