In his legendary struggle to secure independence and religious freedom for his people, Sivaji became not only a symbol of Hindu strength and pride but also served as an inspiration for the Indian nationalism movement that developed in the twentieth century.
Although he came to be known just by his given name of Sivaji, the future soldier and leader was born Sivaji Bhonsle on April 6, 1627, in the Shivneri fort north of Poona in the state of Maharashtra, India. Both his mother, Jija Bai, and his father, Shanji Bhonsle, were from prominent families of the Maratha people, a race originating in the hill region of Maharashtra in west central India, but which had spread to neighboring regions in the Deccan plateau of central India as well. The Maratha had a long tradition of resistance to invaders, and Sivaji was encouraged to develop a strong and aggressive spirit by his mother, who passed on a pride of her family's position in the Hindu warrior caste. The young man's father, a kingmaker in the Moslem kingdoms of Ahmagnagar and Bijapur in the Deccan, abandoned his family soon after the birth of his son, so Sivaji was primarily influenced by his mother and a guardian, Dadaji Kondadev.
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