Inception of the Maratha Navy with shipbuilding yards established at Kalyan

Following the successful annexation of the Northern Konkan territory in late 1657, Shivaji Maharaj recognized a critical strategic vulnerability in his growing realm. While his Maratha light cavalry and mountain infantry dominated the rugged Sahyadri forts, the coastal waters were ruled entirely by external sea powers. The Siddis of Janjira, the Portuguese in Goa and Daman, and the rising trade fleets of the British and Dutch freely raided coastal towns, taxed maritime commerce, and threatened land positions from the sea. Realizing that true sovereignty required maritime defense, Shivaji famously articulated that he who commands the navy controls the sea.

On March 1, 1659, Shivaji formally initiated the construction of the Maratha Navy by establishing shipyards in the sheltered tidal creeks of Kalyan and Bhiwandi. Because the Marathas had no prior experience in warship engineering, Shivaji hired skilled Portuguese shipwrights and naval mercenaries, such as Rui Leitao Viegas, to train local craftsmen. Concurrently, he recruited indigenous seafaring communities—primarily the Kolis and Bhandaris—who possessed intimate, generational knowledge of the treacherous shallow creeks, tides, and rocky reefs of the Konkan shoreline.

Under Shivaji's direct supervision, the dockyards began building a specialized fleet designed specifically for brown-water coastal warfare. Rather than massive ocean-going galleons, the Maratha fleet emphasized agility, shallow drafts, and heavy forward oars. The primary warships included the 'Gurab' (a two- or three-masted heavy broadside vessel) and the 'Gallivat' (a fast, light rowboat mounted with swivel guns), alongside transport craft like Machvas and Tarandis. To command this new force, Shivaji appointed capable admirals including Maynak Bhandari and Daryasarang Daulat Khan.

This visionary enterprise made Shivaji the pioneer of naval warfare among indigenous Indian rulers of the early modern era. The Maratha Navy grew from a modest cluster of twenty ships in 1659 into a formidable fleet of over four hundred vessels in subsequent decades. It successfully checked Siddi and Portuguese naval dominance, protected merchant shipping, constructed coastal island fortresses such as Sindhudurg and Vijaydurg, and earned Shivaji the historical title of 'Father of the Indian Navy'.