Shivaji: The Great Maratha
About this eBook
'The epic text of Ranjit Desai's Shriman Yogi finds new voice in Vikrant Pande's nuanced translation, an immersive narrative of the foundations of the Maratha empire and the saga of its charismatic founder.' - Namita Gokhale. Young Shivaji reaches Pune, a dying fort city, with his mother Jijabai and lights the first lamp within its ruins. While his father Shahaji Bhosle is away on deputation by the Adil Shah sultanate after having failed in a revolt against it, Shivaji learns how an empire is built from the ground up. Thus begins the life of the Great Maratha. What awaits Shivaji is nothing short of the vast scroll of history, and it takes him from Surat to Thanjavur and all the way to Aurangzeb's durbar in Agra. He dreams of freeing his land from the clutches of Mughal rule, and though he suffers many defeats and personal losses along the way he never gives up his vision of Hindavi Swaraj. Amidst political intrigue and a chain of skirmishes, Shivaji becomes a leader, a warrior and a tactician par excellence, driven by immense pride and love for his motherland.
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About the author
Ranjit Desai (8 April 1928-6 March 1992) was born in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. Biographical novels were his forte. His most famous works are Morpankhi Sawalya, Shriman Yogi and Swami, based on the life of Madhavrao Peshwa, the third Peshwa. He won the Maharashtra Rajya Award (1963), Hari Narayan Apte Award (1963), the Sahitya Akademi Award (1964) and the Padmshri from the Government of India (1973).
Vikrant Pande has translated twelve Marathi bestsellers into English. His translation of Girish Kuber's book Tatayan (The Tatas: How a Family Built a Business and a Nation) won the prestigious Gaja Capital Best Business Book award in 2019. His book on the history of State Bank of India The SBI Story: Two Centuries of Banking (2021) has been received well. He has translated and written original pieces for Storytel, an audio book company. Vikrant is a graduate of IIM Bangalore, and a full-time writer now.
