Shivaji was formally crowned Chhatrapati ("Chhatrapati= Chief, head or King of Kshatriyas", representing the protection he bestowed on his people) on June 6, 1674 at the Raigad fort, and given the title Kshatriya Kulavantas Sinhasanadheeshwar Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Pandit Gaga Bhatt, a renowned Brahmin from Varanasi, officially presided over the ceremony declaring that Shivaji's lineage was bonafide and recognized Kshatriya.
He was bestowed with the Zaanva, in Hindi the Janeu (sacred thread), with the Vedas and was bathed in an abisheka. Shivaji had insisted on an Indrabhishek ritual, which had fallen into disuse since the 9th century. Henry Oxinden (later Acting President of the Bombay Presidency) from the British East India Company was present at the ceremony.
Shivaji then was conferred with the title of “shakkarta” (he started his own calendar). A few days later a second ceremony was carried out, this time according to the Bengal school of Tantricism and presided over by Nischal Puri.