Madhavrao I

Madhavrao Bhat was second son of Peshwa Nanasaheb, son of Bajirao. He was born in Savnur in 1745. At the time of his birth, the Maratha Confederacy was stretched across a sizeable portion of Western, Central and Northern India. On December 9, 1758, Madhavrao married Ramabai in Pune.

Nanasaheb had greatly expanded the Maratha Confederacy and had tried to establish better governance. However, he was held partially responsible for the severe defeat of the Marathas by Ahmad Shah Abdali at the Third Battle of Panipat in early 1761. The Maratha forces suffered heavy losses including Nanasaheb's eldest son and heir Vishwasrao Bhat and cousin Sadashivrao Bhau. He died on June 23, 1761, at Parvati Hill in Pune.

After his father's death, the sixteen-year-old Madhav Rao was made the next Peshwa of Maratha Confederacy.[2] His paternal uncle Raghunathrao was to act as regent.

painting depiction Madhavrao I

At the ascendancy of Madhavrao, the Maratha Confederacy was in complete shambles as their defeat at Panipat had accumulated big debts to their wealth. At Shaniwar Wada, the prime residence of the Peshwa, religious rituals and ceremonies were frequently being conducted. The discipline required for the smooth running of administrative affairs was almost non-existent. The security at the treasury was poor. When these weaknesses were brought to Madhavrao's notice, he introduced changes by personally looking into the administration, accounts and the treasury. He also reduced the religious practices being followed at Shaniwar Wada.

In February 1762, Peshwas set out to conquer Karnataka. This was one of the earliest wars against the Nizam (Battle of Uruli). When conflict arose between Madhavrao and his uncle Raghunathrao. Due to difference of opinion between the two, Raghunathrao decided to abandon the troops midway and return to Pune, while Madhavrao continued. Eventually, a treaty was signed with the Nizam and Madhavrao returned. Both Madhavrao and Raghunathrao had their preferences even over the Sardars (Generals). Madhavrao usually preferred the company of Gopalrao Patwardhan, Tryambakrao Mama Pethe, Nana Fadnavis and Ramshastri Prabhune; while Raghunathrao was dearer to Sakharam Bapu Bokil, Gulabrao and Gangoba Tatya.

The discord between Madhavrao and Raghunathrao was increasing and on August 22, 1762, Raghunathrao fled to Vadgaon Maval where he started grooming his own army. Raghunathrao's men started looting the nearby villages for warfare and this act angered Madhavrao. He decided to wage a war against his uncle Raghunathrao 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 as Raghunathrao attacked treacherously. Thus, Madhavrao was defeated in the Battle of Alegaon and on November 12, 1762, surrendered near Alegaon. 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 Maratha 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 attack Aurangabad to crush the Nizam. After months of chasing, the Peshwas faced the Nizam's army on August 10, 1763, in the Battle of Rakshasbhuvan near Aurangabad.[3] the Nizam's army suffered huge losses in this war, and Nizam retreated.[4]

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  A handwritten letter by Madhavrao.
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  Continued letter by Madhavrao.

In January 1764, for the second time, Madhavrao decided to gather up his defences and conquer Hyder 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 visit Nashik. This was a particularly long conquest which went for almost a year in and around the districts of Karnataka. 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 assist of Gopal Rao and Anand Rao. Only Bankapur was left under the control of Haider Ali. Eventually, Madhavrao decided to call Raghunathrao for his assistance, but Raghunathrao only signed a treaty with Hyder 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 follow[5] " 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 over Hyder Ali triggered a major setback on Madhavrao's health. In 1767, Madhavrao I organized a 2nd expedition against Hyder Ali and inflicted defeats on Hyder Ali in the battles of Sira and Madhugiri and made a surprise discovery of Queen Virammaji, the last ruler of the Keladi Nayaka Kingdom and her son who were kept in confinement in the fort of Madhugiri by Hyder Ali.[6] They were rescued by Madhavrao I and were sent to Pune for protection.[6]

A memorial commemorating "The Great Peshwa Madhavrao" at Peshwe Park in Pune, India

The Peshwas were expanding their territory in the northern regions of India. Raghunathrao, Holkars and Shindes together marched towards Delhi with the intention of expanding the Maratha Confederacy in these territories. Meanwhile, Madhavrao made a bold decision of bonding with his old rival, Nizam Ali Khan, Asaf Jah II. The Nizam also genuinely expressed his desire to do so, and thus the two met at Kurumkhed on February 5, 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.

20th century depiction of Madhavrao

On December 3, 1767, an East India Company officer named Mastin arrived in Pune. Mastin wanted to establish a military presence in the regions of Vasai and Sashthi, but was confronted by Madhavrao who was suspicious of his 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.

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 June 10, 1768, he waged a war against Raghunathrao, captured him and put him under house arrest at Shaniwar Wada along with his assistant Sakharam Bapu Bokil.

A memorial marking the death place of Madhavrao Ballal Peshwa and where his wife committed Sati. The memorial is located in the town of Theur, Maharashtra

The incident occurred on the evening of September 7, 1769. Madhavrao was returning from the Parvati 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 and Visaji Krushna Biniwale in order to recover territory lost in the North due to defeat of Third battle of panipat they were joined by Mahadji Shinde and Tukoji Rao Holkar. This Maratha army marched towards Udaipur. The Rajputs there agreed to pay him 60 lakhs as tribute. On April 5, 1770, the Marathas defeated Jats of Bharatpur. In October 1770 they vanquished Najib Khan Rohilla, the main opponent of the Battle of Panipat (1761). In November 1771, Visaji Krushna Biniwale was appointed ‘In Charge of the Northern front of Marathas’ by Peshwa Madhavrao I. In February 1772, along with Mahadji Shinde, he overpowered the Rohillas of Rohillkhand at Shukratal by defeating Zabita Khan. They avenged the defeat of Panipat by breaking the tomb of Najib Khan, by looting the artillery and wealth of the Rohillas, 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.[7] During his northern campaign Biniwale persuaded the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam to return to Delhi and reclaim his throne in 1771.[8] Peshwa Madhavrao I was so delighted with Visaji Krushna's grand victory in the Rohilkhand that he specifically mentioned in his written will to shower golden flowers on him during his arrival at the border of Pune.

The Capture of Delhi was a battle in 1771 when the forces of the Maratha Confederacy led by Mahadaji Shinde captured Delhi along with the Red Fort, and gave Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II the throne back with the treaty.[9][10] The Marathas captured Delhi from Najib Khan's son Zabita Khan who was put in charge by the Afghans. With this capture, Marathas regained their lost supremacy in North India after the Third 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 the capture of Delhi in 1771 by the Marathas, left for his capital under their protection.[11] 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 famous Alopi Devi Mandir. After reaching Delhi in January 1772 and realising the Maratha intent of territorial encroachment however, Shah Alam ordered his general Najaf 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 imperial sanad 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.[12] The Maratha and British armies fought in Ram Ghat, but the sudden demise of the Peshwa and the civil war in Pune to choose the next Peshwa forced the Maratha army to retreat.[13]

The cremation of Madhavrao and the sati of his wife Ramabai

In June 1770, the Peshwas set out to conquer Hyder Ali for the third time. However, Madhavrao was infected with tuberculosis, and his health started deteriorating. Tuberculosis was also termed as “Raj-Yakshma” or the "prince of diseases". 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 favourite Ganesha Chintamani 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 ".

On 6th 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 favourite temple.

18th 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.

His wife Ramabai chose to commit sati with his body at the time of cremation.

During this time, an interesting incident occurred. Madhavrao was busy managing the treasury of the kingdom and supervising the calculation of the expenses encountered during the war. One day, he noticed a large crowd anxiously waiting at the entrance of Shaniwar Wada. Upon summoning the guards, he discovered that they were the aggrievated citizens of Pune who had lost their families, house, land and wealth in the war. They had been visiting his residence for the past few days with hopes of expressing their unbearable losses. However, the guards had not allowed them to meet the Peshwa by giving the excuse that his health had deteriorated. When he heard this, Madhavrao became furious with the guards; he immediately left all his tasks aside and stepped out of Shaniwar Wada. He personally met with the impoverished families and patiently listened to each one of them. He made a note of every family's loss and personally saw to it that these losses were compensated from the empire's revenue. This speaks volumes about why the citizens always looked up to him with tremendous faith and respect.

An information plaque commemorating Shrimant Madhavrao I and describing his greatness on display at Peshwe Park in Pune, India

Though there were rifts between him and his uncle Raghunathrao, Madhavrao always displayed concern for him on personal grounds. Madhavrao fined his own uncle, his mother's brother, Rastemama for allowing the Nizam's men to plunder Pune while his own house was spared. Rastemama complained to his sister and Gopikabai urged Madhavrao to reconsider the fine, he simply refused and did not budge even when she threatened to move out of Shaniwarwada. Gopikabai decided to live separately in Gangapur near Nashik, the two always shared frequent written communication. He had great respect, love and regard for his mother, which is visible in the letters exchanged between the two.

Madhavrao was one of the most able administrators of the Maratha Empire; he brought radical revolutions in the Maratha Confederacy in terms of efficiency and honesty. Corrupt and lethargic officials were flogged in the courtyard; this brought about the much required discipline in the administration. The judicial system was impartial and faithfully managed by Ram Shastri, who was considered as the supreme pillar of justice. The usage of revenues was maximized for the welfare of the citizens. Artillery and weapons were constantly upgraded and the strength of the empire was maintained at high standards.

Madhavrao was feared by his own servants, but he was approachable to the common man. He was always aware and made others in his fold realize that he is not the king. Justice Kashinath Trimbak Telang citing James Grant Duff narrates an amusing story[14] that illustrates Madhavrao's ruthlessness, omniscience and disregard for religious restrictions.[15]

"When he [Madhavrao] was arranging for his expedition against Hyder Ali, he sent a summons to the Bhonsle chief of Nagpur (Janoji Bhonsle) to come over to join the Maratha army. The Bhonsle's agent at Puna went to consult with the ex-minister Sakharam Bapu as to what should be done. The latter was afraid to give his counsel openly as the Peshwa's Karkun was present, but he managed to convey his advice to the Bhonsle's agent without the Karkun understanding the point. He suggested to one of two persons who were sitting near him playing chess that, as the pawns(pyaada in Marathi, meaning both pawn and soldier) of his opponent had advanced in force, he should take back his king a square or two. The Bhonsle's agent, taking the hint, at once wrote off to his master to advise that he should not come to Pune in pursuance of the Peshwa's summons, but should go back the one or two stages he had advanced from Nagpur. This was done accordingly, and Madhavrao, who had a great reputation for obtaining news of everything that was going on in which he was interested, heard of the Bhonsle's return to his capital; and he also heard of Sakharam Bapu's advice, which had led to it, though the latter was perceived only by him hidden under the facts he learnt from the cross-examination of the Karkun. Madhavrao was a man of very strong will. He at once sent for the Bhonsle's agent, and told him of his master's return to Nagpur on the advice of Sakharam Bapu, and added, "If your master is in Poona within fifteen days, well and good; if not, I will pay no heed to my being a Brahman, but will break his head with a tent-peg!"

Assessing the impact of the loss of Madhavrao, the writer James Grant Duff eulogised:

"And the plains of Panipat were not more fatal to the Maratha Confederacy than the early end of this excellent prince…" [16][17]

• In the 1987 Marathi TV series Swami, Madhavrao's character was portrayed by Ravindra Mannkani.
• In the 1994 Hindi TV series The Great Maratha, Madhavrao's character was portrayed by Rahul Awasthee.
• Alok Rajwade portrayed Madhavrao in the 2014 Indian Marathi-language historical drama, Rama Madhav
• Chinmay Patwardhan plays Madhavrao in the Indian Marathi-language television serial Swamini which airs on Colors Marathi.
• Swami, a Marathi book written by Ranjit Desai on the life of Madhavrao.[18][19]
• "श्रीमंत माधवराव पेशवा: व्यक्ति आणि कार्य" A Marathi Political biography written by historians Guruprasad Kanitkar and Parag Pimpalkhare.
• "The Mastery of Hindustan - Triumphs & Travels of Madhavrao Peshwa", a book written by Uday S. Kulkarni on the life and tenure of Madhavrao Peshwa. (published in 2022)[20]
• "Pratishodh Panipatcha",a marathi novel written by Kaustubh Kasture on the life of Madhavrao Peshwa.(published in 2019)[21][22]

• Ranjit Desai, Swami (26th Edition March 2007, published by Mehta Publishers, Marathi Literature).
• Govind Sakharam Sardesai, A New History of Marathas
• James Grant Duff, History of the Marathas London, Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green (1826)
• Maharashtra Times, माधवराव पेशव्यांचे चित्र आले उजेडात
• श्रीमंत माधवराव पेशवा:व्यक्ति आणि कार्य, लेखक: गुरुप्रसाद कानिटकर, पराग पिंपळखरे

• Ranjit Desai, Swami (in Marathi), a historical novel

• Mahadaji Pant Guruji
• Maratha Peshwa and Generals from Bhat Family
• Maratha emperors