The Maratha kingdom’s founder, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, had a daughter-in-law named Maharani Tarabai Bhonsle. Tarabai Bhosle wed Rajaram Bhonsle 1, the Maratha Kingdom’s third Chhatrapati and the second son of Shivaji Maharaj. Tarabai Bhonsle was a legendary and fearless Maratha queen who matched every quality of a real warrior.
Who Was Maharani Tarabai Bhonsale
Hambir Rao Mohite, the chief Marathas leader, was the father of Maharani Tarabai, a member of the Mohite clan. Her father taught her archery, sword fighting, and diplomacy since she was a young child. She had also seen several brutal fights between the Mughals and the Marathas, and from a very young age, she had learned a great deal about fighting war.
When she was eight years old, she married Rajaram Bhonsle 1. When Rajaram Bhonsle was crowned Chhatrapati of the Maratha Kingdom in 1789, she got the title of queen of the Maratha Empire. The sudden death of Rajaram Bhonsle 1 created an immense gap in the Maratha Empire, which was already in unstable condition due to the Mughals’ constant attacks.
Tarabai Bhosale took control of the situation and declared her baby son Shivaji 2 to be the likely successor, taking on the role of protector for the Maratha empire. Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor, believed that the Marathas were at their lowest point and that he could easily overcome them. But since this was incorrect, she courageously gathered the army and, with the assistance of Dhanaji Jadhav, the Maratha Army’s supreme commander, safeguarded the Maratha monarchy.
Maharani Tarabai as Regent of the Maratha Empire
Following her husband’s death, she took the title of Maratha Empire regent, bringing in a new chapter in her life. She became knowledgeable about civil, political, and military matters early in childhood due to her father’s advice and instruction, enabling her to rule the Maratha Empire.
After deciding to confront the Mughals, Maharani Tarabai began to assault and conquer Mughal lands outside of the Deccan. To gather troops and supplies for the war, she regularly traveled to the several forts under her command. Tarabai Bhonsle established important military and political ties with other Hindu kings of the Deccan and Central India. She managed to add the resources because of this.
Aurangzeb mounted a strong offensive right after Rajaram Bhonsle 1 died, aiming to scare Tarabai into submitting to his gentle demands. Soon after her husband’s death, Tarabai assumed command of the army, ambushed Aurangzeb and valiantly repelled the assault. She deployed about 50,000 men in the direction of Chanderi, or modern-day Madhya Pradesh, in 1700. Her soldiers arrived in Telangana, Berar, and Khadesh by 1702.
Tarabai was highly praised by the Mughal court historian of that era, Khafi Khan. According to his records, “the power of the Marathas increased day by day until the end of Aurangzeb’s reign, when Maharani Tarabai won the hearts of her officers and or all the struggles and schemes and seizes of Aurangzeb.” Because of her impeccable judgment, people respected her views on questions of administration and policy. The Maratha court’s nobles dutifully followed her directives since they respected her greatly.
Maharani Tarabai’s Conflict Against Balaji Baji Rao
Tarabai’s life has another interesting component. She battled not just the Mughals and other Muslim tyrants but also a civil war raging within the Maratha Empire. She got into a fight with the Peshwa of the Marathas, Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao, also known as Nana Saheb 1. Like his father, Baji Rao I, Balaji Baji Rao was an excellent emperor. Peshwa thought Tarabai was strong in Satara, thus he moved the seat of authority from Satara to Pune.
Tensions between Tarabai and Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao for leadership of the enormous Maratha Empire consequently simmered. She devised a cunning political scheme in the 1740s to prevent Balaji Baji Rao from having total authority over the Maratha state. Tarabai introduced a young man, claiming that he was his grandson, reared by a soldier’s wife and living under a false identity up until that point. Maharani Tarabai introduced the boy as Rajaram II, claiming that he was the legitimate heir to the throne since he was a direct descendant of Shivaji.
In 1749, Rajaram II assumed the title of Chhatrapati upon the demise of Shahu. When Pesh was near the Mughal frontier in 1750, she requested that Rajaram II abdicate Balaji Baji Rao’s position as Peshwa; however, Rajaram II rejected her request. She became enraged by this and put Rajaram II in prison at Satara. She also disowned him, saying he wasn’t his grandson.
Maharani Tarabai’s Conflicts Continues
In an alliance with other Maratha rulers, Maharani Tarabai confronted Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao. Nevertheless, despite these early defeats, Peshwa was able to decisively defeat Tarabai’s and her allies’ army. Subsequently, he requested Tarabai to free Rajaram II, who was being held captive and was becoming more and more unstable. Tarabai, however, declined, and Peshwa likewise departed Satara for Pune.
As she grew older, Tarabai realized it would be pointless to keep fighting against a leader as vibrant and youthful as Peshwa. For a peace agreement, she consented to meet with Peshwa in Pune. Following his first hesitation,the Peshwa accepted the peace accord, and they both made a vow at a temple not to plot or engage in hostilities Tarabai acknowledged the Peshwa’s supremacy on the same day. Even after Rajaram II was freed from prison and reclaimed his title of Chhatrapati, Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao still held the real power.
War Against Shahu
Even though Aurangzeb passed away in 1707, the Mughal-Maratha War continued after his passing. Rather, the conflict between these two adversaries would advance to a new stage. Since the Mughals were aware that fighting the Marathas in a full-scale battle would be nearly impossible, they turned to cunning diplomatic maneuvers.
They decided to free Shahu I from their imprisonment after Aurangzeb’s death. He was Shivaji Maharaj’s grandson, Sambhaji Maharaj’s son. Shahu I had a stronger claim to the Maratha Kingdom’s crown than Maharani Tarabai, therefore the Mughals released him because they anticipated a succession dispute among the Marathas.
Mughals believed that Marathas organizational and political strength would be weakened by internal strife. Additionally, it would entail the redirection of resources, which they would exploit to their advantage and spell the end for the Marathas. Shahu I was freed by the Mughals, but only if he would stand up to Tarabai for the crown. After their strategy proved effective, Shahu I confronted Tarabai and asserted his legitimate claim to the throne.
But Maharani Tarabai paid no attention to what Shahu I had to say. She reasoned that Shahu could not be trusted as he was a Mughal prisoner. Tarabai and Shahu engaged in full-scale warfare as a result of their disagreement about who was the rightful heir to the throne. Many chieftains and nobles supported Shahu throughout the conflict because they thought he was the rightful heir to Tarabai’s throne. Moreover, Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath’s diplomatic and political savvy made things worse for her.
Maharani Tarabai‘s War Continues
She did not have a positive start to the battle, nor did it go her way. Shahu I finally triumphed after months of fighting and fighting among the troops. At Satara, he was crowned the Maratha Empire’s Chhatrapati. Tarabai was rendered unimportant and degraded. She did not, however, stop there. In the end, she established a rival court in Kolhapur. However, Shahu also closed the parallel court, so this did not benefit her either.
He ordered Tarabai’s and his son Shivaji II’s imprisonment because he was furious with her for going too far. This marked the end of the Maratha political community’s explosive rise. Shahu’s total takeover of the Marathas also ended her power over the military and government.
Conclusion
The most significant female leader of the Maratha Empire will always remain Maharani Tarabai. Her military and political prowess enabled the Marathas to stop Aurangzeb from bringing down their empire. Many historians believe that if Tarabai hadn’t shown such bravery and leadership in 1700, the Maratha Empire would have been forced to deal with Aurangzeb’s Panipat disaster.
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