Maloji and his brother Vithoji migrated away from Pune, and initially served as cavalrymen under the
Jadhavs of
Sindkhed. The Jadhavs provided military service to the Ahmednagar Sultanate. Maloji married Uma Bai (also known as Dipa Bai), the sister of Jagpalrao
Nimbalkar, who was the
Deshmukh of
Phaltan. According to
Shiva Digvijaya, a text regarded as a modern work by historians such as
Jadunath Sarkar and Surendra Nath Sen, Maloji's wife Umabai allegedly prayed at the tomb of Ahmadnagar's
Sufi Pir Shah Sharif, to be blessed with a son. Afterwards when Maloji and Umabai settled in
Devagiri, Umabai went on to give birth to two sons, first of whom was Shahaji and second one was Sharifji, born two years later. According to one account, during a
Holi function, the Jadhav chief
Lakhuji remarked, in a lighter vein, that his daughter
Jijabai and Shahaji would make a fine couple. Maloji took Lakhuji's remark seriously, and announced publicly that his son was engaged to Lakhuji's daughter. This irked Lakhuji, who considered Maloji to be a lower-ranking
Shiledar. He dismissed Maloji from his services. Later, Nimbalkar's influence and the rising status of the Bhosale family helped Shahaji marry
Jijabai. == Ahmednagar Sultanate service ==