All great leaders have had great mentors behind them, and that is especially true of Indian history - where Chandragupta had Kautilya, Akbar had Bairam Khan, and one had Shivaji’s back too. This was Dadaji Kondev, or Dadoji Kondadeo, his mentor, teacher and guardian through his adolescence.

Into this scene came Dadoji Kondadeo, who was rising in the service of the Adil Shahis of Bijapur, and since he had the previous experience of managing the Kondana Fort, Shahji thought he would be best suited to take care of the jagir while he was gone to the south. In 1637, he took over the charge of the Pune jagir and immediately set out to work.

The Mughal-Bijapur wars had devastated the land, and the various deshpandes (chiefs) were no longer listening to Shahji’s demands - Kondadeo straightened them out, establishing Bijapur (and Maratha) suzerainty over the Maval region. Pune would be rebuilt, not yet as a city, but the main settlement of the area. Lal Mahal would be built, and nobles who had fled the land in the warring were encouraged to return.

But his greatest legacy would not be due to his administrative efforts - which by themselves were huge, yes, but what was more impressive was his tutoring Shahji Bhosle's son Shivaji Bhonsle. Jijabai, his mother, wanted the young son to acquire the art of diplomacy and warfare in the Deccan quickly, and Kondadeo would be there to provide the assistance needed. Thus, as he passed away on the 6th of March, 1647, he would be remembered to posterity as one of the few great teachers of history.