Maloji Bhonsale

Maloji Bhosale
Born	1552
Died	17th century
Children	Shahaji, Sharifji
Parent(s)	Babaji Raje Bhonsle (father)

Maloji Raje Bhonsle was a Maratha sardar (general) who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in Malik Ambar's army. He was the father of Shahaji and the grandfather of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire.

Maloji was born in 1552 to Babaji Bhonsle (d. 1597), a patil (chief) of the Hingni Berdi and Devalgaon villages around Pune. The family belonged to the Bhonsle Maratha clan, and claimed descent from the Suryavanshi Sisodia Rajput royal family of Udaipur. Maloji had a younger brother, Vithoji.

Maloji and his brother Vithoji migrated away from Pune, and initially served as petty horsemen under the Jadhavs of Sindkhed. The Jadhavs provided military service to the Ahmednagar Sultanate.

Maloji married Uma Bai (also known as Dipa Bai), the sister of Jagpalrao Nimbalkar, who was the deshmukh of Phaltan. He had two sons: Shahaji and Sharifji. Maloji believed that he was blessed with these two sons after praying at the dargah of the Sufi saint Shah Sharif in Ahmednagar, and therefore, he named his two sons after the saint.

According to one account, during a Holi function, the Jadhav chief Lakhuji remarked, in a lighter vein, that his daughter Jijabai and Shahaji would make a fine couple. Maloji took Lakhuji's remark seriously, and announced publicly that his son was engaged to Lakhuji's daughter. This irked Lakhuji, who considered Maloji to be a non-noble Shiledar. He dismissed Maloji from his services. Later, Nimbalkar's influence and the rising status of the Bhosale family helped Shahaji marry Jijabai.

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