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The Maratha empire formally began in 1674. It was then a small kingdom in the western region of India. Raigad was the capital city of this region. The empire gained its popularity under the founder Shivaji Bhonsle. He led the Maratha army to fight against Adil Shah, the Sultan of Bijapur. This was the time for the Rise Of Marathas. Their main aim was to establish a Hindu Swarajya, which means self-rule by Hindus. He was crowned with the title of Chhatrapati in 1674. Various factors that contributed to the rise of the Marathas in the Indian natural topography are as follows:
Topography and Geography of the region
A key factor for the Rise Of Marathas in the Indian natural topography is their geographical location. It was covered from all sides by the mountain ranges of Vindhya, Sahyadri, and Satpura. The region was mostly covered by plateaus which trained the people to work hard to survive. The natural topography of the area helped them adopt the guerrilla warfare strategy and made them courageous soldiers. They were disciplined, had patience, loyal to their motherland, and focused on their task. The way they lived their daily life made them perfect soldiers.
Role of religion and social system in their lives
The Marathas were greatly influenced by many prominent leaders who preached about One God that is Bhakti Dharma. They believed in karma and did not support caste-based discrimination. The idea of unity and Swarajya united the Marathas. The role of bhakti saints was also crucial and played and played a significant role in instilling in them a spirit of one nation. They also believed in the higher status of women and bhakti dharma. The condemnation of the caste system and the goal of social equality is the reason people supported them, which led to the Rise Of Marathas. Some of the most influential people were: Ram Das, Eknath, Tuka Ram, and Vaman Pandit.
Economic factors
The economic gap was not very high among the people. There were no extremely rich or extremely poor people who could create an oppressor-oppressed situation. Thus, every individual was self-made and had a strong sense of self-respect.
Characteristics of the people
The Marathas were very hard working and physically active. Their pride and dignity mattered the most to them. They could give up any worldly possession for their pride. They were intelligent as well. The physical conditions and social system led to the Rise Of Marathas and turned them into people with strong personalities.
Bhakti movement and its aspects
The great reformers such as Ramanuja, Ramananda, Vallabhacharya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Eknath, united the people with his teaching by the role of bhakti saints. He taught the people to be proud of their mother tongue. This united the people from different villages far and close. The Marathas became a clan of strong, like-minded people with a common language. This helped in the Rise Of Marathas in the Indian natural topography even before political unity could be attained.
Trained in the area of administration
Many Marathas were already employed in different departments of the rulers in Deccan. They played an important role in the politics of Ahmednagar, Golconda, Bijapur, Berar, etc. they had training and experience in how the administration of Deccan was working. This gave them the necessary knowledge to point out their strengths and weaknesses and other internal affairs.
Mismanagement among the Deccan Rulers
A large population of the Maratha region was governed by the Adil Shahis of Bijapur and the Nizam Shahis of Ahmednagar. The entire region was divided between the two of them. The two rulers had tyrant nature, and the people were oppressed by them. The masses had to pay the price of their rivalry.
Shivaji Bhonsle
The Marathas rose to power under the leadership of Shivaji in the year 1647. He had already shown his capabilities by capturing the hill forts in the Raigarh, Toma, Poona, and Kon dana areas. Once his father Shahji’s jagir was passed onto him, he began his real conquest. Time and again, he showed qualities of courage by defeating the Sultans of Golconda and Bijapur and the Mughals who invaded Hindustan. He brought together Maratha Chiefs and the common people under the same umbrella with a common goal of Hindu Swarajya. His contribution is one of the greatest in protecting the country from foreign invaders. He inspired and motivated people who continued to fight and kept his spirit alive even after his death.
Conclusion
Without these factors, there wouldn’t have been the emergence of power as strong as the Marathas. Although there were many ups and downs in the journey of the Marathas, they had their share of glory. They declined from the throne due to various other reasons. After defeating the Mughals, the Marathas were the emerging power that could rule the country well. But even they could not prevent the rise of the British power in the country.
