Jijabai Shahaji Bhonsale (; 12 January 1598 – 17 June 1674), referred to as Rajmata Jijabai, was the mother of

Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...

, founder of the

Maratha Kingdom The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

. She was a daughter of Lakhujirao Jadhav of

Sindkhed Raja Sindkhed Raja is a town and a municipal council in Buldhana district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the birthplace of Rajmata Jijabai, mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Sindkhed was ruled by Koli Chieftain. Etymology There ar ...

Early life

Jijabai was born on 12 January 1598, to Mhalasabai Jadhav and

Lakhuji Jadhav Lakhuji Jadhav Rao (1560 – 25 July 1629), also known as Lakhuji Jadhav was a Maratha statesman and Mansabdar who initially served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate and later joined the Mughals. He was a prominent figure in the politics of Deccan. Lak ...

in present-day

Buldhana Buldhana (Marathi pronunciation: ) is a city and a Municipal Council in the Indian state of Maharashtra, established on 17 February 1893. It is the administrative headquarters of Buldhana District in the Amravati Division. Buldhana is the secon ...

district of Maharastra. Jijabai was married at an early age to Shahaji Bhosle, son of

Maloji Bhosle Maloji Bhonsale ( 1552 – 1605) was a Maratha chief (''Sardar'') who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. He was the father of Shahaji and the grandfather of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha kingdom. Early life Maloji was born in 1552 to ...

of Verul village, a military commander serving under the Nizam. She was a skilled horse rider, sword fighter, academician and administrator. She is also known to be a guide of his son Shivaji for expansion of maratha empire.

Death

She died on 17 June 1674 at Pachad village near

Raigad Fort Raigad, seen in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India, is a hill fort located in the city of Mahad. It is one of the strongest fortresses on the Deccan Plateau and was historically referred to as Rairee or Rairy fort. Chhatrapati Shivaj ...

. This was only eleven days after the coronation of

In popular culture

* Actress,

Sulochana Latkar Sulochana Latkar (born Rangu Diwan; 30 July 1928 – 4 June 2023), better known by her screen name Sulochana, was an Indian actress of Marathi and Hindi cinema, who acted in 50 films in Marathi and around 250 films in Hindi. She was most known ...

portrayed Jijabai in the marathi film Maratha Tituka Melvava *Sumati Gupte played Jijabai in the 1974 film Raja Shiv Chhatrapati. *Jijabai was a portrayed by

Mrinal Kulkarni Mrinal Kulkarni (née Deo; born 21 June 1971) is an Indian actress and director known for her work in several films and television productions. She is best known for her role as Mirabai in Doordarshan's '' Mirabai'' and as a fairy on Star Plus ...

in the popular TV series ''

Raja Shivchatrapati ''Raja Shivchhatrapati'' is an Indian Marathi language historical drama television series based on Shivaji, Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Kingdom which aired on Star Pravah. The serial was re-telecast in April 2020 during the COVID-19 ...

'' which aired on Star Pravah in 2008. *

played Jijabai in

Farzand ''Farzand'' is a 2018 Indian Marathi-language historical drama War film, War film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced by Anirban Sarkar under the banner of Swami Samarth Creations LLP. The film was co-produced by Sandip Jadhav, Mahesh Jaur ...

, an Indian Marathi language epic, historical drama film. *

played Jijabai in the 2019 Marathi language historical drama film,

Fatteshikast ''Fatteshikast'' () is a 2019 Indian Marathi-language historical drama film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced under the banner of Almonds Creations Ajay Arekar and Anirudh Arekar in association with AA Films. The film stars Chinmay M ...

. *

Shilpa Tulaskar Shilpa Tulaskar is an Indian actress who has acted in Marathi films and Hindi television shows. She recently portrayed the role of Rajnandini in Zee Marathi's drama '' Tula Pahate Re'' and also the character of Sujata, mother of the male lead ...

portrayed Jijabai in the 2011 series

Veer Shivaji ''Veer Shivaji'' () is an Indian historical drama series that aired on Colors TV from 2 September 2011 to 25 May 2012. The show focuses on the life of Shivaji, the 17th century founder of the Maratha Empire. Plot Cast * Paras Arora as C ...

* Smita Deshmukh starred as Jijabai in the 2011 Marathi language film

Rajmata Jijau ''Rajmata Jijau'' () is a 2011 Marathi language film based upon the life of Jijabai, mother of the 17th century Maratha king Shivaji, as told in Madan Patil's historical novel ''Jijausaheb''. The film was directed by Yashwant Bhalkar and produ ...

based on the life of Jijabai, based on Madan Patil's historical novel Jijausaheb *

Prateeksha Lonkar Prateeksha Lonkar is an Indian actress who mostly appeared in Hindi and Marathi films and television series. She is best known for playing the lead title role in the Marathi TV serial ''Damini'', that aired on DD Sahyadri. Early life Lonkar's ...

played Jijabai in

Swarajyarakshak Sambhaji ''Swarajyarakshak Sambhaji'' () is an Indian historical drama based on the life of warrior king Sambhaji. The series is directed by Vivek Deshpande and Kartik Rajaram Kendhe and is written by Pratap Gangavane. It is produced and starred by Amo ...

, an Indian historical drama based on the life of Sambhaji. * Padmavati Rao plays Jijabai in the 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical period action film,

Tanhaji ''Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior'' is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language epic historical action film, co-written and directed by Om Raut and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Ajay Devgn under T-Series Films and Ajay Devgn FFilms. Tracing t ...

. * Nishtha Vaidya,

Amruta Pawar ''Amrita'' (, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred to in ancient India ...

Bhargavi Chirmule Bhargavi Chirmule is a Marathi actress. She has worked in many Marathi movies and television serials. She also worked in the reality show '' Fu Bai Fu''. Early life and education Bhargavi was born to Shirish and Sai Chirmuley. She was brought ...

Neena Kulkarni Neena Kulkarni (née Joshi) is an Indian actress who is known for her work on Marathi and Hindi films, television and stage productions. She has received several awards including a National Film Award, Maharashtra State Film Awards and three F ...

portray Jijabai at different stages of her life in

Swarajya Janani Jijamata ''Swarajya Janani Jijamata'' is an Indian Marathi television biopic drama premiered on 19 August 2019 airing on Sony Marathi. Plot It is the story of Jijamata, mother of Maharashtra's idol Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It shows Jijamata's pe ...

, a show based on the life of Rajmata Jijabai. * The 2011 film ''

'' is a biography of Jijabai. *

References

{{Authority control People from the Maratha Empire People from Buldhana district 1598 births 1674 deaths Marathi people Women from the Maratha Empire Queen mothers Indian female royalty 17th-century Indian people 17th-century Indian women

Early life

Death

In popular culture

See also

References