"Mother, take me!"

Shivaji always said that he loved only one woman in the world, and that was his mother, Jija Bai. She lived to see her son crowned Chhatrapati Shivaji, the King of the entire Maratha State, in 1674. Less than two weeks later, she passed away, leaving Shivaji completely heartbroken. He used to cry out, "Mother, take me! I do not want to remain here on earth without you." Pining for his mother, Shivaji lived only a few years more. He passed away in 1680 at the age of 52.

When Shivaji's funeral pyre was lit, his faithful dog, Vaghya, jumped into the flames to be with his master. A statue of the little dog now faces Shivaji's shrine at Fort Raigad.

Shivaji's Guru, Ramdas, left the body in 1681, soon after the death of his dear disciple.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Shivaji, Agni Press, 1997
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/shv