Maratha Empire – Shahuji Bhonsle

The Marathas were one of India’s aggressive groups, forming a mighty Maratha Empire in the Deccan region. After the death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the local leader Shivaji established an independent Maratha nation in 1674, and they rose through the political and ruling ranks. Their administration was a hybrid of Hindu and Muslim institutions. Furthermore, with the introduction of the Peshwa Raj, several changes were made to the Marathas’ administrative system. During the reign of Balaji Rao I, the foundations of this system were laid. During this time, Sahu delegated authority to his various Maratha sardars to collect taxes such as Chauth or Sardeshmukhi from multiple parts of the territory.

Chatrapati Shahuji Bhonsle 

Chatrapati Shahuji Bhonsale was the 5th ruler of the Maratha dynasty after their father, Chatrapati Sambhaji Bhonsale. Chatrapati Shahuji Bhonsle was taken as a prisoner along with his mother by Zulfikar Khan Nusrat Jang in 1689 after the battle of Raigarh. Chatrapati Shahuji Bhonsle was released from prison after 18 years and became an effective ruler of the Maratha Empire in their time. 

Maratha’s power and influence spread across the Indian subcontinent during Chhatrapati Shahuji Bhosle Maharaj’s reign. Chatrapati Shahuji Bhonsle had a minister whom he used to call his Ashta Pradhans, who later took charge of the Maratha empire after his death. 

Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath

Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath was the first ruler from the Peshwa dynasty to sit on the throne of the Maratha Empire at the time of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj’s demise Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath was the prime minister. Hence, the power was by default transferred to the Peshwa Dynasty.

Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath took care of the Maratha empire by improving its administration and enforcing taxes on several commodities, which helped fill the vaults of the kingdom. Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, the first ruler of the Maratha Empire from the Bhatt family, later passed down the throne to his son Peshwa Bajirao. The Maratha Empire under the Peshwa Dynasty was at its best under Peshwa Bajirao I. 

The Shift of the Maratha Empire 

It was the year 1708 when Shahuji Bhonsle became the leader of the Maratha Empire. After his release from the prison stay of 18 years, he decided to hold the empire on his shoulders. After trying for about five years, Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath rose to power. After the death of the Last Mughal grandson Aurungzeb, Chatrapati Shahuji Bhonsle reclaimed the Maratha throne and later passed it to Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath after their death, so began the rise of the Peshwa dynasty. Peshwas were a group of ministers who handled the administration of the kingdom and were responsible for looking into the money matters of the domain. They had no armies of their own. Although the Maratha alliance was in support of the Peshwas, other ministers helped the Peshwas reign the Martha Empire for years. 

Holkar, Scindia (Shinde), and Bhonsle started expanding the bounds of the Maratha empire towards the north and centre of the country. It was to keep them under control as they had grown to the vast region. They became independent and regained control of their areas which later led to the division of the empire. After the 1761 war fought at Panipat, the Peshwa dynasty crumbled. 

After the death of Peshwa Madhav Rao 1, the true ruler who held the Peshwa dynasty at its full glory, the Maratha empire was divided under the power of 5 chiefs, and Peshwas were just limited to Poona (Shaniwar-Wada). Peshwa did help the Maratha Empire fight against the British several times in the era 1755-1782, but their collaboration often never had a fruitful result. The Holkar dynasty called on the Peshwa, and the Peshwa were defeated in 1802. Peshwa Bajirao 2 decided to seek help from the British, which led to the complete eruption of the Peshwa dynasty once they started to look into matters of the Peshwa dynasty. 

Conclusion 

In this article, we studied the shift of The Maratha Empire from Chatrapati to Peshwa. Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj belonged to the Maratha empire family tree, to be more precise, Founder of Maratha Empire, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s 5th generation. After Chhatrapati Shahuji Bhonsle, the throne defaulted to Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath’s prime minister, who began the Peshwa Dynasty. Under Chhatrapati Shahuji Raje Maharaj’s influence, the Maratha empire spread to all subcontinents of north and central India. Once the Peshwa dynasty fell, all the other ministers allied with the Maratha empire created independent kingdoms.