Chhatrapati Shivaji 1980
A commemorative postage stamp on the 300th Death Anniversary of the Maratha Emperor, Chhatrapati Shri Sivaji Maharaj :
Issued by India
Issued on Apr 21, 1980
Issued for : The Indian P & T Department joins the nation in paying homage to the memory of this great son of India by issuing a commemorative postage stamp.
Description of Design : The stamp shows Shivaji against the background of Raigad Fort.
The First Day Cover depicts an artist’s impression of coronation of Shivaji.
Cancellation shows a shield used in India during 17th century.
Type : Stamp, Postal Used
Colour : Multicolour
Denomination : 30 Paise
Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.
Printing size : 3.55 x 2.54 cms.
Number per issue sheet : 35
Name : Shivaji Bhonsle
Born on Feb 19, 1630 at Shivneri Fort [now in Pune district, Maharashtra, India]
Died on Apr 3, 1680 at Raigad Fort, Raigad, Maratha Empire [now in Maharashtra, India]
About :
- Three hundred years ago a meteor illumined the firmament over the Sahayadris in Maharashtra. Shivaji, who shook the very foundations of the Moghul Empire of Aurangzeb, was born in 1630 at Shivneri, a hill fortress in the Pune district of Maharashtra. According to some historians the year of birth is 1627. His father Shahji Bhonsle was a doughty warrior. Jijabai, his mother was a person of austere and spiritual temperament. Throughout Shivaji‘s life, his mother was the guiding spirit. She instilled in him a passionate attachment to what is right and just, a burning pride in the glorious past of the country and an abiding faith in his life’s mission to carve out an independent kingdom.
- His career of daring military exploits started at the age of 19 when he occupied Torana. In quick succession he captured several forts, fortified others and brought the surrounding countryside under his banner. He also succeeded in uniting the scattered forces of the Maratha chieftains in the neighbourhood. He defeated the Adil Shahi forces sent out against him through a series of guerilla moves. His activities brought down the wrath of the Emperor of Delhi and the Mughal arms advanced against him. Shivaji succeeded in checking the tide of Mughal invasion. After many adventures on land and water he became the master of an extensive territory. In a resplendent ceremony in 1674 in the fortress of Raigad fort, Shivaji‘s formal coronation took place. He passed away in 1680.
