Bajajirao Mudhoji Naik Nimbalkar was a Maratha nobleman and sixteenth

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

Phaltan Phaltan () is a town, a tehsil, and a municipal council in the Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The town is about northeast of the city of Satara and about 110 km from Pune. History Phaltan was one of the non-salu ...

Jagir during 1644–1676. He was ''

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been ...

'' of Deccan Sultanates and Maratha nobleman.

Life

He succeeded throne of

after his father Naik

Nimbalkar Nimbalkar is a Maratha clan, which derives its surname from the forest of Nimbalak in Phaltan taluka, Satara district, Maharashtra, India. Some Nimbalkars served as head of the deshmukhs (''sardeshmukhs'' or ''sardars'') during the period of t ...

Mudhoji II. He was sixteenth direct descent from Padakla Jagdevrao Parmar, the founder of his dynasty and Phaltan. Balaji was the brother-in-law of

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...

, the founder of

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

, as his sister

Maharani Saibai Saibai Bhonsale (''née'' Nimbalkar) ( 1633 – 5 September 1659) was the first wife and chief consort of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. She was the mother of her husband's successor Sambhaji. Family Saibai was a member of the promi ...

was his first wife. His sons were Mahadaji and Vanangoji. Mahadaji married Sakhubai, the eldest daughter of Shivaji and Saibai. He converted back to Hinduism from Islam later on and his conversion was performed by

according to

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

rites.

Career

He fought many battles for the Islamic Sultans of Deccan and later for the Marathas. However, it is said that he embraced the Muslim religion in the court of the

Adil Shahi Dynasty The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's ...

after pressure for him to join Islam. Later, Shivaji brought him back in the Hindu religion at Nira-Narsingpur and he had given his daughter to Bajaji's Son. Bajaji also married Ahirekar Patil and Bhosale Kinhaikar's daughters when he returned to the Hindu religion. Discovery of God By Arvind Savant

References

{{Reflist, 2 People from Maharashtra 1676 deaths