He played an important role in the southern expansion of the Bijapur Sultanate by subjugating the Nayaka chiefs who had taken control of the former Vijayanagara territory.

[2] Randaula Khan then invaded Mysore, whose ruler Kanthirava Narasaraja I negotiated peace by paying 500,000 huns (currency unit) to Bijapur.

Subsequently, Kenge Nayaka rebelled against Bijapur, and asserted independence at Basavapattana, where he raised an army of 70,000 soldiers to guard the fort.

After a four-month long siege, the local chief Venkatapati started peace negotiations, offering to cede the fort of Sakrepatna near Belur.

[5] The earliest sources that describe the episode include:[6] Shivaji was a son of the Bijapur's general Shahaji, who had fought alongside Afzal Khan.

[6] During much of the 1650s, the Bijapur government had been unable to take any steps against Shivaji because it was busy dealing with the Mughal invasion, internal factional politics, and a succession dispute.

After a peace treaty with the Mughals, and the general acceptance of Ali Adil Shah II as the king, the Bijapur government became more stable, and turned its attention towards Shivaji.

According to Shiva-Bharata (1674), composed under Shivaji's patronage, Afzal Khan's army started its march amid several evil omens, such as falling meteors and thunderbolts in cloudless sky.

The text states that Afzal Khan first came to Tuljapur, where he destroyed the idol of Shivaji's family goddess Bhavani, and slaughtered a cow (considered holy by the Hindus) in front of her temple.

The Chitnis Bakhar and Shiva Digvijaya state that the idols at Tuljapur and Pandharpur were removed before Afzal Khan could destroy them.

Vithoji Haibat Rao, the deshmukh of Gunjan-Maval, was asked to bring a contingent to Javli in Afzal Khan's support.

Khandoji Khopde agreed to support Afzal Khan on the condition that he would be made the deshmukh of Rohidkhore, which was held by Shivaji's loyalist Kanhoji Jedhe.

His well-equipped army had freely plundered the territory of Shivaji, who had confined himself to a fort instead of challenging Afzal Khan in an open battlefield.

Both Sabhasad and Chitnis Bakhar state that Shivaji's counsellors urged him to avoid losses by negotiating peace with Afzal Khan.

[8] Afzal Khan agreed, and accordingly, Shivaji ordered his men to clear forest and create a path from Wai to Pratapgad.

[18] Shivaji took precautionary measures to defend himself against Afzal Khan: he put on thin chain mail and an iron armour under his clothes, and concealed two weapons: the bagh nakh ("tiger claws" or metal hooks attached to fingers), and a sword said to be "possessed" by the goddess Bhavani.

[8] He left for the meeting accompanied by two soldiers – his expert swordsman Jiva Mahala and Shambhuji Kavji, each of whom carried two swords and a shield.

[8] According to the Maratha texts, Afzal Khan asked Shivaji to submit to the Bijapuri king Adil Shah, and be recognized as a vassal lord.

[24] Afzal Khan then rushed out of the tent; his companion Sayyid Banda attacked Shivaji, but was killed by Jiva Mahala.

[25] This event is remembered in a Marathi language idiom Hōtā Jivā Mhaṇun Vāchlā Shivā ("Because of Jiva; Shivaji survived the attack").

[24] Afzal Khan's head was presented before the goddess Bhavani and Shivaji's mother Jijabai as a trophy, and later buried under the "Abdullah Tower" at Pratapgad.

[24] Shivaji's victory over Afzal Khan caught the popular imagination of the local public, and ballads glorifying the event were sung by wandering bards (gondhalis).

The Shri-Shiva-Prabhuche compares the conflict to the legendary Kurukshetra War, equating Shivaji to Bhima and Afzal Khan to Duryodhana.

[35] The Samiti observed the day at the Pratapgad fort from 1996 to 2004, when the Congress-NCP-led Maharastra state government banned the politicized celebration because of provocative speeches and riots at the event.

On 30 November 2022, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde celebrated Shiv Pratap Din by hoisting flag at Pratapgad fort.