History has often been told as the story of men. But as those who have delved deep into it will know- history is equally the story of women- powerful, warlike, ambitious, crafty or honorable- women who have shaped the destinies of empires and nations! Just a look at Indian history will reveal thousands of formidable women who have achieved great renown- as leaders, warriors, administrators, influencers, as well as mothers and wives.
The Maratha Empire, which arose in 17th century western India, and governed most of the Subcontinent in the 18th century, also gave rise to several extraordinary women. This International Women’s Day, let’s look at some of those who played a key role in Maratha history. These are but a few among many, presented chronologically to properly show their achievements in the context of history. Shall we begin?
Rajmata Jijabai
Rajmata Jijabai (1598 – 1674 CE), also called Jijamata or Jijau, was the mother of the Founder of the Maratha Empire, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. As the chief guiding light of his life and the matriarch of the House of the Bhonsales, she played the greatest role in inspiring him to create the ‘Swarajya’.
In those days, the Deccan was divided between the Sultans- Adil Shah, Nizam Shah, and Qutub Shah, with the Mughal Emperor repeatedly invading from the north. Constantly warring against each other, these rulers perpetrated atrocities upon the common people, destroying temples and dishonoring women while the feudal lords fought for them without any thought of independence. With her innate intelligence, Jijabai, married to the mighty Shahaji Raje Bhonsale, realized that the people needed to be set free from their shackles. She encouraged Shahaji to create his own independent kingdom; however, his attempts resulted in failure due to the shifting loyalties of the Maratha Sardars.
The Woman who gave Birth to the Maratha Empire
Her vision later bore fruit through her son, Shivaji. Born in 1630, he grew up with her as his teacher, philosopher, and guiding light. She raised him lovingly yet firmly, imparting ancient wisdom through the stories of Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Bhagwad Gita. She ensured his education in administration, warfare, and politics inculcating in him the values of self-respect, leadership, unity and compassion.
When Shivaji was 6, Shahaji Raje sent him and Jijabai to his fiefdom in Pune to govern it in his name. Upon reaching Pune, Jijabai found it to be utterly ruined due to the continuous wars. With advice from Shahaji’s deputy Dadoji Konddev, she took up the task of rehabilitating Pune, established the temple of Kasba Ganapati, and reinvigorated trade and farming. She commissioned the construction of the Lal Mahal as her residence, and ensured good governance and military security in the region. Inspiring Shivaji with the vision of Swarajya or ‘self-rule’, she wholeheartedly supported his dreams and ambitions. When his wife died leaving behind 2-year old Sambhaji, Jijabai took up the duty of raising him as well. Thus, she was responsible for raising not one, but two Emperors of the Marathas!
In 1674, she passed away after Shivaji was formally coronated as the ‘Chhatrapati’ of the Maratha Empire. In her lifetime, she fulfilled the dream of Swarajya through her son, rescuing millions of people from slavery and misery. She remains a celebrated and revered icon throughout Maharashtra even to this day!
Maharani Yesubai
Maharani Yesubai was the wife of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the 2nd Emperor of the Marathas. Married at a young age, with her intelligence and steady resilience she soon found favor with her father-in-law Shivaji Maharaj, who considered her a good influence on his son. During her husband’s reign (1681-1689) the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb descended upon the fledgling Maratha Empire with an army of over 6 lakhs, aiming to conquer all of South India. As his wife and confidante, Yesubai counseled Chhatrapati Sambhaji in his administration as well as military plans. Once, Sambhaji Maharaj was devastated after finding out that he had mistakenly put his Royal Secretary or Chitnis, Balaji Awji to death due to a wrong suspicion of treachery. Yesubai advised him to right this wrong by giving the position to Balaji’s son Khando Ballal, who later ended up saving Sambhaji’s life!
In 1689, Sambhaji Maharaj was captured and executed by Aurangzeb. When the capital Raigad was besieged, Yesubai took charge even while dealing with her own grief and loss. Realizing that the Kingdom needed a strong leader at this critical juncture, she crowned her husband’s half-brother Rajaram as Chhatrapati instead of her own son who was only 7 years old. She sent Rajaram away to keep him safe, and defended Raigad till it fell. From there, her story got even worse.
Prisoner of the Mughals
For 30 years, from 1689 to 1719, she remained a prisoner of the Mughals. With barely any money and resources, she had to take care of all the family members, officers and servants who had been captured with her. Despite this, she acted with great patience and fortitude. Even though she could not teach her son Shahu to fight in Mughal captivity, she ensured that he became a learned, wise young man. How the former Queen must have lived, surrounded by enemies in a rough, hard, camp?
However, her story does have a happy ending. Her son, who had been released in 1708 and become Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, sent his Prime Minister, Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath in 1719 to negotiate her release. By now, the Marathas were on the rise, and after 30 years in captivity, Yesubai returned to Maharashtra and reunited with her son. She lived for 11 years more, happy to see her son secure as Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire. Her memory remains in history as a shining example of sacrifice and courage.
Maharani Tarabai
Maharani Tarabai (1675-1761) was the wife of Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj, 3rd Emperor of the Marathas. Being the daughter of Sarsenapati (Commander-in-Chief) Hambirrao Mohite, she learned horse-riding, swordplay, and other skills of warfare at an early age. After Rajaram became the Emperor in 1689, Tarabai supported him in every situation, including the perilous journey from Mughal-occupied Maharashtra to Jinjee, Tamil Nadu; and assisted him in the war, working with his Council of Ministers. In 1700, Rajaram Maharaj passed away at Sinhagad, leaving behind two adolescent sons. Shahu, the true heir to the throne, was still in Mughal captivity. Who would rule the kingdom at this crucial juncture?
It was Tarabai who stepped up, seating her adolescent son Shivaji II on the throne and ruling in his name. Coordinating with the ministers, she personally led attacks and recaptured Maratha fortresses. For 7 years, she successfully continued the War, gaining fame as a warrior-general and an administrator. In 1707, Emperor Aurangzeb died, the Mughals returned north, and Tarabai was celebrated for having won the 27-year long Maratha War of Independence.
After the War
Tarabai was not only valiant, but also shrewd. Upon taking control of the kingdom, she had imprisoned Rajaram’s other wife Rajasbai and her son Sambhaji II. In 1708, when Shahu returned, she denounced him as an impostor and refused to hand over the kingdom. When most of the Sardars allied with him, she retreated to Kolhapur and established her son’s separate kingdom. Shahu accepted this demarcation and crowned himself at Satara. But when she repeatedly failed to make peace, her administrator Ramchandra Pant Amatya released Rajasbai, who seated her son Sambhaji II on the throne and imprisoned Tarabai! Thus, the Queen received a taste of her own medicine.
In 1731, Chhatrapati Shahu obtained her release from prison, and respectfully brought her to Satara. Since he had no sons, he adopted Tarabai’s grandson Rajaram II as his successor, thus making her the founder of the Kolhapur kingdom as well as a matriarch of the Satara kingdom! In 1752, she imprisoned her grandson and conspired to remove Peshwa Nanasaheb who had been appointed for life by Shahu himself. Upon being defeated, she resigned herself to a nominal role in her grandson’s administration, and passed away in 1761. Today, she is remembered as a symbol of female power for her bravery, resistance to the Mughals and founding her own kingdom.
Peshwin Radhabai
Radhabai Bhat or Radhabai Peshwa was the wife of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, and the mother of Peshwa Bajirao I and Chimaji Appa. During her life of over 70 years, she laid the foundation of the Peshwa power and lived to see the Marathas become the supreme power in the Subcontinent.
As the wife of Balaji Vishwanath Bhat, a lieutenant and accountant under Sarsenapati Dhanaji Jadhav, Radhabai shared in all his hardships in Mughal-occupied Maharashtra. Their fortunes turned in 1707 when Balaji succeeded in helping Shahu become Chhatrapati at Satara. Even after this, she was once imprisoned along with her entire family by a rebel Sardar, but she showed great fortitude and they were soon rescued by Shahu’s army. Balaji was appointed Prime Minister in 1713, and Radhabai became the matriarch of the new Peshwa family. Seasoned in politics, she ably counseled her husband in taking Maratha power up to Delhi. She encouraged her sons to take part in battles from an early age, ensuring they learnt literature and accounts as well as warfare, politics and administration. It was she who instilled in them the dream of fulfilling Chhatrapati Shivaji’s vision of Hindavi Swarajya!
Mother of ‘The Great Peshwa’
In 1720, upon Balaji’s passing, her elder son Bajirao was appointed Peshwa, and he expanded the Maratha Empire in all directions. Radhabai turned Pune into a great city and paid attention to the people’s welfare as seen when, during a drought, she ordered the wealthy citizens to stop using water in their gardens and instead give it to the poor.
In 1729, Bajirao married Mastanibai, an illegitimate Muslim daughter of King Chhatrasal of Bundelkhand. This was a political alliance to secure his power in Bundelkhand in the north from where he could target Delhi. However, the orthodox section of Brahmins in Pune were outraged and refused to conduct religious ceremonies for the Peshwas. Radhabai brought them in line by threatening to invite priests from Varanasi. While she accepted Mastani as a political necessity and even helped her during her pregnancy, she ensured that her presence caused minimal damage to the Peshwa reputation. In 1735 she made a long pilgrimage to North India, and used the opportunity to cement Bajirao’s new alliances with the Rajputs, Jats, Bundelas and some Muslim Nawabs. This helped Bajirao to soundly defeat the Mughals in the Battle of Delhi in 1737!
In 1752 when Maharani Tarabai and Umbabai Dabhade conspired against her grandson Nanasaheb Peshwa and attacked Pune, it was Radhabai who defended it. When she passed away in 1753, the Marathas had just signed the Ahmadiyya Treaty, by which they became the protectors of the Mughals, and in effect the rulers of India. Though largely forgotten in history, Peshwin Radhabai must be credited with playing a key role in establishing and securing Maratha supremacy!
To Be Continued…
Well, these are just some of the great heroines and inspiring women leaders of the Maratha Empire. Hope you enjoyed their stories! Coming up in Part 2: the Queen who became a Saint, the greatest Rebel Queen in Indian history, and more! Stay tuned…
– Ashutosh Dixit
अव्वल !
Truly inspiring article! Many times we celebrate the accomplishments of modern women, and rightly so, but it helps to remember those who came before.
Nice Article, on Women’s Day.
Good work !