Soyarabai Bhosale (née Mohite) (died 1681) was one of the eight wives 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 ...

in western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. She was mother of Shivaji's second son, Rajaram. She was the younger sister of Maratha army chief

Hambirrao Mohite Hambirrao Mohite was the chief military commander of Chattrapati Shivaji's army. An able military general, he executed several campaigns for Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj and later served under Chattrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Early life Hambirra ...

. She was executed in 1681, after she failed to dethrone

Sambhaji Sambhaji Bhosale (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, ruling from 1681 to 1689. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing ...

, her stepson, and the elder son of Shivaji.

Early life

Born Soyarabai Mohite, she was married to Shivaji at a very young age in 1650. The marriage took place when Shivaji visited his father

Shahaji Shahaji Bhonsale (Pronunciation: �əɦad͡ʒiː c. 1594 – 1664) was a military leader of India in the 17th century, who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a membe ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

with his mother

Jijabai Jijabai Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) or Jadhav (12 January 1598 – 17 June 1674), referred to as Rajmata, Rastramata, Jijabai or Jijau, was the mother of Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire. She was a daughter of Lakhujirao J ...

. Tukabai (née Mohite), the stepmother of Shivaji and paternal aunt of Soyarabai insisted on the marriage. After the death of

in (1674), Soyarabai gained prominence in Shivaji's family and by extension, in the Maratha court politics. Soyrabai bore two children to Shivaji, a daughter Balibai and son Rajaram.

After Shivaji's death

Soyrabai was ambitious and wanted her son Rajaram to succeed Shivaji instead of the elder son Sambhaji. Sambhaji was not kept informed on the Shivaji's death and he was absent when Shivaji was cremated. After Shivaji's death in 1680, with the help of some of the courtiers, Soyarabai got her ten-year-old son, Rajaram, on the vacant throne on 21 April 1680. Her stepson and

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

, was able to remove him from power with the help of Soyrabai's own brother and army chief

. He imprisoned courtiers and formally assumed power as the Chhatrapati on 20 July 1680. After Sambhaji seized power from Soyrabai, she tried every means to dethrone him. Soyarabai's henchmen tried to poison Sambhaji in August 1681, but he survived.The enraged Sambhaji ordered execution of Soyarabai.Kale says she was executed by burying in a wall, whereas Mehta claims that she was poisoned. In a letter dated 27 Oct 1681, written by British Bombay council to Surat,it is mentioned that "Ramrajah's Mother oyra Baiis dead by report, poisoned by Shambhuji Rajah's contrivance " After Sambhaji's death at the hands of the Mughals, Rajaram became the next Chhatrapati. During his reign, the Marathas were engaged in continuous warfare with Mughals.

In Popular Culture

Ayesha Kaduskar Aisha ( ar, عائشة, translit=ʿĀʾisha; –678), was the third wife of Muhammad. Aisha or variant spellings, may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Aisha'' (1953 film), an Egyptian drama * ''Aisha'' (2010 film), an Indian roman ...

portrays a young Soyarabai while Ruchita Jadhav portrays the older Soyarabai in the 2011 series

Veer Shivaji ''Veer Shivaji'' (English: ''Brave Shiva'') is an Indian historical drama series that aired on Colors TV. The show focuses on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the 17th century founder of the Maratha Empire. It premiered on 2 September 20 ...

*Elakshi Gupta plays Soyrabai in the 2019 Bollywood film

Tanhaji ''Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior'' is a 2020 Indian historical action film, co-written and directed by Om Raut and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Ajay Devgn under T-Series Films and Ajay Devgn FFilms. Tracing the life of Maratha ...

Ruchi Savarn Ruchi Savarn is an Indian television actress. She is known for her performances in ''Ghar Aaja Pardesi'', ''Kumkum Bhagya'' and ''Kundali Bhagya''. Personal life Savarn married actor Ankit Mohan on 2 December 2015. They had their first child, a ...

portrays Soyarabai in the 2019 Marathi film Fatteshikast * Shruti Marathe plays Soyarabai in 2022 film, Sarsenapati Hambirrao

Early life

After Shivaji's death

In Popular Culture

References

See also