Coronation of Shivaji as Chattrapati

After returning to the deccan, Shivaji again raised an army and recaptured all the forts that he had been made to surrender to the Mughals as per the treaty of Purandar. In this phase we see the exploits of his brave general Tanaji Malusare who perished while recapturing the invincible fort of Kondana from Uday Bhan - the renegade Rajput who was the Mughal commandant of the fort. After all the forts had been recaptured, Shivaji was pursuaded by Gaga Bhatt (a brahmin from Benaras) and his mother the ageing Jijabai to formally crown himself as the king of the Marathas. The coronation took place at Raigad on the 6th of June 1674.

Shivaji Maharaj's Seal. Shivaji Maharaj was the first Hindu King to ascend a throne after a long time. During the Dark Days of Muslim Tyranny, Shivaji Maharaj was one of the very few (along with the Ranas of Mewad), to issue his own coinage. Shivaji's coinage was in Sanskrit. The coins were in two main denominations, the Shivrai made of copper was a lower denomination coin and the Hon was a gold coin of a higher denomination. To erase the memory of Shivaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb issued an order after the passing away of Shivaji Maharaj that all Hons were to be imponded and melted. That Aurang did not succeed in erazing Shivaji Maharaj's illustruous personality from our memory is another matter