A 350 year old connection of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Pandit Laxmikant Dixit performing Pran Pratishtha of Ram Mandir Ayodhya

22nd January 2024 will witness the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a ritual performed by Pandit Laxmikant Dixit as a head priest and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the mukhya yajman or the main host. Laxmikant Dixit is the direct descendant of Gaga Bhatt who performed the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj on 6 June 1674, exactly 350 years ago. 

It was Gaga Bhatt who convinced Shivaji to perform the ritual of Indrabhisheka as per the rituals mentioned in Rigveda. 

After the coronation, Gaga Bhatt described Shivaji as Paudh Pratap Purandhar Kshatriya Kulavantas Sinhasanadhishwar Mahaajadhiraj Shiv Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. 

Let us go beyond the history school textbooks and understand the meaning of this epic event which happened 350 years ago and why we need to study and understand it today.

Terminology used

As a precursor to what we are going to discuss let us get a glimpse of a few terms which have been used.

Indrabhisheka – A coronation ceremony performed by Kings in ancient India as per procedure mentioned in Aitareya Brahmana section of Rigveda. It is basically a religious ritual or procedure.

Shivrajbhushan – A poem written by the poet Bhushan explaining the lineage and genealogy of Shivaji Maharaj. Those days poems and songs were an important way of spreading the word of the king.

Chhatrapati or Shivchhatrapati – Shivaji was crowned with this title which meant King of Kings or Kings of the Kshatriyas. It was a symbolic title presented to the king who protected his people on 6th June 1674 at Raigad Fort. 

Epic migration of Six Deshastha Brahmin families to Kashi

The earliest mention of a Maratha Brahmin in Kashi is in 1590 when Narayan Bhatt assisted Todarmal in rebuilding the Kashi Vishwanath Temple destroyed by Sikandar Lodhi. The ancestors of Narayan Bhatt were the legendary six brahmin families which left Pattan in Maharashtra on foot to Kashi. It was not an easy journey those days. The exact reason for migration is not known. But what is well known is that this ancient link of Maharashtra with Kashi continues to be responsible for many historically important events related to Hinduism.

Narayan Bhatt himself was a great scholar of Hindu scriptures. His son Ramakrsna Bhatt together with Divakara Bhatt along with their brothers and sons were also great scholars. It was Vishweshvara Bhatt, the great grandson of Narayana Bhatt who first noticed the achievement of Shivaji Maharaj. Historians believe that when Shivaji saw the destruction of Hindu temples in Kashi he began renewed confrontation with the Mughals in 1670.

Following the summons of Aurangzeb, Shivaji decided to visit his court as part of a diplomacy plan. Aurangzeb used this opportunity to humiliate Shivaji by making his stand far behind his other generals. An angered Shivaji leaves the court and is immediately placed under house arrest on 12th May 1666. Shivaji then plans his escape in one of the most epic stories of modern times. He escapes in sweet boxes on 17th August 1666. It took 60 days for Shivaji Maharaj to reach the safety of Raigad. He arrives there disguised as a Sadhu. He first moved to Mathura and then it is believed that he went to Kashi or Benares. His escape route was planned and executed by the Brahmin families of Maharashtra who had settled in Kashi. During his stay at Kashi, Shivaji comes to know about the brutality of Mughals towards Hindu religion and destruction of religious sites at Mathura and Kashi.

Between 1670 to 1674, Shivaji carried out a series of campaigns against the Mughals. The Marathi Brahmin connection with Kashi and the campaigns of Shivaji Maharaj ensured that subsequent Maratha rulers and Peshwas carried out a series of constructions and renovations along the ghats of Varanasi, playing a major role in restoring the glory of the spiritual capital of India.

Events leading to the coronation of Shivaji

What you are about to read next is not usually found in the history text books of schools. Gaga Bhatt is the one single person who set things into motion which culminated in the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj. Gaga Bhatt was convinced that Shivaji is the right person to crowned a Chhatrapati. However there were two problems, first one was that only Kshatriyas can be crowned Kings as per the Vedic traditions. Secondly the last time a king was coronated was a long long time ago. Infact the hordes of invaders from foreign lands had kept the local kings quite busy and the old dynasties had all but disintegrated.

Gaga Bhatt first appears in the historical records in 1640 where he is mentioned as being part of a group of Brahmins who had assembled at Kashi to decide the rights of a Shende Golak family. Brahmins were the custodians of knowledge and information and were regularly summoned by even kings to resolve wide range of disputes.

Later Gaga Bhatt visits Maharashtra to pray at their ancestral temple of Aai Bhawani at Pattan in 1663. That was almost 10 years before the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj in 1674! When Shivaji comes to know the presence of Gaga Bhatt in Maharashtra, he invites the great pandit to head a congregation of pandits in Rajapur to decide the status of Shenvi people whether they were Brahmins or Gowdas. This assembly takes place in April 1664 and the praise of Shivaji by Gaga Bhatt is recorded in the proceedings of the meeting. Soon afterwards Gaga Bhatt returns to Kashi but not before understanding how Shivaji had transformed the Deccan plateau with his just rule and exploits at war. Historians also agreed that the idea of coronation of Shivaji was discussed between the two the same year, 1664.

After his escape from Agra in 1666, Shivaji spends the next few year planning for the massive invasion against Mughals. He challenges the greatest empire in the world and wages successful war with them. Aurangzeb refuses to accept defeat and instead appoints Bahadur Khan as the person to defeat Shivaji and dispatches him with a large army to Deccan. A massive Mughal Army meets the Maratha Army at Salher Fort near Nashik in Feb 1672. The Mughal army consisted of cavalry, artillery and infantry. Shivaji send light cavalry against the Mughal. The battle lasted one whole day and resulted in complete rout of the Mughal army. Nearly 10,000 men were killed from both sides. This was a massive victory for Shivaji who till now only confronted Mughals through guerrilla warfare with much smaller forces.

Such is the impact and magnitude of the victory that Sant Ramdas describes Shivaji as Gajpati (Lord of Elephants), Haypati (Lord of Cavalry), Gadpati (Lord of Forts), and Jalpati (Master of the High Seas).

History widely considers the victory of Battle of Salher as the direct reason for the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj which happens after two years.

Coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji

The coronation was a massive event and one of the most important event in the history of India. Months of preparation went into the runup to the actual day. Around 20000 Brahmins were invited from all over the country to provide blessings to the about to be crowned king. One lakh people had gathered in and around Raigad. They were dignitaries of neighbouring states, foreign diplomats, business men, merchants and other people. The coronation ritual went on for around four months. Each day there was a ritual performed in the morning. Since the last coronation was done hundreds of years ago, no one knew the exact procedure. The Brahmins studied the religious text books and then gave their advice on the next ritual. The guests were welcome to be part of the rituals. That is why all the people who had come to Raigad were give proper accommodation for their stay by Shivaji.

As per the records the following ceremonies were performed.

One of the ritual was to visit the temples and perform pooja. Shivaji returned to Raigad after completing his visit on 12 May 1674. Later on 16 May he went to visit the Bhavani Mata Temple at Pratapgad and offered a gold umbrella. 21 May he visited Rajgad and performed another ritual there. The final pooja was on 28th May. Thread ceremony (Upananyana) was performed on 29th May 1674.

On the day of the coronation Shivaji wakes up early in the morning and performs bathing rituals. Gaga Bhatt and the other priests await for him dressed in their finest. Shivaji arrives in white clothes with garland of flowers. Shivaji is seated on a gold platform with his wife and son and water from various rivers is poured on his head as a part of a ritual. Next he wears a red dress with jewels, ornaments and garlands. He also wears a royal crown and worships his sword, shield, bow and arrow. The next stage of the ritual is the actual coronation which happens in the main hall. Here after seating on the throne, Gaga Bhatt places a pearl crown on his head and proclaims him “Shivchhatrapati”. After the crowning there is a procession of guests who give him gifts and greetings. This part of the coronation goes on till the next morning after which he goes around Raigad in a procession of elephants. Post coronation he again visits the temples around Raigad.

Pandit Gaga Bhatt later wrote a detailed book on the coronation procedures.

The fascinating justification of Gaga Bhatt

Here is what Gaga Bhatt said after he visited the court of Shivaji.

There is no valour left in the warriors of the Suryavansham and Chandravansham dynasty. The earth is being overrun by Yavanas who have removed the various kings of India. (He was referring to the foreign muslim invaders). The great shrines of India have been destroyed, Brahma Dharma is in danger, Kshatriyas have forgotten their duty and it is you (Shivaji) who has been able to maintain a large standing army to protect your kingdom. You have defeated the great Aurangzeb (referring to the Battle of Salher).

However despite all these achievements, you are still without a consecrated throne (here is the first mention of consecration). It is my wish along with many other people of India that you be crowned a king under a royal umbrella. That will enable me and other kings to salute you. A king without a formal coronation is a king with no honour. By the act of coronation itself, it will be the final insult to complete the humiliation of Aurangzeb. Can you give permission for your coronation?

With his justification taken care of, Gaga Bhatt then went about investigating the lineage of Shivaji. Shivaji’s grandfather Maloji Bhosale was considered to be a descendant of Kshatriya Ranas of Mewar. Some local brahmins doubted this and they kept on objecting till the day of coronation itself. But this was countered by the knowledge of the great Pandit Gaga Bhatt himself.

Pran Pratishtha and Ram Mandir Ayodhya

Pran means bringing life and Pratishtha means consecration. Now the English meaning of Consecration is making something holy. But English was never a way to express meaning in India. So these two words do not have the same meaning.

In India as per the vedic rituals, Pran Pratishtha is inserting the life force of a deity inside an idol. In olden days, most idols could only be made of stone. A stone idol in itself cannot be worshipped as there is no information about it’s origin. There is also no guarantee that no prior ritual was ever conducted on the stone and it could have been used by the Asuras for destruction of earth. A stone might radiate negative energies and withdraw all positivity around it. So a vedic ritual is performed to establish the life of a deity inside the idol. After that the idol has to be maintained with daily rituals otherwise the life force of the deity will leave the stone. This is another reason why people in India do not keep stone idols in their house because they cannot be maintained. Temple priests are the best qualified people to perform daily vedic rituals in a temple so that the Pran of the idol is kept alive and worshippers can come and pray to their deity.

Pran Prathishtha is a well known and elaborate ritual followed in India for centuries. Any newly constructed temple has to perform a Pran Prathishtha before it is open for devotees to visit. Pran Prathishtha is the only way to ensure that any person who is offering prayers will have their boon granted by the deity. Pran Prathishtha can go on for days together. The idol is bathed in waters of holy rivers and other ingredients like milk, honey, curd, ghee and so on. All procedures are accompanied by the chanting of mantras.

So the meaning of Pran Pratishtha Ram Mandir Ayodhya is bringing in the life force of Lord Ram into the idol which has been installed in the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple at the birth place of Ram in Ayodhya. Apart from the daily maintenance, an idol once consecrated, it contains the life force of the deity for eternity.

Pran Pratishtha will be performed by Pandit LakshmiKant Dixit of Varanasi who will perform the main rituals on 22nd January 2024. Lakshmikant Dixit is the direct descendant of Gaga Bhatt, the catalyst to a historic coronation and beginning of Hindavi Swaraj.