Shrimant

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 u ...

Vithoji Rao Holkar (1776 – 16 April 1801), was the fourth son of

Tukoji Rao Holkar Tukoji Rao Holkar (26 June 1723 – 15 August 1797), belonging to the Holkar clan of the Marathas was the feudatory of Indore (r. 1795–1797). Tukoji Holkar was the adopted son of Malhar Rao Holkar, he was the second son of Shrimant Tan ...

. He was also known as Vithoba.

Life

Vithoji was born into the

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Marat ...

clan which was in the service of the

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 Shi ...

. When his elder brother Malhar Rao II Holkar was killed by the

Scindia The Scindia dynasty (anglicized from Shinde) is a Hindu Maratha dynasty of maratha origin that ruled the erstwhile State of Gwalior. It had the Patil-ship of Kumberkerrab in Wai. It was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who started as a personal serva ...

in September 1797, Vithoji escaped from

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

. To acquire more resources,

Yashwant Rao Holkar Yashwant Rao Holkar (c. 1776-1811) also known as Jaswantrao Holkar belonging to the Holkar dynasty of the Maratha Empire was the Maharaja of the Maratha Empire. He was a gifted military leader and educated in accountancy as well as literate in ...

started a freebooting campaign in the north, while Vithoji started a campaign of plunder and rapine in the south. He plundered the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

's territories.

Baji Rao II Shrimant Peshwa Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851) was the 13th and the last Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He governed from 1795 to 1818. He was installed as a puppet ruler by the Maratha nobles, whose growing power prompted him ...

sent

Balaji Kunjir Baloji Kunjar / Kunjir (17??–1816) (Marathi: बालाजी कुंजर / कुंजीर) was Sardar and Minister of Affairs in service of Peshwa Baji Rao II. He was Peshwa Baji Rao II's favorite. After the death of Peshwa Sawai Madh ...

and Bapu Gokhale to arrest Vithoji. In April 1801, Vithoji was arrested and taken to

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. On the advice of Balaji Kunjar, Vithoji was sentenced to death by being trampled under the feet of an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

. His sentence was carried out on orders of the Peshwa Baji Rao II, at Poona on 16 April 1801: he was bound to an elephant's foot and dragged to death in the streets of the city. This caused animosity between Baji Rao II and Yashwant Rao.''Gazetteer 18''.2. 1885, p. 281.Forrest 1885, p. xxxii. He was survived by

Hari Rao Holkar Hari Rao Holkar (1795-1843), formally Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Sawai Shri Hari Rao Holkar IX Bahadur, belonging to the Holkar dynasty of the Marathas was Maharaja Holkar of Indore ( Hokar State) from 17 April 1834 until his death at the Ju ...

who ruled the Holkar from 1834.

References

Bibliography

* Forrest, George W., ed. (1885). ''Selections from the Letters, Despatches, and Other State Papers preserved in the Bombay Secretariat''
Vol. 1
Part 1. Bombay: Government Central Press. * ''Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency'' (1885). Vol. 18
Part 2
Bombay: Government Central Press. * ''Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency'' (1885). Vol. 18
Part 3
Bombay: Government Central Press.

Life

References

Bibliography

See also