The Maratha Navy

Father of the Indian Navy — sea power of Hindavi Swarajya

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was among the first Indian rulers of his age to grasp that whoever controls the sea controls the coast. From the 1650s he built a fleet of warships, a chain of sea forts and a naval command that guarded the Konkan against the Siddis, the Portuguese and the English.

Why Shivaji Maharaj Built a Navy

The Konkan coast fed the treasury through trade and customs, but was menaced by the Siddis of Janjira and European powers. Shivaji Maharaj concluded that forts on land could not defend an open coastline — Swarajya needed its own fleet.

Sea Forts

Sindhudurg, built on a rocky island off Malvan in 1664–67, became the navy's home base. With Vijaydurg, Khanderi, Kolaba and Suvarnadurg, these sea forts gave the fleet fortified harbours from which no enemy could dislodge it.

Ships and Organisation

The fleet mixed fast, shallow-draft gurabs and galbats suited to coastal waters, organised into squadrons under a Sarkhel (admiral). Rather than matching European ships broadside for broadside, Maratha captains used speed, numbers and knowledge of the coast.

Legacy

Under Kanhoji Angre the navy later dominated the western seaboard for three decades, defying the English and Portuguese fleets. The Indian Navy today honours Shivaji Maharaj as the father of Indian sea power — its western command training station is named INS Shivaji.