भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

Hindu heroes. But unfortunately, it was not sufficient to bring forth four such valiant heroes to meet the exigency of the times of which we are telling here, to extirpate the Muslim political power throughout India. A whole generation of such divinely blessed heroes was needed for such a stupendous task! As such, to use again the metaphorical style of Chand Bhat, the presiding deity of the Hindu nation glanced all over India. That enraged deity sprinkled her holy water on the heights of Sahyadri thinking, perhaps, that region alone was the fittest one for the final overthrow of the Muslim power after a millennial war with it. How could a small sacrificial pit at Abu be equal to that stupendous task! And all of a sudden, the whole of the Sahyadri mountain was aglow with the fire of war and resonant with the beat of the drum. And there arose a whole class, a whole generation of brave warriors. Each one lighted his individual torch on the general conflagration and traversed the whole of India with the war cry, ‘Har, Har Mahadev’ on his lips to wipe out the Muslim political menace. The name of this national race? It is— ‘MAHARASHTRA BORN OF THE TIMES OF SHIVAJI’ Hindu Maharashtra alone fought with the whole Muslim World 998. At this time in the millennial Hindu-Muslim epic war, such a great catastrophe befell the whole of India—and especially Maharashtra—as had menaced perhaps a very few nations of the world. To add to the Muslim maelstorm, from the north European nations like the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English dashed on India—and especially the Deccan, with an avalanchine force, and it was practically the lot of the Maharashtra, born out of the times of Shivaji, to face all alone all these terrific aggressions. Stranger than this is the fact that this Maharashtra, born as it was from the sacrificial fire of dire calamities, faced them all successfully and was a match for all the enemies! The Muslim imperial throne of Delhi was hacked to pieces by the Marathas and the Muslim power was finally rooted out throughout the whole of India. 999. The legend of this exceptional glory and valour of Maharashtra has now been generally known in its true perspective and form, to the common people in Maharashtra at least. The credit of making it widely known in its grand and spectacular aspect, in its all-India context, must necessarily go to the great research-scholars and writers of history like Rajwade, Ranade, Khare, Itihasacharya Sardesai and others. But with the exception of Ranade, others have written their books in Marathi. Histories of the Marathas