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Madhavrao I | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Madhavrao I by Bhoj Raj at theYale Center for British Artc. 1763 | |
 9thPeshwa of theMaratha Confederacy | |
| In office 23 June 1761 – 18 November 1772 | |
| Monarch | Rajaram II of Satara |
| Preceded by | Balaji Baji Rao |
| Succeeded by | Narayan Rao |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Madhavrao Bhat (1745-02-15)15 February 1745 Savanur,Savanur State,Maratha Confederacy (modern dayKarnataka, India) |
| Died | 18 November 1772(1772-11-18) (aged 27) Theur,Pune,Maratha Confederacy (modern dayPune district, Maharashtra, India) |
| Spouse | |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Vishwasrao (elder brother) Narayan Rao (younger brother) Sadashivrao Bhau (uncle) Raghunathrao (uncle) Shamsher Bahadur I (uncle) Bajirao I (grandfather) Kashibai (grandmother) |
| Residence(s) | Shaniwarwada,Pune,Maratha Confederacy |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars |
|
Madhavrao I (formerly known asMadhavrao Ballal Bhat) was the son of PeshwaBalaji Bajirao and grandson of PeshwaBajirao I, who served as 9thPeshwa of theMaratha Empire. During his tenure, theMaratha Empire recovered from losses suffered during theThird Battle of Panipat, an event known as theMaratha Resurrection.[1] He is regarded as the greatest of all Peshwas byR.C Majumdar.[2]
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Madhavrao Bhat was the second son ofPeshwaNanasaheb, son ofBajirao. He was born inSavanur on 15 February 1745.[3] At his birth, theMaratha Confederacy stretched across a sizeable portion of Western, Central, and NorthernIndia.[citation needed] On 9 December 1758, Madhavrao marriedRamabai inPune.[citation needed]
Nanasaheb had greatly expanded theMaratha Confederacy and had tried to establish better governance. However, he was held partially responsible for the severe defeat of theMarathas byAhmad Shah Abdali at theThird Battle of Panipat in early 1761. TheMaratha forces suffered heavy losses, including the death of Nanasaheb's eldest son and heirVishwasrao Bhat, and cousin,Sadashivrao Bhau. He died on 23 June 1761, atParvati Hill inPune. After his father's death, the sixteen-year-oldMadhavrao was made the nextPeshwa ofthe Maratha Confederacy.[4] His paternal uncle,Raghunathrao was to act asregent.
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At the time of Madhavrao’s ascendancy, theMaratha Confederacy was in complete disarray, burdened by significant debts following their defeat atPanipat. AtShaniwar Wada, the prime residence of thePeshwa, religious rituals andceremonies were frequently conducted, while administrative discipline had weakened significantly. When these weaknesses were brought to Madhavrao's notice, he introduced changes by personally looking into the administration, accounts, and treasury. He also reduced the religious practices being followed atShaniwar Wada.
In February 1762,Peshwas set out to conquerKarnataka. This was one of the earliest wars against theNizam (Battle of Uruli). When conflict arose between Madhavrao and his uncleRaghunathrao. Due to a difference of opinion between the two,Raghunathrao decided to abandon the troops midway and return toPune, while Madhavrao continued. Eventually, a treaty was signed with the Nizam and Madhavrao returned. Both Madhavrao andRaghunathrao had their preferences even over theSardars (Generals). Madhavrao usually preferred the company of Gopalrao Patwardhan, Tryambakrao Mama Pethe,Nana Fadnavis, andRamshastri Prabhune; while Raghunathrao was dearer toSakharam Bapu Bokil, Gulabrao and Gangoba Tatya.
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On August 22, 1762, Raghunathrao fled toVadgaon Maval where he started grooming his army against Madhavrao.Raghunathrao's men started looting the nearby villages for warfare and this act angered Madhavrao. He decided to wage a war against his uncleRaghunathrao on November 7, 1762. However, Madhavrao didn't wish to battle against his own uncle and thus, proposed for a treaty.
Raghunathrao agreed to sign the treaty with Madhavrao and asked him to move back to a non-attacking position. Madhavrao did so. However,Raghunathrao deceived Madhavrao. When the Maratha camp under Madhavrao was relaxed and unsuspecting of a battle, they were caught unawares asRaghunathrao attacked treacherously. Thus, Madhavrao was defeated in theBattle of Alegaon and on November 12, 1762, and surrendered near Alegaon.[5]
After the surrender,Raghunathrao decided to control all the major decisions under the assistance of Sakharam Bapu. He also decided to befriend the Nizam, but this proved to be a wrong move as the Nizam slowly started infiltrating the zones of theMaratha Confederacy. As time slipped by, Madhavrao pointed out the gravity of the situation to his uncle. Eventually, on March 7, 1763, the Peshwas, once again under Madhavrao's leadership, decided to attackAurangabad to crush the Nizam.
After months of chasing, the Peshwas faced Nizam's army on August 10, 1763, in theBattle of Rakshasbhuvan nearAurangabad.[6] Nizam's army suffered huge losses in this war, and Nizam retreated.[7]
In January 1764, for the second time, Madhavrao gathered his defenses and conqueredHyder Ali. This time his massive army included efficient generals like Gopalrao Patwardhan, Murarrao Ghorpade, Vinchurkar and Naro Shankar.Raghunathrao declined his offer to join him and instead chose to visitNashik. This was a particularly long conquest in areas of formerSira Subah which went for almost a year inKarnataka.
However,Hyder Ali somehow managed to escape the clutches of the Peshwas. In November 1764, the major Dharwar Fort came into the charge of young Peshwa with the assistance of Gopal Rao and Anand Rao. Only Bankapur was left under the control of Haider Ali. Again Madhavrao defeatedHyder Ali on many occasions on such occasion ofthe Battle of Jadi Hanwati andBattle of Rattihalli which eventually givesHyder Ali many casualties.
Eventually, Madhavrao decided to callRaghunathrao for his assistance, butRaghunathrao only signed a treaty withHyder Ali, much to Madhavrao's disappointment.Raghunathrao intentionally made this move, since he was now fearfully aware of Madhavrao's burgeoning power. The power of the Young Peshwa Madhav Rao could be seen from a letter which Raghunath Rao wrote to Gopika Bai in 1765 which was as follows.[8] " He has become very wise. He is managing everything and doing more than Nana Saheb Peshwa and Bhau Saheb ever did."
Additionally, his loyal assistant Sakharam Bapu also warned him against the consequences of conquering Hyder Ali. The Peshwa's failure to impose his authority overHyder Ali triggered a major setback on Madhavrao's health[citation needed]. In 1767, Madhavrao I organized a 2nd expedition againstHyder Ali. Supported by the defection of Hyder Ali's brother, he inflicted defeats onHyder Ali in the battles ofSira andMadhugiri and made a surprise discovery of Queen Virammaji, the last ruler of theKeladi Nayaka Kingdom and her son who were kept in confinement in the fort ofMadhugiri by Hyder Ali.[9] They were rescued by Madhavrao I and were sent to Pune for protection.[9] Sira Subah was absorbed intoMaratha confederacy. Who retained it until Haidar's son,Tipu Sultan, recaptured it in 1774.[10]
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The Peshwas were expanding their territory in the northern regions of India.Raghunathrao,Holkars andShindes together marched towards Delhi with the intention of expanding theMaratha Confederacy in these territories. Meanwhile, Madhavrao made a bold decision of bonding with his old rival,Nizam Ali Khan, Asaf Jah II.[citation needed]
TheNizam also genuinely expressed his desire to do so, and thus the two met at Kurumkhed on 5 February 1766. The next few days saw some cultural exchanges and open expressions of concern. A level of mutual understanding was reached and this relationship started growing stronger.
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On 3 December 1767, an East India Company officer, Mastin, arrived in Pune, requesting to establish a British military presence in Vasai and Sashti in exchange for help against Hyder Ali. Madhavrao rejected the offer, remaining suspicious of British intentions. Mastin's repeated requests to acquire these regions in return for defeating Hyder Ali fell on deaf ears, and Madhavrao never agreed to them.[citation needed]
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Though Raghunathrao had marched to the north to expand the empire, he failed to do so. Instead, he came back to Anandvalli and was again tempted to form an alliance with his generals and fight against Madhavrao. This time, however; Madhavrao was extremely agitated with his uncle's repeated attempts to overthrow him. On 10 June 1768, he waged a war against Raghunathrao, captured him, and put him under house arrest at Shaniwar Wada along with his assistantSakharam Bapu Bokil.
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On the evening of 7 September 1769. Madhavrao was returning from theParvati temple at Pune with his comrades, when one of his generals, Ramsingh, suddenly attacked him with a sword. Madhavrao was warned just in the nick of time, and he suffered a blow from the sword on his shoulder as he tried to dodge Ramsingh. Madhavrao believed that this was Raguhnathrao's attempt to murder him, but he imprisoned General Ramsingh.
In 1769, Madhavrao sent a large army under the command of Ramchandra Ganesh Kanade andVisaji Krushna Biniwale in order to recover territory lost in the North due to the defeat of theThird battle of Panipat they were joined byMahadji Shinde andTukoji Rao Holkar. This Maratha army marched towardsUdaipur. TheRajputs there agreed to pay him 60 lakhs as tribute. On 5 April 1770, the Marathas defeatedJats ofBharatpur.
In October 1770 they vanquishedNajib KhanRohilla, the main opponent of theBattle of Panipat (1761).In November 1771,Visaji Krushna Biniwale was appointed ‘In Charge of the Northern Front ofMarathas’ by Peshwa Madhavrao I. In February 1772, along with Mahadji Shinde, he overpowered theRohillas of Rohillkhand at Shukratal by defeatingZabita Khan. They avenged the defeat of Panipat by breaking the tomb ofNajib Khan, by looting the artillery and wealth of theRohillas, and by recovering from them an additional tribute of Rs.40 lakhs. Mahadji Shinde made his mark as a Maratha general while serving with Biniwale in North India.[11]
During his northern campaign, Biniwale persuaded the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam to return to Delhi and reclaim his throne in 1771.[12] Peshwa Madhavrao I was so delighted with Visaji Krushna's grand victory in theRohilkhand that he specifically mentioned in his written will to shower golden flowers on him during his arrival at the border ofPune.
The Capture of Delhi was a battle in 1771 when the forces of theMaratha Confederacy led by Mahadaji Shinde captured Delhi along with the Red Fort and gaveMughal EmperorShah Alam II the throne back with the treaty.[13][14] The Marathas captured Delhi fromNajib Khan's sonZabita Khan who was put in charge by the Afghans. With this capture, Marathasregained their lost supremacy in North India after theThird Battle of Panipat and conquered much of the lost territories which they lost after the Third Battle of Panipat.
Shah Alam spent six years in the Allahabad fort and after thecapture of Delhi in 1771 by the Marathas, left for his capital under their protection.[15] He was escorted to Delhi by Mahadaji Shinde and left Allahabad in May 1771. During their short stay, the Marathas constructed two temples in Allahabad city, one of them being the famousAlopi Devi Mandir.
After reaching Delhi in January 1772 and realizing the Maratha intent of territorial encroachment however, Shah Alam ordered his generalNajaf Khan to drive them out. In retaliation, Tukoji Rao Holkar and Visaji Krushna Biniwale attacked Delhi and defeated Mughal forces in 1772. The Marathas were granted an imperialsanad for Kora and Allahabad. They turned their attention to Oudh to gain these two territories. Shuja was, however, unwilling to give them up and made appeals to the English and the Marathas did not fare well at the Battle of Ramghat.[16] The Maratha and British armies fought in Ram Ghat, but the sudden demise of the Peshwa and the civil war inPune to choose the next Peshwa forced the Maratha army to retreat.[17]
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In June 1770, the Peshwas set out to conquer Hyder Ali for the third time. However, Madhavrao was infected withtuberculosis, and his health started deteriorating. Tuberculosis was also termed "Raj-Yakshma" or the "prince of diseases".[18]
Madhavrao had to return from Miraj as the effects of the disease had started becoming prominent. He was even recommended an English doctor for treatment of the terrible disease, and he would follow the advice given by the doctor. However, there were no signs of improvement and slowly it started developing further. The disease had affected his intestine. There was no cure for tuberculosis in those times. Madhavrao decided to spend his last days in his favoriteGaneshaChintamani Temple, Theur. According to Grant Duff "The third battle of Panipat was not that much fatal to the Maratha empire than the early death of Peshwa Madhav Rao in 1772. "[citation needed]
On 6 October 1772, Raghunathrao tried to escape from the house arrest at Shaniwar Wada, but he was caught again. Madhavrao had become excessively weak, and he could no longer bear such incidents. He had constructed a garden, a wooden hall, and a fountain outside this favorite temple.[citation needed]
18 November 1772, early morning approximately at eight: Madhavrao died at the temple premises of Chintamani, Theur. Thousands of citizens visited the site and paid their last respects. Madhavrao was cremated on the banks of the river which was about half a mile from the temple. A small memorial carved out of stone rests today at that place as a memorial.[citation needed]
His wife Ramabai chose to commit sati with his body at the time of cremation.[citation needed]
Madhavrao was regarded well by many of his subjects, owing to his perceived openness, and shrewdness of decisions. Assessing the impact of the loss of Madhavrao, the writerJames Grant Duff eulogized:
And the plains ofPanipat were not more fatal to the Maratha Confederacy than the early end of this excellent prince…[19][20]
