In a fiece hand-to-hand combat, the Maratha general Tanaji Malusara and the Rajput fort commander were both killed. This was the great victory for the Marathas. Their daring and valor against a brave defense are remembered in the minstrel's ballads. It is, without doubt, for the martial exploits it engendered that Sinhgad is spoken of and visited today. In 1670 Shivaji made another attempt to wrest Shivneri from the Mughals, but failed. 

In that very year, he was enthroned at Raigad as Chattrapati- Lord of the Umbrellas. On his appearance at the ceremony with the queen consort Soyra, his assembled court and warriors would cry: "Our dignified king, like Indra of Gods, takes his seat on the Umbrella throne. Born of the fighting race, his name is Shivaji the King: May he be victorious!' One of the great merits of Shivaji was the way in which he largely demolished the divisive system of caste that so narrowly ordained Brahman supremacy in other Hindu kingdoms. To be accepted as leader Shivaji had originally been obliged to seek a Brahman proclamation that he was Suryavanshi, a descendant of the sun, and therefore deemed fit to rule. In fact he was a Sudra: low-born like the majority of the Maratha people, he was one of the kunbi or cultivator caste. 

The other great Maratha chiefs who came to prominence from this time were also Sudras: Schindia was a kunbi, Gaekwad was of the gaula or cowherd caste, and Holkar was of the dhangar or shepherd caste. It was not until the mid-18th century that caste jealousies between the chiefs and the Brahman Peshwas, hereditary prime ministers of the Marathas, broke the mould of the Maratha nation that had been Shivaji's outstanding creation. His military and civil organisations were simple and worked well. The infantry was built up in three graded units of 10, and the cavalry in three graded units of 25 with an overall commander; the cavalry were either state-mounted or had their own horses. There were no hereditary jaghirs and the fort garrisons were carefully monitored: no camp women were allowed; accounting was handled by Brahmans; and Shivaji personally inspected the forts, either in the idle, rainy season or on campaign, from October to April. Each fort was well provided with water, oil and grain, and was equipped with a body of men to provide all the skills necessary to a standing army - gunsmiths, blacksmiths, stableboys, swordsmiths and armourers.

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