Maratha Peshwas & Confederacy

§1 — Transition After Shivaji

Transition After Shivaji (1680–1713)

Shivaji died at Raigad Fort on 3 April 1680. His successor, Sambhaji (r. 1680–89), was a capable warrior but faced the full force of Aurangzeb's Deccan campaigns. Sambhaji was captured by the Mughals in February 1689 at Sangameshwar and was executed in a particularly brutal manner on 11 March 1689 — blinded, tortured, and beheaded. His martyrdom deepened Maratha resolve. Leadership then passed to Rajaram (Sambhaji's half-brother), who conducted a brilliant guerrilla resistance from the fort of Jinji (Tamil Nadu) before dying in 1700. His widow, Tarabai, continued resistance against Aurangzeb from 1700–1707 with great tenacity, successfully keeping the Maratha cause alive until Aurangzeb's death in 1707.

After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I released Shahu (son of Sambhaji) from Mughal captivity as a deliberate move to split the Marathas — creating a succession dispute between Shahu and Tarabai. Shahu won the Battle of Khed (1707) and established himself at Satara. It was under Shahu that the Peshwa office transformed from a ministerial post to the effective seat of Maratha power.

§2 — Balaji Vishwanath (1st Peshwa)

Balaji Vishwanath — First Hereditary Peshwa (1713–1720)

Balaji Vishwanath Bhat was appointed Peshwa by Chhatrapati Shahu in 1713. A Chitpavan Brahmin from the Konkan, he was the first Peshwa whose family would hold the office hereditarily. His most significant achievement was the Treaty of Delhi (1719) negotiated with the Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar (then under the control of the Syed Brothers — see Later Mughals).

Under the 1719 agreement, Balaji Vishwanath secured formal Mughal recognition of Maratha rights to collect Chauth and Sardeshmukhi from the six Deccan provinces. He also secured the release of Shahu's mother Yesubai (who had been held in Mughal captivity since 1689) and obtained the release of several Maratha nobles. This treaty was a diplomatic masterstroke that legitimised Maratha revenue rights across the Deccan within the Mughal constitutional framework.

§3 — Baji Rao I (Greatest Peshwa)

Baji Rao I (1720–1740)

Baji Rao I, son of Balaji Vishwanath, became Peshwa at the age of 20 upon his father's death. He is widely regarded as the greatest military commander among the Peshwas and one of the most gifted cavalry commanders in Indian history. In 20 years as Peshwa he led over 40 campaigns and was never defeated. His vision was the ideal of Hindu Pad Padshahi (Hindu Imperial Sovereignty) — replacing Mughal suzerainty with a Maratha-led Hindu confederacy across India.

Battle of Palkhed (1728)

The Battle of Palkhed (28 February 1728) was Baji Rao's tactical masterpiece against the Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I. The Nizam had invaded Maratha territory and was attempting to peel away Shahu's allies. Rather than meeting the Nizam's large, well-supplied army in pitched battle, Baji Rao executed a classic manoeuvre — he bypassed the Nizam entirely, racing deep into Hyderabadi territory and threatening the capital Aurangabad while simultaneously cutting off the Nizam's supply lines.

The Nizam, cut off and outmanoeuvred, was forced to seek terms. He signed the Treaty of Mungi Shegaon (March 1728), acknowledging Maratha rights to Chauth and Sardeshmukhi from the Deccan, and effectively conceding Maratha supremacy in the region. Military historians consider Palkhed an early and brilliant example of the "indirect approach" strategy.

Northern Expansion

Baji Rao led successful expeditions deep into north India, reaching the outskirts of Delhi in 1737 — an audacious demonstration of Maratha power that shocked the Mughal court. His general Chimaji Appa (his brother) captured the Portuguese stronghold of Vasai (Bassein) in February 1739, ending Portuguese power in north Konkan — this is known as the Vasai Treaty / Fall of Vasai 1739.

Baji Rao I died suddenly at Raverkhedi (near Indore) on 28 April 1740 at the age of only 39 — probably from fever — at the height of Maratha power. His death cut short what might have been the complete displacement of Mughal authority.

§4 — Balaji Baji Rao (Nana Sahib)

Balaji Baji Rao — "Nana Sahib" (1740–1761)

Balaji Baji Rao, known as Nana Sahib, succeeded his father Baji Rao I as Peshwa in 1740 at age 18. Under him the Maratha Confederacy reached its greatest geographical extent, with Maratha power touching Bengal, Punjab, and the Deccan simultaneously. However, he is also remembered as the Peshwa under whom the catastrophic Third Battle of Panipat (1761) was fought, effectively breaking Maratha power.

Key achievements of Nana Sahib's tenure included: the subjugation of the Mughal Emperor (who became effectively a Maratha protégé); Maratha campaigns in Bengal (Raghunathrao's northern expedition reaching Punjab and recovering the Maratha ally Imad-ul-Mulk's position); and the formal establishment of the Maratha Confederacy as a supranational structure with the Peshwa at its head. Chhatrapati Shahu died in 1749, and thereafter even the Satara king became largely ceremonial.

§5 — Third Battle of Panipat (1761)

Third Battle of Panipat — 14 January 1761

The Third Battle of Panipat is among the most consequential battles in Indian history — it shattered Maratha supremacy and opened the path to British dominance. Understanding its causes, combatants, and consequences is essential for UPSC.

Background and Causes

By the late 1750s, the Marathas had become the paramount power in India. Their general Raghunathrao had led a campaign to Punjab in 1758, expelling Ahmad Shah Abdali's governor Timur Shah. However, this deep penetration into northwest India brought the Marathas into direct confrontation with Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani), ruler of Afghanistan, who considered Punjab his sphere of influence.

Ahmad Shah Abdali launched his fifth invasion of India in late 1759. The Marathas, under Vishwas Rao (the young heir-apparent, son of Nana Sahib) and his uncle Viswasrao Bhatt (Bhau Saheb / Sadashivrao Bhau), marched north to confront him. Critically, the Marathas failed to secure key alliances — the Rajputs (Jaipur, Jodhpur) stayed neutral or were hostile; the Jats of Bharatpur refused to join; the Nawab of Awadh sided with Abdali. Abdali allied with the Rohilla chief Najib-ud-Daula and the Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula.

The Battle (14 January 1761)

The two armies were roughly matched in size — estimates suggest 45,000–60,000 Maratha troops vs. a similar number on Abdali's side. The Marathas had been besieging Panipat for months, their supply lines cut by Abdali's cavalry. Weakened by hunger, the Maratha commanders chose to break the siege with a decisive charge on the morning of Makar Sankranti, 14 January 1761.

Initially the Maratha right wing under Holkar pushed the Rohillas back. But the left wing collapsed. Abdali then unleashed his crack cavalry reserve — the Abdali horse artillery (jezailchis) — in a devastating charge. Vishwas Rao, the Maratha heir, was struck by a bullet and killed. His death demoralised the Maratha centre. Viswasrao Bhatt (Bhau Saheb) died fighting in the subsequent rout. Holkar fled the field.

Consequences of Third Panipat

The defeat was catastrophic. Estimates of Maratha dead range from 28,000 to 75,000 including non-combatant camp followers. The cream of Maharashtra's soldiery was wiped out. Virtually every leading Maratha family lost a son or husband. Peshwa Nana Sahib died of shock in June 1761. The Maratha Confederacy fragmented and never regained its former unity. However, under the young Madhav Rao I (Peshwa 1761–72), there was a partial recovery, with Marathas reasserting influence over the Nizam, Mysore, and northern India before British pressure became decisive after 1803.

§6 — Maratha Confederacy

The Maratha Confederacy: Five Houses

The Maratha Confederacy was not a unified empire with a single chain of command but a loose association of semi-independent chiefs who acknowledged the Peshwa as the nominal paramount head (on behalf of the Chhatrapati of Satara). Each chief controlled his own territory, army, and treasury. The five major houses were:

§7 — Decline & Anglo-Maratha Wars

Decline & Anglo-Maratha Wars

After the Third Battle of Panipat, Maratha power gradually recovered under Madhav Rao I but never regained its pre-1761 unity. The British East India Company, expanding from Bengal after the Battle of Buxar (1764), systematically challenged Maratha power through three Anglo-Maratha Wars:

The last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, signed the Treaty of Bassein (1802) with the British — a Subsidiary Alliance that made him a British protégé. This was the beginning of the end. The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18) saw British forces defeat the last independent Maratha chiefs. The Peshwaship was abolished in 1818; Baji Rao II was pensioned off to Bithur near Kanpur. His adopted son, Nana Sahib (Dhondu Pant), would later play a major role in the 1857 uprising.

The rise and fall of the Marathas is closely interconnected with the collapse of Mughal power — the Later Mughals article covers the parallel deterioration from the Mughal side, including Nadir Shah's 1739 invasion and the Battle of Buxar.

§8 — Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions