After his death, his ministers and generals such as the Peshwa Bhats and their lieutenants of the Shinde and Holkar house, Senasahibsubha Bhonsles of Nagpur, and Senakhaskhel Gaikwad of Baroda administered their own sections of the confederacy under a loose coalition under the orders of the Chhatrapati.

He was advised by Zinat-un-Nissa and Zulfiqar Khan to not wait for formal sanads of appointment from Azam Shah, but to quit the Mughal camp at once and proceed to his home country.

Shahu then arrived at Bijagad, about thirty miles south of Narmada, and was joined by its ruler Rawal Mohansinh, who had long rebelled against Aurangzeb and cooperated with the Marathas.

From Bijagad, Shahu proceeded to Sultanpur, where he was joined by several Maratha chiefs such as Amritrao Kadambande, Rawal Sujansinh of Lamkani, the Bokils, the Purandares and other Brahmin families.

Parsoji’s example was quickly followed by Sardar Nimaji Shinde, Sarlashkar Haibatrao Nimbalkar, Rustamrao Jadhavrao (Shahu’s father-in-law), Sekhoji Thorat and Chimnaji Damodar who were all operating in Baglana, Khandesh and Nashik region.

On 3 August 1707, Jotyaji Kesarkar received the formal sanads for Raja Shahu at Burhanpur from Bahadur Shah, who had finally killed Azam Khan in the Battle of Jajau.

On his march from Pune to the field of Khed Kudus, Shahu faced resistance from the town of Parad, which had a small fortress from which a feeble cannonade was directed upon his forces by the Patil Sayaji Lokhande.

Tarabai's forces were led by Pratinidhi Parshuram Trymbak and Sarsenapati Khanderao Dabhade and suffered major casualties, while Dhanaji Jadhav only engaged in nominal skirmishes due to his prior oath of allegiance to Shahu.

[23][24] Shahu, riding on a wave of success, went on to capture Raigad, Torna, Vichitragad, and Chandan-Vandan forts, along with a few minor ones, in record time.

Determined to conquer it in eight days, Shahu discovered that the military commander (Havaldar) of the fort, Sheikh Mira, had kept his family in Wai, a village not far from his camp.

It is said that even Dhanaji Jadhav, who had seen Aurangzeb’s vast army battering against the fort of Satara for nine months before it capitulated, is said to have expressed surprise at the ease and rapidity with which Shahu managed to conquer it.

From his castle at Battis Shirale, Udaji frequently mounted raids in Shahu's territories, terming the exactions as the "Chavan Chauth".

In the 1730s, after the death of Senapati Trymbakrao Dabhade and Bajirao's distant campaigns, Udaji Chavan obtained sanction from Tarabai's son Sambhaji to lead a force across the Warana river against Shahu.

Shahu gave each of the assassins a gold bracelet, and made them pick up their arms and take them back to Udaji along with a certificate from himself that stated they were good and faithful servants while deciding to mount up the conflict against Sambhaji.

Shambhusimha Jadhav and Pratinidhi launched a rapid assault on Sambhaji's camp at Warana riverbanks and wiped out most of the Kolhapur army.

Shahu accompanied Sambhaji for eight miles, and the path was set ablaze with the jewels and silks of the Maratha nobles in the train of the two monarchs.

According to scholar C. A. Kincaid: "Even the splendours of the French nobles, when Henry met Francis on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, would have paled before the magnificence of Sambhaji’s reception by Shahu.

Shahu advanced the interests of the ryots and brought barren tracts under cultivation, encouraged the plantation of trees, and relieved the suffering of the poor classes by abolishing irksome taxes.

[34] Shahu, widely regarded as "Bhola Shankar" (benevolent incarnation of Shiva),[35] was reputed for his proverbial equitable disposition, and freely socialised with civilians.

During festivals, celebrations, dinners, and marriage ceremonies, Shahu was famous for taking an active role and observing how his people fared.

People across all classes felt entitled to invite him for their intimate life events like marriages or other celebrations, and he heartily joined them, spent for them, and aided them whenever help was needed.

He appeared in public dressed in the same plain white garments as in private life, with long grey hairs which hung down gracefully on his shoulders.

They had also received 'Sanads' from the Chhatrapati to carry on the trade in different precious commodities such as fish, salt, rice, spices, and cocoa-nuts to and from their tax-free ports of Roha and Ashtami.

Rajaram II had been brought to him by Shahu's paternal aunt, Tarabai, who initially claimed that the young man was her grandson and thus a descendant of Shivaji, but later disowned him as an imposter when he would not be a pawn for her politics.

[40] Due to the controversy of this event, after Shahu's death, Tarabai vengefully arrested Ramaraja Chhatrapati to take over Satara court.

Shahu was fond of sports such as hunting wild game and shooting birds, and used to have a daily ride outside Satara into the jungles for this purpose, thereby getting both fresh air and exercise.

Rarities of various kinds such as candles, scents, knives, swords, tobacco, gunpowder used to be ordered by him through his admiral Kanhoji Angre from European traders.

In his records after Shahu's death, Malhar Chitnis states, "He was a father and protector to young and old, to man and woman, to nobles and servants, great and small.

One peculiar trait of Shahu's character was that he felt the highest pleasure in making others happy, not only his dependents and subjects, but even aliens in race, religion and rule.

"[36] At that time of his death, his widow Sakvarbai and his concubines committed sati because of political intrigues between Tarabai and Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao regarding succession at the Satara court.