Shahaji

Shahaji Bhonsale (; 15 March 1594 – 23 January 1664) was a 17th-century Indian military leader who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a member of the Bhonsle dynasty, Shahaji inherited the Pune and Supe jagirs (fiefs) from his father Maloji, who previously served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. During the Mughal invasion of the Deccan, Shahaji joined the Mughal forces and served under Emperor Shah Jahan for a short period. After being deprived of his jagirs, he defected to the Bijapur Sultanate in 1632 and regained control over Pune and Supe. In 1638, he received the jagir of Bangalore after Bijapur's invasion of Kempe Gowda III's territories. Afterwards, he became the chief general of Bijapur and oversaw its expansion. He was the father of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom.

== Early life == Shahaji was on 15 March 1594 to Maloji Bhosale, a Maratha warrior and nobleman who had been awarded the jagirs of Pune and Supe, Ellora, Dheradi, Kannrad and some more villages in the districts of Jafrabad, Daulatabad and Ahmadabad by Sultan Murtuza Nizamshah of Ahmadnagar. According to Shiva Digvijay, a text considered to be a modern forgery by historians such as Jadunath Sarkar and Surendra Nath Sen, Maloji's wife Umabai allegedly prayed in the tomb of Sufi Pir Shah Sharif of Ahmadnagar to be blessed with a son. Later when Maloji and Umabai settled in Devagiri, Umabai went on to give birth to two sons, first of whom was Shahaji and second one was Sharifji, born two years later. Both were named after the Pir's own titles. .