Cultural revival and the Maratha women

Shivaji's cultural policy can be seen on one object: his seal.

It carried a Sanskrit inscription, a clear break from the Persian seals common then: "This seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the son of Shahji, waxing like the new moon, revered by the world, reigns for the welfare of the people."

A seal stamps every official document. Changing its language changes how the state looks on every page it sends out.

He also had the Rājya-Vyavahāra-Koṣha written, to promote Marathi. It was a word list (a treatise) giving Sanskrit words to use instead of the Persian words then common in diplomacy, and the share of foreign borrowed words in Maratha diplomacy fell considerably.

A devout Hindu who respected other religions while keeping his own, he rebuilt damaged temples and promoted Sanskrit and Marathi literature, religious institutions and traditional arts. His saffron flag was adopted by all Marathas. For letters, the Marathas used the Moḍī script, a cursive (joined-up) form of Devanagari.

But the chapter says his greatest cultural contribution was a demonstration: that mighty kingdoms and empires could be defeated, and that Marathas could keep, expand and run an empire of their own.

His example kept working after him. The Bhonsles of Nagpur supported local culture, and the worship of Lord Jagannath at Puri, often interrupted under Mughal rule, was revived with Maratha support.

The chapter singles out two women. Tarabai, the warrior queen who led the northward expansion. And Ahilyabai Holkar, who governed for thirty years after losing her husband and son. She built and restored hundreds of temples, ghats, wells and roads from Kedarnath to Rameswaram, rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath temple destroyed by Aurangzeb and the Somnath temple destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni, and promoted the Maheshwar weaving industry, whose handloom crafts still thrive.