Shiv Jayanti
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti, also known simply as Shiv Jayanti, is a festival and public holiday of the Indian state of Maharashtra. This festival is celebrated on February 19, celebrating the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the first Chhatrapati and founder of the Maratha Empire. He restablished Hindavi Swarajya [Hindavī Svarājya; "Self-Rule of the hindavi people"]. Some people celebrate this day as per Hindu Calendar in Maharashtra. History. In 1870, Mahatma Phule started celebration of Shivaji Jayanti which was then taken forward by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Shiv Jayanti is the birth anniversary of great Maratha ruler  Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji Maharaj was born on Marathi Shalivahana Hindu calendar Falgun's Krishna paksha 3, 1551/Julian February 19, 1630, in Shivneri Fort. The error of not converting the Julian date to the corresponding Gregorian one is still not corrected. Shivaji Maharaj is considered as the greatest Maratha ruler who carved an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur that became the start of the Maratha Empire. At the young age of 16, Shivaji Maharaj seized the Torna fort and by the age of 17 had seized the Raigad and Kondana forts. Shivaji Maharaj as he is popularly  known was named Shivaji Bhosale and was a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji Maharaj promoted the use of Marathi and Sanskrit in court and administration, rather than using Persian which was the norm in those times.