Let us begin, then, the narrative biography of Shivaji, founder of the Maratha polity. (Throughout, I have kept to incidents corroborated in at least two of the most reliable bakhars or confirmable by outside sources.) The accomplishments of this extraordinarily capable and charismatic leader must always be set against the complex context laid out in the previous two chapters. The most important features of this context were as follows: (1) the near devastation of much of Maharashtra; (2) warfare between the major states of Bijapur and the Mughal Empire; (3) his father's deep involvement in Bijapur; and (4) the presence, in Maharashtra, of powerful deshmukh families whose authority was as legitimate as his.

Shivaji was born in February 1630. He was the second son of Shahji Bhonsle and Jijabai, and he was born in the hill fort of Shivneri in the northern part of the Pune district. Recall that these years of Shivaji's early childhood were ones of constant warfare and famine in Maharashtra, particularly the Pune region. Shahji, his father, was a rebel from brief Mughal service, and a Mughal army pursued him through the Ghats and down to the Konkan. Other campaigns against the Mughals followed, but Shahji's forces, reinforced by Bijapur, were generally unsuccessful against the Mughals. Shivaji and his mother moved from fort to fort. His mother's family had gone over to the Mughal side, and mother and son saw little of Shahji. It was not until 1636, when Shahji was forced to go into service with Bijapur, that Shivaji and his mother were able to settle in Pune.