वीर मराठा

Flag of the Maratha Empire

The word Peshwa is from Persian peshwa, meaning “foremost, leader”. After coronation of Shivaji Maharaj in 1674, he appointed Moropant Trimbak Pingle as the first Peshwa. Shivaji Maharaj renamed this designation as Pantpradhan in 1674 but this term is less commonly used. Today, the surname “Peshwe” (alternatively “Peshave”) or “Peshwa” is found both among Chitpavans (tracing descent to the (Bhat) Deshmukh.

A Peshwa (Marathi: पेशवे) was the equivalent to modern Prime Minister’s in the Maratha Empire. Originally, the Peshwas served as a subordinate to the Chatrapati (the Maratha king), but later, they became they de facto leaders of the Marathas, and the Chatrapati was reduced a nominal ruler. During the last years of the Maratha Empire, the Peshwas themselves were reduced to titular leaders, and remained under the authority of the Maratha nobles and the British East India Company.

The first Peshwa was Moropant Pingle, who was appointed as the head of the Ashta Pradhan (council of eight ministers) by Chatrapati Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire.
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The initial Peshwas were all ministers who served as the chief executives to the king. The later Peshwas held the highest administrative office and also controlled the Maratha confederacy. Under the Chitpavan Brahmin Bhat family. Under Peshwa administration and with the support of several key generals and diplomats, the Maratha Empire reached its zenith, ruling most of the Indian subcontinent. However, after the Peshwa Raghunathrao allied with the British, the Peshwa’s power declined substantially.

Maratha Emperors
(1674–1818)
Shivaji	1674–1680
Sambhaji	1680–1689
Rajaram Chhatrapati	1689–1700
Queen Tarabai	1700–1707
Chhatrapati Shahu	1707–1749
Rajaram II of Satara	1749–1777

Peshwas Prime Ministers
(1674–1818)
Moropant Pingle	1674–1689
Ramchandra Pant Amatya	1689–1708
Bahiroji Pingale	1708–1711
Parshuram Trimbak Kulkarni	1711–1713
Balaji Vishwanath	1712–1719
Bajirao I	1719–1740
Balaji Baji Rao (Nanasaheb)	1740–1761
Madhavrao Ballal	1761–1772
Narayan Rao	1772–1773
Raghunathrao	1773–1774
Sawai Madhavrao	1774–1795
Baji Rao II	1795–1818

Name: Shivaji Bhosle

Born: 1627
Family: Father- Shahaji Bhosale, Mother- Jijabai
Famous as: Founder of Maratha Empire
Died: 1680

Shivaji also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji, was an Indian emperor and founder of Maratha Empire. Shivaji Maharaj was a brave and kind emperor.
He was born in a hill-fort of Shivneri, near the city of Junnar in Pune district.
His parents were Shahaji Bhosale and Jijabai. His father was a Mercenary of Bijapur sultan. His Guru Dadoji Kondeo was a friend of Shahaji. His mother and his guru transferred the idea of Hindavi Swarajya (an empire which will be ruled by Hindu king and not by Muslim king) to him.

From childhood he was a brave boy and showed the qualities of a ruler. He had great interest in religious teachings. He studied Ramayana and Mahabharata with great interest.
His first attack was on the Torna fort. He captured the fort only at an age of 16. After capturing Torna fort, he captured Kondana and Rajgad forts. At the rise of Shivaji’s power Bijapur sultan arrested his father. Shivaji captured the forts of Purander and Javeli after rescuing his father from the Bijapur sultan’s prison.

Mughal samrat Aurangzeb sent Jai Singh and Dilip Khan to stop Shivaji. Shivaji was forced to sign the treaty of Purander. According to this treaty, he gave about 24 forts to mughal king. He was invited to Agra by Aurangjeb. Shivaji was arrested and imprisoned in Agra. But he escaped from Agra and returned to his kingdom. Returning from imprison, he recaptured the forts which he lost in the treaty of Purander. During this time he took the title ‘Chhatrapati’.

Chhatrapati-Shivaji

He was the head person in his administration. But there were other persons and cabinets (Ashtapradhan mandal composed of eight ministers) to help him. Many taxes were collected at that time but he never collected taxes forcefully. People had the freedom to choose any religion. He took care of his people like a father.

Shivaji was one of the few rulers who realized the importance of a strong Navy in protecting the Konkan coast from pirates, and also not being dependent on the English, Dutch and Portugese. He also built a strong Navy. He is called the “Father of Indian Navy”. He also built a strong army where he introduced the guerrilla warfare tactics. Naval forts were built at Vijaydurg, Sindhudurg, Jaigad etc, while docks for repair of naval vessels were set up at Ratnagiri. He had 4 different kind of war ships-Gurabs, Gallibats, Pals and Manjuhas. And also maintained a large merchant navy for trade purposes.

His victories were famous in the battles of:

Conflict with Adilshahi sultanat
Combat with Afzal Khan
Battle of Pratapgarh
Battle of Kolhapur
Battle of Pavan Khind
Clash with the Mughals
Attack on Shaista Khan
Treaty of Purandar
Arrest in Agra and escape
Battle of Nesari
Conquest in Southern India

Shivaji died in 1680 after suffering fever for 3 weeks. After his death today, Shivaji is considered as a national hero in India, especially in the state of Maharashtra, where he remains arguably the greatest figure in the state’s history. Stories of his life form an integral part of the upbringing and identity of the Marathi people. Further, he is also recognized as a warrior legend, who sowed the seeds of Indian independence.

Nineteenth century Hindu revivalist Swami Vivekananda considered Shivaji a hero and paid glowing tributes to his wisdom.When Indian Nationalist leader, Lokmanya Tilak organised a festival to mark the birthday celebrations of Shivaji.

“Shivaji is one of the greatest national saviours who emancipated our society and our Hindu dharma when they were faced with the threat of total destruction. He was a peerless hero, a pious and God-fearing king and verily a manifestation of all the virtues of a born leader of men described in our ancient scriptures. He also embodied the deathless spirit of our land and stood as the light of hope for our future.”
~ Swami Vivekananda

Rabindranath Tagore wrote in his famous poem “Shivaji”:
In what far-off country, upon what obscure day
I know not now,
Seated in the gloom of some Mahratta mountain-wood
O King Shivaji,
Lighting thy brow, like a lightning flash,
This thought descended,
“Into one virtuous rule, this divided broken distracted India,
I shall bind.

Some rarely known facts about Shivaji Maharaj are:

His name is not derived from Lord Shiva but in fact a regional deity by the name of Shivai. He was given god-like stature for his deeds, not his name.
He was extremely secular, but he never compromised on his own religious roots and tried reviving all the positive aspects of Hinduism.
He had many Muslims in his military ranks as well. In fact, he even offered his assistance to Aurangzeb in conquering Bijapur.
He converted his army of 2,000 men into 10,000 soldiers.
He was a practical military commander and didn’t encourage his troops to be martyred for the sake of it. Instead, he always asked them to take a step back and regroup.
He was smart enough to establish a navy to protect the coastline.
He defeated Afzal Khan in a one-on-one battle. Afzal Khan was a veteran general and superior to Shivaji in size & strength.
He stood for the honour of women and made sure none were taken prisoners and naturally rape or molestation was severely punished.
He was extremely merciful to those who surrendered and would welcome them into his own army.
He fought for India first, and then his kingdom.
He was extremely caring towards the common people and never allowed raids on households or religious places.