JYESHTHA
SHUKLA TRAYODASHI
The
thirteenth day of the bright half of Jyeshtha
This function is to
commemorate the Coronation of Chhatrapati Sri Shivaji Maharaj in
1674 A.D., at Raigadh in Maharashtra. According to Hindu calendar,
the day was Jyeshtha Shuddha Trayodashi of Aananda
Samvatsara of the Shalivahana Era 1596 (or Vikrama Era 1731).
The choice of this
particular occasion for celebration lies in its inspiring historical
significance. The occasion holds up for the HIndu people inspiring
lessons for their future march - perhaps unequalled by any other
single event during the past 3-4 centuries of their history.
The greatest
contribution which Shivaji made to the freedom struggle of
Hindusthan lay in the fact that he infused in it the right kind of
national idealism. Even at the tender age of fourteen, he wrote to
his friend, Dadaji Narasa Prabhu Deshpande, that he had vowed in the
presence of God to achieve Hindavi Swaraj. Shivaji further
expressed his supreme confidence that it was God's will that this
mission should succeed.
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