When Shivaji was a lad of 10, he was to stay for three more years at the court of Adilshah. Shivaji in those days can be described as singularly shrewd and intelligent for his age. He used the three years at its best in studying the strength and weakness of that great but degenerated capital. Shahji was a trusted servant of Bijapur and had little time for his boy. But Jijabai had a great influence on Shivaji. Jijabai was a proud and determined woman, she never forgot that in her veins ran the blood of the rulers of that land.

The court-men of Bijapur witnessed the glimpse of the future rebel in Shivaji. On an occasion Shahji took his son to the court of the Sultan of Bijapur. Shivaji was hardly 12 years old. Shahji, as the usual practice, saluted the Sultan. He asked Shivaji to do the same. But Shivaji stood erect with his head unbent and stepped back a little. It was very clear from his posture and dazzling eyes that he would not bow down to a foreign ruler.