Who was Samarth Ramdas and what was his relationship with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?

Who was Samarth Ramdas and what was his relationship with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?

Subject: History

Section: Personality 

Context: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has demanded an “unconditional apology” from Jaggi Vasudev of the Isha Foundation for a video in which he is seen making the claim that Saint Samarth Ramdas was Maratha Ruler Chhatrapati Shivaj’s guru.

What do historians say about this?

Most historians agree that the issue of calling Samarth Ramdas the guru of Chhatrapati Shivaji is to do with the maintenance of Brahmanical supremacy and that there is no historical evidence to verify the fact

To take credit for the work of Shivaji Maharaj, the Brahmanical system installed Ramdas as guru of Shivaji Maharaj. But the contemporary important historical texts do not even mention him.

Who was Samarth Ramdas?

• Samarth Ramdas (1608 – 1681), also known as Sant Ramdas or Ramdas Swami, was a Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer and spiritual master
• A devotee of Lord Ram and Hanuman, he toured the entire Indian subcontinent for 12 years, during which he came across various spiritual teachers and diverse religious traditions
• Ramdas has influenced Hindu nationalist thinkers across the years. The likes of Lokmanya Tilak, RSS founder KB Hedgewar, and VD Savarkar, all claimed to have been inspired by the 17th century saint
• Ramdas had extensive literature written during his lifetime. His literary works include Dasbodh, Karunashtakas, Sunderkand, Yuddhakand, Poorvarambh, Antarbhav, Aatmaaram, Chaturthman, Panchman, Manpanchak, Janaswabhawgosavi, Panchsamasi, Saptsamasi, Sagundhyan, Nirgundhyan, Junatpurush, Shadripunirupan, Panchikaranyog, ManacheShlok and Shreemad
• Unlike the saints subscribing to Warkari tradition, Ramdas is not considered to embrace pacifism. His writings include strong expressions encouraging militant means to counter the barbaric Islamic invaders.
• Ramdas was a proponent of Dvaita, a philosophy first proposed by the 13th-century Indian philosopher, Madhvacharya. Ramdas was an exponent of Bhakti Yoga or the path of devotion

Additional Information:

• Shivaji was born in Shivner near Junnar. He was the son of ShahjiBhonsleby his first wife Shahji was a descendant of the Yadava rulers of Devagiri from his mother’s side and the Sisodias of Mewar on his father’s side
• On 6 June 1674, Shivaji was crowned at He assumed the title of “Chhatrapathi” (metaphor for “supreme king ”)
• The relentless campaigns affected Shivaji’s health. He died in 1680 at the age of 53. At the time of his death, Shivaji’s kingdom comprised the Western Ghats and the Konkan between Kalyan and Goa. The provinces in the south included western Karnataka extending from Belgaum to the bank of Tungabhadra.
• Contemporaries: Tuka Ram was a contemporary of Maratha Shivaji and saints like Eknath  was regarded by Shivaji as his guru. He had conflict with the Mughals (1670) at Aurangazeb reign

Administration

• Shivaji divided the kingdom into four provinces, each under a viceroy. The provinces were divided into a number of Pranths.
• This council of eight ministers was known as Ashta Pradhan. Its functions were advisory. Mukhya Pradhan or Peshwaor prime minister, The Amatya or finance minister, The Walkia-Nawis or Mantri,Summant or Dabiror foreign secretary, Sachiv or ShuruNawis or home secretary,Pandit Rao or Danadhyaksha or Sadar and Muhtasib or ecclesiastical head, Nyayadhish or chief justice, Sari Naubat or commander-in-chief
• Shivaji collected two taxes, Chauth and Sardeshmukhi, from the adjoining territories of his empire, the Mughal provinces and the territories of the Sultan of Bijapur. Chauth was one-fourth of the revenue of the district conquered by the Marthas. Sardeshmukhi was an additional 10% of the revenue which Shivaji collected by virtue of his position as Sardeshmukh.
• The infantry was divided into regiments, brigades. The smallest unit with nine soldiers was headed by a Naik (corporal). Each unit with 25 horsemen was placed under one havildar (equivalent to the rank of a sergeant). Over five havildars were placed under one jamaladar and over ten jamaladars under one hazari. Sari Naubat was the supreme commander of cavalry.
• The cavalry was divided into two classes: the bargirs (soldiers whose horses were given by the state) and the shiledars (mercenary horsemen who had to find their own horses). There were water-carriers and farriers too