Shrimant Baji Rao Balaji Bhat (August 18 1699 - April 28 1740), also known as
Baji Rao I, was a noted general who served as
PeshwaThe Peshwa were Brahmin Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chattrapatis , who began commanding Maratha armies and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha empire of central India from 1749 to 1818. Prior to 1700 one Peshwa received the status of king for eight or nine years...
(Prime Minister) to the fourth
Maratha Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste or to the Maratha and Kunbi castes together; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people; historically, it describes the Maratha empire...
ChhatrapatiChhatrapati is an honorific or an imperial title for an Indian ruler. It is the Indian counterpart of shah, padishah or pasha and also written as kshetra-pati, the lord, ruler of a domain and therefor can be compared with the European count...
(Emperor)
ShahuShahu Sambhaji Raje Bhonsle Chhatrapati Maharaj was the fourth ruler of the Maratha Empire created by his grandfather, Chhatrapati Shivaji, and was officially the Raja of Satara . More popularly known as Chattrapati Shahuji, he came out of captivity by the Mughals and survived a civil war to gain...
from 1719 until Baji Rao's death. He is also known as
Thorala (Marathi for Elder) Baji Rao.
Despite being a
BrahminBrahmins have historically been the class of educators, scholars and preachers in Hinduism. They are considered as belonging to the "forward castes" of the four varnas of Hinduism....
, he took up leading his troops. He is credited with expanding the
Maratha EmpireThe Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was a Hindu state located in present-day India. It existed from 1674 to 1818...
created by its founder,
ShivajiShivaji Raje Bhosle , popularly known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj laid the foundations of the Maratha Empire. Shivaji Maharaj was younger of the two sons of Shahaji Bhosle and Jijabai...
, to help reach its zenith during his son's reign twenty years after his death.
Shrimant Baji Rao Balaji Bhat (August 18 1699 - April 28 1740), also known as
Baji Rao I, was a noted general who served as
PeshwaThe Peshwa were Brahmin Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chattrapatis , who began commanding Maratha armies and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha empire of central India from 1749 to 1818. Prior to 1700 one Peshwa received the status of king for eight or nine years...
(Prime Minister) to the fourth
Maratha Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste or to the Maratha and Kunbi castes together; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people; historically, it describes the Maratha empire...
ChhatrapatiChhatrapati is an honorific or an imperial title for an Indian ruler. It is the Indian counterpart of shah, padishah or pasha and also written as kshetra-pati, the lord, ruler of a domain and therefor can be compared with the European count...
(Emperor)
ShahuShahu Sambhaji Raje Bhonsle Chhatrapati Maharaj was the fourth ruler of the Maratha Empire created by his grandfather, Chhatrapati Shivaji, and was officially the Raja of Satara . More popularly known as Chattrapati Shahuji, he came out of captivity by the Mughals and survived a civil war to gain...
from 1719 until Baji Rao's death. He is also known as
Thorala (Marathi for Elder) Baji Rao.
Despite being a
BrahminBrahmins have historically been the class of educators, scholars and preachers in Hinduism. They are considered as belonging to the "forward castes" of the four varnas of Hinduism....
, he took up leading his troops. He is credited with expanding the
Maratha EmpireThe Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was a Hindu state located in present-day India. It existed from 1674 to 1818...
created by its founder,
ShivajiShivaji Raje Bhosle , popularly known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj laid the foundations of the Maratha Empire. Shivaji Maharaj was younger of the two sons of Shahaji Bhosle and Jijabai...
, to help reach its zenith during his son's reign twenty years after his death. Baji Rao is thus acknowledged as the most famous of the nine
PeshwaThe Peshwa were Brahmin Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chattrapatis , who began commanding Maratha armies and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha empire of central India from 1749 to 1818. Prior to 1700 one Peshwa received the status of king for eight or nine years...
s.
Origins
Baji Rao was the son of the first Bhat family
PeshwaThe Peshwa were Brahmin Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chattrapatis , who began commanding Maratha armies and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha empire of central India from 1749 to 1818. Prior to 1700 one Peshwa received the status of king for eight or nine years...
,
Balaji VishwanathBalaji Vishwanath Bhat , better known as Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, was the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas hailing from the Brahmin family who gained effective control of the Maratha Empire during the eighteenth century...
. At the tender age of 20, he was appointed by
Shahu MaharajShahu IV was the first Maharaja of the Indian princely state of Kolhapur between 1884 and 1922.-Accession -The Great King of Kolhapur:...
as
PeshwaThe Peshwa were Brahmin Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chattrapatis , who began commanding Maratha armies and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha empire of central India from 1749 to 1818. Prior to 1700 one Peshwa received the status of king for eight or nine years...
upon the death of his father, keeping aside all other claimants, thus making the position of
Peshwa hereditary in the Bhat family. It is quite clear from this appointement that Shahu recognised the talent of this boy and reared him as peshwa. Bajirao was well trained by the Maratha
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
generals who were distinguished in the war of 27 years. Perhaps his early association with these Maratha cavalry made him a part and parcel of them. Like Shivaji, Santaji Ghorpade, Nemaji Shinde, Krishnaji Sawant, Nagoji Bhosale or Dhanaji Jadhav, Bajirao was popular with his soldiers and even today his name is an honorable one.
Standing tall, poised and confident before Shahu Maharaj and his court the young new Peshwa Baji Rao is said to have thundered, “Let us transcend the barren Deccan and conquer central India. The Mughals have become weak indolent womanizers and opium-addicts. The accumulated wealth of centuries in the vaults of the north, can be ours. It is time to drive from the holy land of Bharatvarsha the outcaste and the barbarian. Let us throw them back over the Himalayas, back to where they came from. The Maratha flag must fly from the Krishna to the Indus. Hindustan is ours”.
He fixed his piercing gaze on Shahu Maharaj and said, “Strike, strike at the trunk and the branches will fall off themselves. Listen but to my counsel, and I shall plant the Maratha banner on the walls of Attock”. Shahu was deeply impressed and exclaimed, “By heaven, you shall plant it on the Himalayas”.
This story itself indicates the vision of Bajirao and Shahu Maharaj's faith in the young man. Shahu Maharaj appointed him as a Peshwa at such tender age, recognising his talents and entrusting to him imperial troops which had recently emerged victorious in the Mughal-Maratha conflict which ended in 1707. Baji Rao's greatness lies in that true to judgment of his master and seasoned troops at his disposal, he struck terror of Maratha armies in the Indian sub-continent.
Accomplishments
- Baji Rao, who fought over 41 battles, is reputed to have never lost one .
- He was one of the first to understand and exploit the fragmenting Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an Islamic and Persianate imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, invaded and ruled most of Hindustan by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century...
, following the footsteps of his father. The declining influence of the Syed Brothers at the Imperial court was another factor influencing his decision to attack.
- The later Kingdoms of Scindia
Scindia, anglicized from Shinde, and also spelled as Sindhia, Sindia, is a Maratha family in India which included rulers of the Gwalior State in the 18th and 19th centuries, collaborators of the colonial British government during the 19th and the 20th centuries until India became independent, and...
s (Ranoji Shinde) of GwaliorGwalior , is a city in Madhya Pradesh in India. It lies 76 miles south of Agra and has a population of over 1.2 million. Gwalior was the Capital City of Great Maratha Sardar & Warrior Maharaja Shrimant Madhavraoji Shinde - Sawstant Gwalior...
, HolkarThe Holkar were a prominent Dhangar family, who ruled as Rajas and later Maharajas of Indaur in Central India as an independent member of the Maratha Confederacy until 1818, and afterwards as a princely state -under protectorate- of British India with a 19-guns salute until India's independence,...
s (Malharrao) of IndoreIndore is the largest city and commercial capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . It is also known as The City of Holkars. The city was built by a holkar, Rani Ahilya Bai, one of the famous queens of India. Located in the Narmada river valley in the western part of the state of Madhya...
, GaekwadThe Gaekwad or Gaikwad was a Maratha dynasty that ruled the princely state of Baroda in western India from the mid-eighteenth century until 1947...
s (Pilaji) of BarodaVadodara , formerly Baroda , is the third most-populated city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat. It is one of four cities in the state with a population of over 1 million, the other being Rajkot and the two cities listed above, although it has a massive population of over 3...
, and Pawars (Udaiji) of DharDhār is located in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh state in central India.It is the administrative headquarters of Dhar District. The town is located west of Mhow, . above sea level...
were Baji Rao's creation of a Maratha confederacy as he wreaked havoc on the disintegrating Mughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire was an Islamic and Persianate imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, invaded and ruled most of Hindustan by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century...
and set up his jagirdars (fiefdoms).
- He moved the administrative capital of the Maratha Empire from Satara
Satara is a town located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India. The name is derived from the seven hills surrounding the town. The town is 2320 ft...
to the new city of PunePune , formerly known as Punawadi or Punya-Nagari or Poona, is the eighth largest city in India, and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra, after Mumbai...
in 1728 with permission of his master. His general, Bapuji Shripat persuaded some of the richer families of SataraSatara is a town located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India. The name is derived from the seven hills surrounding the town. The town is 2320 ft...
to settle in the new city, which was divided into 18 peths (boroughs).
- In 1732, after the death of Maharaja Chhatrasal
Budelkhand Kesri Maharaja Chhatrasal along with Chatrapati Shivaji and Guru Gobind Singh formed a trinity of rebels who rose against Aurangzeb's rule in the 18th century...
, a long-time ally of the Maratha Empire, Baji Rao was granted 1/3 of Chhatrasal's kingdom in BundelkhandBundelkhand is a geographic region of central India...
.
- Although a very capable cavalry leader, Baji Rao is thought by historians to not be a very able administrator. He did not organize the expanding empire or put a governance structure in place. This may have resulted in the eventual creation of smaller fiefdoms when the central authority of the Peshwas began declining.
Major battles
- Malwa - December, 1723
- Dhar
Dhār is located in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh state in central India.It is the administrative headquarters of Dhar District. The town is located west of Mhow, . above sea level...
- 1724
- Aurangabad
Aurangabad Aurangabad Aurangabad ( ( , meaning "Built by the Throne", named after Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb), is a city in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, India. The city is a tourist hub, surrounded with many historical monuments, including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, which are UNESCO...
- 1724
- Battle of Palkhed
Battle of Palkhed was a land battle that took place on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between the Maratha Peshwa, Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad...
- February, 1728
- Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad is a city in India, which is the largest city in the state of Gujarat, with a population of approximately 52 lakhs . Located on the banks of the River Sabarmati, the city is the administrative centre of Ahmedabad district and was the capital of Gujarat from 1960 to 1970; the capital...
- 1731
- Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of, the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is the historic capital of the former kingdom of Mewar in Rajputana Agency...
- 1736
- Firozabad
Firozabad is a city in India, within the state of Uttar Pradesh.This city was built by Firuz Shah Tughluq, a Tughlaq king. From the earliest it was famous for glass and bangle works, and its related small scale industry is famous throughout the world. Due to underdeveloped industry, literacy rates...
- 1737
- Delhi
Delhi, known locally as Dilli , and also by the official name National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India...
- 1737
- Bhopal
Bhopāl is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarter of Bhopal District and Bhopal Division. Bhopal is known as the Lake city as its landscape is dotted with a number of natural lakes.Bhopal is also one of the greenest cities of India.Historically, Bhopal...
- 1738
- Battle of Vasai
The Battle of Vasai was fought between the Marathas and the Portuguese rulers of Vasai, a village lying near Bombay in the present-day state of Maharashtra, India. The Marathas were led by Chimaji Appa, a brother of Peshwa Baji Rao I. Maratha victory in this war was a major achievement of Baji Rao...
- May 17, 1739
Battle tactics
Baji Rao is famous for rapid tactical movements in battle using his cavalry, hence he is often called a cavalry general. Two examples are the
Battle of PalkhedBattle of Palkhed was a land battle that took place on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between the Maratha Peshwa, Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad...
in 1728 when he outmaneuvered the
MughalThe Mughal Empire was an Islamic and Persianate imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, invaded and ruled most of Hindustan by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century...
Governor of the Deccan province, and again in the battle against the Mughal Emperor,
Muhammad ShahMuhammad Shah also known as Roshan Akhtar was a Mughal emperor of India between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah, the 4th son of Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at the age of seventeen with the help of the Syed Brothers, he later got rid of them with the help of Nizam...
at
DelhiDelhi, known locally as Dilli , and also by the official name National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India...
during 1739. His main focus was always on cutting the enemy supply-lines with the help of rapid troop movement and the local terrain. He revolutionised military tactics in his times. encircling enemy quickly, appearing from the rear of enemy, attacking from the unexpected direction, distracting enemy's attaintion, keeping enemy in surprise and deciding the battelfield on own terms were his trademark war-winning tactics.
Basic difference between the tactics used by Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj and that of by Thorle Bajirao Pehwe is that Shivaji Maharaj employed Ganimi Kava (i.e. Guerilla warfare). Bajirao did not use this tactic. The reason is that during Shivaji's period Hindavi Swarajya was too small, man-power was limited and resources were also short. In such adverse conditions Ganimi Kava was the best tactic. But in the mean time situation changed. When Bajirao took charge Swarajya was expanding, man-power was increasing and resources were accumulating. Hence Guerilla warfare was not useful in the changed scenario. Hence Bajirao developed this fast and furious military tactic.
Family
Baji Rao was married to Kashibai, and had three sons of whom,
NanasahebNanasaheb Peshwa, also known as Balaji Bajirao, was the son of Bajirao from his marriage with Kashibai and one of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire. He contributed heavily to the development of the city of Pune, India. He was appointed as Peshwa by Chattrapati Shahu himself...
, was appointed
Peshwa by Shahu in 1740.
Mastani
MastaniMastani was the muslim wife of Peshwa Baji Rao I , an Indian general and prime minister to the fourth Maratha Chhatrapati Shahuji. She is said to have been a beautiful and brave woman.-Biography:...
was the second wife of Bajirao. She bore him a son, named Krishnarao at birth, but the brahmins did not accept him as a pure Hindu brahmin since his mother was a Muslim, (the daughter of Maharaja Chattrasal of Panna by a Muslim wife) Mastani was also the single biggest complication in Bajirao's personal life. Their love affair caused much rift in the orthodox
PunePune , formerly known as Punawadi or Punya-Nagari or Poona, is the eighth largest city in India, and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra, after Mumbai...
society of the time and led to a major crisis within the royal Peshwa family.
Bajirao ardently desired that his son by Mastani be invested with the sacred thread and be declared a brahmin. But even the powerful Bajirao could not get the orthodox Pune brahmin priests to agree. With a heavy heart he had to bring up the lad as a Muslim. Renamed Shamsher Bahadur, Bajirao and Mastani's son died, aged barely 27, fighting valiantly for the Marathas in the Battle of Panipat 1761. Shamsher Bahadur's son, Ali Bahadur, ruled over Baji Rao's lands in Bundelkhand, and founded the state of Banda, UP.
Historian D. G. Godse claims that Baji Rao's brother
Chimnaji AppaChimnaji Appa was the son of Balaji Vishwanath Bhat and the younger brother of Bajirao Peshwa. He was an able military commander who liberated the western coast of India from Portuguese rule...
and mother, Radhabai, never accepted
MastaniMastani was the muslim wife of Peshwa Baji Rao I , an Indian general and prime minister to the fourth Maratha Chhatrapati Shahuji. She is said to have been a beautiful and brave woman.-Biography:...
as one of their own. Many attempts were made on her life, presumably by Chimanji Appa and she was able to survive these attempts only at the interference of Chattrapati Shahu.
The famous glass painting of Mastani can be seen in the 'Mastani Mahal' the palace Peshwa Bajirao had built for his love. The fabulous recreated palace can be seen in the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum in Pune. The romantic setting, musical instruments, mirrors, chandeliers, paintings and silk carpets all invoke the grandeur of the Maratha Empire.
Death
Bajirao died on April 28, 1740 still in his prime. He died of a sudden fever, possibly heat stroke, while inspecting his jagirs and en route to delhi with one lakh troops under his command at his camp in the district of Khargon, near the city of
IndoreIndore is the largest city and commercial capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . It is also known as The City of Holkars. The city was built by a holkar, Rani Ahilya Bai, one of the famous queens of India. Located in the Narmada river valley in the western part of the state of Madhya...
. His mortal remains were consigned to flames on April 28, 1740, at Raverkhedi on the river,
NarmadaThe Narmada the Periplus Maris Erythraei calls it the Nammadus.. The British Raj called it the Nerbudda or Narbada[] is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. Narmada is a Sanskrit word meaning 'the Giver of Pleasure'...
.
To visit the Peshwa Bajirao Samadhi Smarak, you have to get down at Sanavat Railway Station. Travel by Bus or Private Vehicle to Khedi (via Bedia village). From Khedi (Raverkhedi) Village, go to Raver village. On the banks of Narmada River, this archeological place is worth Inspiring with beautiful landscape !
(It is around 110 km from Indore. Route - Indore - Sanavat - Bedia - Raverkhedi - Raver) Every Year on 28 April, People from Maharashtra (mainly Pune), Gujarat (mainly Baroda), Madhya Pradesh (Indore & Gwalior) come to this place to remember this Hero