Coronation

. . .
In 1674, Shivaji successfully proved his Kshatriya descent using
the documents that his father had already attested through Adilshahi
government. He performed all sorts of rituals, thread ceremony,
marrying his own wives again. That was the time when religion was
very much influential.
According to Hindu theology, Coronation OR Rajya-Abhishek is a
holy ceremony of immense socio-political importance. King being
incarnation of Vishnu, his land was his wife, and all his subjects
were his children. An authorized OR Coronated King was an incarnation
of Vishnu himself.
By that time, the mentality of a common Hindu in India was that
ruler is always a Muslim. In addition, ruler of Delhi was considered
as Emperor of India. The Bahamani Kingdom, at its zenith, considered
themselves as Vazirs of Delhi Sultanate, who in turn considered
himself as subordinate of Caliph. Since the rulers were Muslims,
Indian Muslim Emperors usually portrayed India as a part of Islamic
Caliphate. Allah-ud-din Khilji had his rule attested from the ruler
of Iran. Aurangzeb had his rule on India attested from the Caliph of
Ottoman Empire in Turkey. Even Adilshahi, Kutubshahi considered ruler
of Delhi as Emperor of India. There were many Rajput Hindu Kings
before Shivaji. However, no one had himself Coronated according to
Vedic tradition. Even the mighty Hindu Vijaynagar Empire did not have
a King that was Coronated according to Vedic Tradition. This very
ancient ritual of Rajya-Abhishek had disappeared from India after
1000 AD. People knew of this ritual only from stories in the Ramayana
and Mahabharata.
Gagabhat resurrected this ritual again after studying Vedic
literature and Coronated Shivaji. This was a revolutionary event,
considering the rigid religious society existing at the time. On one
had, Shivaji was relating himself with Rama, Yudhishthira and
Vikramaditya. On other hand, he was appealing to emotions of all
Hindus in India, stating that they have a Formal Hindu Empire in
India, which was fighting for the cause of Hindus. According to Hindu
Puranas, the lineage of Kshatriya Kings was lost in Kaliyuga. By
performing this ritual, Shivaji was symbolically stating that
Kaliyuga was over and Satya Yuga had begun. He was making a statement
that a new age had begun.