About the Book: Shivaji
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the legendary seventeenth-century Maratha warrior
who audaciously took on the Mughal empire at the height of its powers under
Emperor Aurangzeb, is one of the most compelling figures of early modern India.
This book charts the dizzying story of this self-made military hero who started
out as a teenage rebel of great precocity and daring, and ended up crowning
himself king of an independent Maratha state. Especially relevant is Purandares
erudite and insightful exploration of whether Shivaji was a Hindu icon, as many
have labelled him, or a secular figure, as others have chosen to call him, or
something