her husband's love, probably with the loss of her youth, and Shahji abandoned her and her new-born son and took a younger and more beautiful wife, Tuka Bai Mohite, on whom and whose son Vyankoji he lavished all his affection and wealth. (Chit. 22; Dig. 53 and 64; T. S. 9a; Shed. 15.)
It is expressly stated in the contemporary Padishahnamah (I. B. 150) that in March 1636 Shahji's family was living at Shivner. This shows that Shiva did not reside at Puna till after 1636. This view is supported by the Tarikh-i-Shivaji (8a), which states that after entering Bijapur service (October 1636) and securing from that Government a grant of the whole country from Chakan to Indapur and Shirwal, as his jagir, Shahji appointed Dadaji Kond-dev as administrator of the tract and told him, " My wife Jija Bai is living in the fort of Shivner and has brought forth a son named Shivaji. Bring her and her son and keep them in your charge [at Puna] and supply them with money for their necessary expenses." Shivaji was, therefore, practically a stranger to his father for several years after his birth.
Her husband's neglect drove the mind of Jija Bai inwards and deepened her natural religious spirit, which she imparted to her son. Shiva grew up in solitude, a mateless child, without brother sister or father. The isolation of their life drew mother and son very close together and intensified his love for her till it became almost an adoration for a deity. From a very early age, he was naturally thrown on
