Shivaji I was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha Confederacy. In 1674, he was formally crowned the Chhatrapati of his realm at Raigad Fort.
Panhala is a city and a Hill station Municipal Council 18 km northwest of Kolhapur, in Kolhapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Panhala is the smallest city in Maharashtra and being a Municipal Council the city is developing rapidly. The city sprawls in the Panhala fort commands a panoramic view of the valley below. The main historical attraction here is the Panhala fort. There are many places of interest, each with its share of haunting anecdotes.
Baji Prabhu Deshpande was a general of the Maratha Army. He is known for his role in the Battle of Pavan Khind at Ghod Khind, where he sacrificed his life defending Shivaji Maharaj from incoming Adil Shahi forces of Siddi Johar. He also was a landlord or Vatandar in the Maval region.
The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Confederacy, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary after the death of Shahu in 1749. During the reign of Shahu, the office of Peshwa grew in power and the Peshwas came to be the de facto rulers of the Maratha Confederacy. However following the defeat of the Marathas in 1761, the office of the Peshwa became titular as well and from that point onwards served as the ceremonial head of the Confederacy underneath the Chhatrapati.
Murarbaji Deshpande was a general in the early Maratha Empire during the reign of Chatrapati Shivaji. He is best remembered for his defense of the Purandar Fort against Dilir Khan, a Mughal general who accompanied Jai Singh I in the 17th-century siege on Purandar.
Kamalgad, also called Bhelanja or Kattalgad is a square hill fort in Wai Taluka in Maharashtra, India.
Panhala fort, is located in Panhala, 20 kilometres northwest of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India. It is strategically located looking over a pass in the Sahyadri mountain range which was a major trade route from Bijapur in the interior of Maharashtra to the coastal areas. Due to its strategic location, it was the centre of several skirmishes in the Deccan involving the Marathas, the Mughals and the British the grand son's of chhatrapati shivaji maharaj East India Company, the most notable being the Battle of Pavan Khind. Here, the queen regent of Kolhapur, Tarabai Ranisaheb, spent her formative years. Several parts of the fort and the structures within are still intact. It is also called as the 'Fort of Snakes' as it is zigzagged in shape.
Bahirji Naik,, was a 17th century Maratha spy and head of intelligence department in the army of Shivaji. Bahirji was honoured with title of "Naik" (transl. Chief) by King Shivaji due to his great work.
Chinmay Mandlekar is an Indian actor, writer and stage director, mostly active in the Marathi entertainment industry. He is known for his work in Zenda, Morya, Farzand (2018), Fatteshikast (2019), The Kashmir Files (2022) and Pawankhind (2022). He has also completed many episodes of a crime series as SI Rajesh Jadhav. Chinmay has been praised as a brilliant actor for the versatility of roles picked by him.
The 'Prabhu caste' or Prabhu communities are a group of related Hindu castes belonging to the former ruling caste of statesmen, bureaucrats and aristocrats of Northern districts of Konkan region in Maharashtra, India. There are four such castes, all having different ritual and social status within the caste system of Maharashtra, but all of them having traditions traced back to the 12th century which label them as endogamous subdivisions of Kshatriyas of Solar and Lunar descent. They are Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu, Pathare Prabhu, Kanchole Prabhus and the Davane Prabhu.
Fatteshikast is a 2019 Indian Marathi-language historical drama film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced under the banner of Almonds Creations in association with AA Films. The film stars Chinmay Mandlekar, Mrinal Kulkarni, Sameer Dharmadhikari, along with Ankit Mohan and Mrunmayee Deshpande in supporting roles. The music of the film is composed by Devdutta Manisha Baji and the soundtrack includes devotional song of Sant Tukaram. A sequel to Farzand (2018), it is the second film in Lanjekar's Shri Shivraj Ashtak film series in an eight movies series on Maratha Empire. It was followed by the Pawankhind (2022).
Farzand is a 2018 Indian Marathi-language historical drama War film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced by Anirban Sarkar under the banner of Swami Samarth Creations LLP. The film was co-produced by Sandip Jadhav, Mahesh Jaurkar and Swapnil Potdar. The film stars Prasad Oak, Ankit Mohan, Chinmay Mandlekar, Mrinal Kulkarni, Mrunmayee Deshpande, Neha Joshi and Sameer Dharmadhikari. It's the first film of the Shri Shivraj Ashtak film series by Lanjekar in an eight part series based on Maratha Empire. It was followed by Fatteshikast in 2019.
Siddi Masud or Siddi Masood was a general in the Adilshahi sultanate and he was the son-in-law of famous general Siddi Jauhar. He went on to become the Wazir of Bijapur Sultanate during Sikandar Adil Shah's reign.
Pawankhind ; is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language historical action drama film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced under the banner of Almonds Creations in association with AA Films. The film based on the life of Maratha warrior, Baji Prabhu Deshpande, stars Chinmay Mandlekar, Mrinal Kulkarni, Ajay Purkar, Sameer Dharmadhikari, along with Ankit Mohan, Prajakta Mali and Kshitee Jog in supporting roles.
Sher Shivraj is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language historical action drama film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced by Chinmay Mandlekar, Digpal Lanjekar, Nitin Keni, Pradyot Pendharkar and Anil Warkhade. The film based on the life of Maratha king, Shivaji I where he defeated Afzal Khan with brilliant tactics and courage stars Chinmay Mandlekar in title role, Mrinal Kulkarni, Ajay Purkar, Mukesh Rishi along with Bipin Surve and Rohan Mankani in supporting roles. The film was released theatrically on 22 April 2022.
Har Har Mahadev is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language epic historical action drama film written and directed by Abhijeet Deshpande and produced by Zee Studios along with Sunil Phadtare under the banner of Shree Ganesh Marketing And Films. It stars Subodh Bhave as Shivaji I and Sharad Kelkar as Baji Prabhu Deshpande in lead while Amruta Khanvilkar, Nishigandha Wad, Sayali Sanjeev, Hardeek Joshi, Milind Shinde, Kishore Kadam, Nitish Chavan and Ashok Shinde plays important supporting roles. The film is about the inspiring story of Baji Prabhu Deshpande, a general of Shivaji I who, along with his army of 300 soldiers, fought against 12,000 Bijapuri soldiers. The film was released theatrically on 25 October 2022 and digitally in Hindi on 8 December 2022 on ZEE5.
Subhedar is a 2023 Indian Marathi-language historical drama film written and directed by Digpal Lanjekar, a fifth installment of Shivraj Ashtak tracing the life of Subedar Tanaji Malusare starring Chinmay Mandlekar, Mrinal Kulkarni, Ajay Purkar in the leading roles. The film is produced by Mulakshar Productions, Raajwarasa Productions, Prithviraj Productions, Rajau Productions, Parampara Productions, and it is distributed by AA Films and Everest Entertainment.
Shri Shivraj Ashtak is an Indian Marathi-language historical drama film series created by Digpal Lanjekar. The franchise started off with an eight-part film series written and directed by Lanjekar based on Maratha Empire. The first film Farzand released on 1 June 2018 and was followed by 6 films: Fatteshikast (2019), Pawankhind (2022), Sher Shivraj (2022), Subhedar (2023), Shivrayancha Chhava (2024).
Shivrayancha Chhava is a 2024 Indian Marathi-language historical drama film written and directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced by Malhar Picture Company. The sixth installment in Shri Shivraj Ashtak stars Bhushan Patil, Chinmay Mandlekar, Mrinal Kulkarni, Ayesha Madhukar, Sameer Dharmadhikari, and Rahul Dev. The film is revolves around Sambhaji, the son of Shivaji and the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, who ruled from 1681 to 1689. The film collected ₹11 crore at the box office and become the fifth highest-grossing Marathi film of the year.
Shivaji's Campaign of Jawali was a military engagement fought between the Maratha rebels, led by Shivaji and the Bijapur Sultanate, under the command of Chandra Rao More, in the year 1656. This battle took place near the town of Jawali, located in present-day Maharashtra, India.
Maratha Army 
