This time let's talk about history, Maratha history to be specific. A brief on Shriman Yogi. (At the end this brief is explained in Marathi also.) It's quite a big novel. I have read it twice and since then it has been at the top of my favorites and I strongly recommend this. I'm not going to explain any part of the book even with the minor details, it will spoil that feeling you will get when you are going to read it.
About
Shriman Yogi is a biography of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by Ranjit Desai. Ranjit Desai was a brilliant Marathi author, awarded with Sahitya Academy Award in 1964 and Padma Shri in 1973. Known for his emotional writing throughout his work such as Swami, Radhey and Abhogi etc. But best known for his novels Swami and Shriman Yogi. Shriman Yogi describes the life of first Maratha King, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who established a Maratha kingdom that never before existed.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
There are a lot of books about Shivaji Maharaj but this book stands out. This novel begins with the birth of Chhatrapati and concludes with his death. First of all, writing about Shivaji Maharaj is a tough row to hoe but I have tried my best and we will call him as Chhatrapati in this brief. Chhatrapati, a nobleman, a charismatic leader, a vigorous warrior, a tactician and a great visionary who dreamt of a Hindu kingdom while being surrounded by the Muslim rulers. This book shows his legendary accomplishments that were only imagination at that period and some of his worst moments that almost broke him. It shows us his other persona that is missed in almost all of his narrations. That's what makes this book special. It wonderfully portrays Chhatrapati as a King as well as a normal human being.
Shriman Yogi shows us how Shivaji Maharaj built a dynasty from nothing. His motivations and love for his motherland. It follows a proper sequence as per the history.
There are things about Chhatrapati that make him a different King than any other who ever lived and these you could never find anywhere in the history of whole world that is he treated his people equally whether it was a mere soldier or the head of his army. This book shows his non discriminating image whether it is his own son or an ordinary person.
Even if almost all of his battles were with the Muslim rulers he never discriminated the Muslims in his kingdom. He had an equal empathy and view for all the religions.
All this with a hilarious thing is that a few years ago there were some people and there still are, who said that Chhatrapati is a fictional character and even denied his existence publicly. Yes there has been a forever disagreement about his life in the historians but I think that no one would argue that Chhatrapati is the most legendary and versatile character in the world history.
What I liked About this book
It is one of the best written books and the writing paints quite a picture in front of you as if you are witnessing those moments yourself. The dialogues and the details in some of the events are so well written that you get too overwhelmed. Events such as the battles to win forts, building them to make them more strong that you feel involved in them and there's the coronation (Rajya Abhishek) ceremony when Shivaji Maharaj became Chhatrapati, it gives you the involvement into them as if you are witnessing them in front of you.
There are some narratives in the book that when you see it, it feels unreal. Building a kingdom in a hostile era, creating a government from zero that works very efficiently, breaking the prejudices, at some point going against your own people for the good of kingdom and forming a whole new political and financial system that operates over a fairly large geographical area all this in a hostile and prejudicial time period is nearly impossible. When you get involved in reading while it's happening right there, it literally gives you goosebumps. At some points it gets too much emotional that you would have never expected. Because most of the people have seen Chhatrapati only as a King not as a father, a son, a husband and a disciple.
Best thing about this is that it shows Shivaji Maharaj as he was, with no exaggeration. It also shows the society, governance and the overall environment at that period. The author has written this book with the basis of facts and along with the sequence with the historians findings. You can also see the references that the author used at the end of the book.
These are the links where you can buy Shriman Yogi in English and in Marathi. I personally feel that this is a book that everyone should read at least once.
Marathi Brief
श्रीमान योगी
श्रीमान योगी ही छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराजांचं जीवनचरित्र वर्णन करणारी रणजीत देसाई यांची कादंबरी. रणजीत देसाई, एक अतिशय उत्कृष्ट मराठी लेखक होते ज्यांना १९६४ साली साहित्य अकादमी पुरस्कार आणि १९७३ मध्ये पद्मश्रीने सन्मानित करण्यात आले. देसाई त्यांच्या भावनिक लेखणासाठी ओळखले जातात. स्वामी, राधेय आणि अभोगी ह्या त्यांच्या काही नावाजलेल्या साहित्य रचना.
हा लेख शिवाजी महाराजांविषयी नसून त्यांच्या जीवनावर आधारित असलेल्या कादंबरीचा परिचय आहे. श्रीमान योगी म्हणजे चोहो बाजूंनी शत्रू राज्यांनी वेढलेल्या काळी एक स्वप्नवत कल्पना वाटावी अशा मराठी साम्राज्याची स्थापना आणि स्वराज्याची मुहूर्तमेढ ते देहावसाना पर्यंतचा छत्रपतींचा प्रवास.
छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज
महाराष्ट्रात शिवाजी महाराजांचा जीवन परिचय देणाऱ्या साहित्याची कमतरता अजिबात नाही परंतु त्यातही श्रीमान योगी हे पुस्तक आकाशातील अढळस्थानी आहे असं मला वाटतं. श्रीमान योगीमध्ये लेखकाने कोणत्याही अतिशयोक्ती शिवाय फक्त ऐतिहासिक बखरी, काही ऐतिहासीक लेखन, आख्यायिका आणि प्रचलित दंतकथा यांचा संदर्भ घेऊन वास्तविकता मांडण्याचा प्रयत्न केला आहे आणि माझ्या मते तो यशस्वीही झाला आहे.
छत्रपति, एक व्यावहारिक द्रष्टा, उत्कृष्ट योद्धा, युद्धतज्ञ आणि अष्टावधानी युगपुरुष. एक अष्टपैलू व्यक्तिमत्त्व ज्यांनी चोहो बाजूंनी बलाढ्य मोगली आणि मुस्लिम राजवटीने वेढलेल्या काळी एका हिंदू राज्याची कल्पना वास्तवात उतरवली. छत्रपतींच्या आचरणातील काही गुण जसे सर्वांना समान वागणूक असेल मग तो लष्करातील एक साधा शिपाई असो वा अष्टप्रधान मंडळातील सरसेनापती असो, कायदा आणि स्वतः घातलेले नियम यांची बजावणी करताना स्वतःच्या मुलात आणि सर्वसामान्य रयत यांमध्ये काडीचाही भेदभाव न करता शिक्षा असे प्रसंग किंवा आपले शत्रुत्व बहुतांश मुस्लिम राजवटींशी असताना देखील राज्यातील मुस्लिमांकडे त्यांचा हिंदुंसारखा समान असलेला दृष्टीकोन हे त्यांना जगाच्या इतिहासातील इतर कोणत्याही सत्ताधीशापेक्षा उजवे ठरवतात.
शिवाजी महाराजांच्या जीवनाविषयी बऱ्याच इतिहासकारांत आजही दुमतं आढळतात परंतु एक बाब सर्वमान्य आहे की छत्रपतींसारखा अष्टपैलू आणि अष्टावधानी राजा जगाच्या इतिहासात कुठेही आढळत नाही.
पुस्तकाची वैशिष्ट्ये
हे पुस्तक छत्रपतींचे काही नावाजलेले पराक्रम त्याचबरोबर महाराजांचा उतरता काळ आणि क्वचित प्रसंगी त्यांचा भावनीक हतबलपणा यांचा संग्रह आहे. शिवाजी महाराजांचं एक राजा ह्या पलीकडेही इतर कुणाही सारखा भावनाविवश माणूस हेच रेखाटन श्रीमान योगी ह्या पुस्तकाला इतर कोणत्याही शिवसाहित्यापेक्षा वेगळा दर्जा बहाल करतं. पुस्तकातील काही वर्णने ही तर त्याकाळी अशक्यप्राय वाटतात जसे अत्यंत प्रतिकूल परिस्थितीत स्वराज्य स्थापना, शून्यातून प्रशासकीय यंत्रणा आणि लष्कर निर्मिती, वेळप्रसंगी राज्यासाठी आप्तस्वकीयांचा विरोध पत्करणे, सामाजिक पूर्वग्रह आणि काही प्रसंगी चुकीच्या धर्म धारणा यांना विरोध इत्यादी.
रणजीत देसाई यांचं तपशीलवार आणि उत्कृष्ट संवाद लेखण यामुळे पुस्तकाला एक वेगळाच जिवंतपणा येतो. कोणताही प्रसंग आपण तो स्वतः डोळ्यादेखत अनुभवत आहोत ही जाणीव वाचताना होत राहते. जसे गड सर करतानाच्या लढाया, किल्ल्यांची डागडुजी करतानाचे काही प्रसंग किंवा रायगडावर झालेला महाराजांचा औपचारिक राज्याभिषेक ह्या घटना वाचताना तर एक अत्यंत अभिमानी किंवा भावनिक लहर शरीरातून जाते. पुस्तकातील काही प्रसंग हे अतिशय अनपेक्षित वाटतात कारण बहुतेक लेखनात शिवाजी महाराज फक्त एक राजा ह्याच विचाराने चित्रित करण्यात आले आहेत ना की एक पिता, पुत्र, एक संसारिक पुरुष आणि एक धर्मप्रेमी आणि माझ्या मते हे सर्व पैलू श्रीमान योगी पुस्तकाला अत्यंत वेगळ्या प्रकारच्या शिवचरित्राचा दर्जा देतात.