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Vishwasrao Bhat (22 July 1742 – 14 January 1761) was the eldest son of
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, ...
Balaji Baji Rao Baji Bajirao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761), also known as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy in India. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his illustrious father, the Peshwa Bajirao I. Durin ...
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 ...
and also was the heir to the title of Peshwa. Vishwasrao had received training in administration and warfare from the age of 8 years. He had impressed the Maratha infantry. His specialities were swordsmanship and archery. Although, he looked exactly like the younger version of his grandfather
Baji Rao I Baji Rao I (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740), born as Visaji, also known as Bajirao Ballal (Pronunciation: ad͡ʒiɾaːʋ bəlːaːɭ, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he defeated Nizam-ul-M ...
, Vishwasrao had blue eyes. As per Marathi historian Sardesai and few other writers wrote in their respective books that, he was the most handsome among the Peshwa men. Vishwasrao use to follow a strenuous gym routine and performed ''Kawaiti'' (Eng: Exersises). Writer Kaustubh Kasture states in his book, ''Sakalraj Karya Dhurandar Sadashivrao Bhausaheb'' that
Sadashivrao Bhau Sadashivrao Bhau Peshwa (3 August 1730 – 14 January 1761) was son of Chimaji Appa (younger brother of Bajirao I) and Rakhmabai (Pethe family) and the nephew of Baji Rao I. He was a finance minister during the reign of Maratha emperor Chhatra ...
, his paternal uncle made shure that Vishwasrao take military training. As per some sources, it seems that it was
Nanasaheb Peshwa Baji Bajirao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761), also known as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy in India. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his illustrious father, the Peshwa Bajirao I. During ...
who introduced regular army training and added the best armour to the Maratha army. Vishwasrao was the leader 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 Shi ...
army during Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, although his uncle Sadashivrao Bhau was main leader and Vishwasrao was nominal leader. Vishwasrao got hit in the head by a bullet fired by a
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
officer during the period of the most intense fighting (Approx. between 01:00 PM and 02:30 PM) at this battle. He died fighting on the front lines. Marathas were winning the battle but some contingents charged ahead of their cue and obstructed the cannon lines creating a problem for
Ibrahim Khan Gardi Ibrahim Khan Gardi (died 1761) was a Muslim general of Maratha Empire. An expert in artillery, he initially served the Nizam of Hyderabad, before working for the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. As a general of the Maratha Empire, he commanded a f ...
at aiming for the enemies. As per Grant Duff, upon hearing about Shrimant Vishwasrao's death
Malharrao Holkar Malhar Rao Holkar (16 March 1693 – 20 May 1766) was a noble subedar of the Maratha Empire, in present-day India. He was one of the early officers along with Ranoji Scindia to help spread the Maratha rule to northern states and was given the ...
retreated from the field with at least 10,000 soldiers and sardars. He also took men of significance like Damaji Gaekwad with him. He went to Delhi and asked people of significance like Vinchurkar to vacate Delhi. Although Vishwas Rao Bhat was first exposed to actual warfare at Sindkheda near
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. ...
, against Nizam in 1756, he was the nominal Commander of Maratha Forces and the Peshwa's representative during Third Battle of Panipat under guidance of his uncle
Sadashivrao Bhau Sadashivrao Bhau Peshwa (3 August 1730 – 14 January 1761) was son of Chimaji Appa (younger brother of Bajirao I) and Rakhmabai (Pethe family) and the nephew of Baji Rao I. He was a finance minister during the reign of Maratha emperor Chhatra ...
. At the time of the battle, the Maratha Empire was in control of about two-thirds of the Indian subcontinent (including areas of the modern
Republic of 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 ...
and
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
).


Early life

Vishwasrao was born as the eldest son of
Balaji Baji Rao Baji Bajirao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761), also known as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy in India. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his illustrious father, the Peshwa Bajirao I. Durin ...
at Supe near
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( 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 As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
(Supe was the Jagir of
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 memb ...
near Pune). He was trained in Administrative matters and was exposed to Military training early in his life. Viswasrao had inherited the looks of his grandfather Bajirao and had even exceeded his charm. G. S. Sardesai writes that none was there with more handsome-looks in Peshwa lineage than this Viswas Rao. Raghunath Yadav author of one of the Panipat Bakhar had stated "पुरुषात देखणा विश्वासराव" ("The one most handsome among all men Vishwasrao.")


Marriage

Vishwasrao was married to Lakshmibai on 2 May 1750, the daughter of Hari Balkrushn Dikshit-Patwardhan.


Death

Shrimant Vishwasrao had sensed that there could be a debacle on the final day of battle although Abdali was receding. There was no food and Sadashivrao, Parvatibai and Vishwasrao were pretending to be on a fast taking the moral responsibility. Meanwhile, they were trying to make food available to the soldiers. Shrimant Jankoji Shinde urged him to write a letter to Nanasaheb Peshwa asking for help. Worrying, that he wouldn't let his ever victorious and righteous uncle Sadashivrao lose his streak in front of the gilchas, Vishwasrao wrote a letter to Nanasaheb. In that letter he urged Nanasaheb to bring in more soldiers, money and food to help Bhausaheb. Shrimant Vishwasrao wrote that his own life was not important as Nanasaheb had two more sons. However, if he were to lose a brother and the nation a patriotic leader like Bhausaheb then that loss would be irreparable. His fears came out to be true as due to some deceit, Najib Khan, Abdali's friend and Malharrao Holkar's foster son was able to murder Mehendale while he was returning victorious from a skirmish prior to the battle. Bhausaheb was at a personal loss and without a commander. During the battle of Udgir, Shrimant Vishwasrao had established himself as the rising valorous Maratha leader. He successfully led the troops and fought alongside Shrimant Jankoji Shinde. The two were very close friends. Even the valorous Tukoji and Mahadji Shinde were having faith in their captain, Bhausaheb. They had vowed to fight till their last breath. Trusting, his fiercely loyal and able young team, he made Vishwasrao a commander in the Third Battle of Panipat. On the final day, Shrimant Vishwasrao went to the battlefield with no morsel of food relying only on sugared water like the rest of the Maratha warriors. While he was fiercely fighting on the front lines, as he was hit by an arrow on his shoulder, a shot hit his head while he was lying down, injured.


In popular culture

* In the 1994
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been d ...
TV series ''
The Great Maratha ''The Great Maratha'' is an Indian historical drama television series directed by Sanjay Khan and produced by Numero Uno International Limited. The drama aired on DD National. The series is based on the life of Mahadaji Shinde. The show compris ...
'', Vishwasrao's character was portrayed by Sanjay Sharma. * In the 2019 film, ''
Panipat Panipat () is a historic city in Haryana, India. It is 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-1. The three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761 took place near the city. The city is famous in India as the "C ...
'', Vishwasrao's character was portrayed by Abhishek Nigam.


See also

* *
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 ...
* Bhat family * Maratha emperors *
18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave tradi ...


References


External links

*https://mafiadoc.com/hindu-pad-padashahi_5a1cac031723dd4f437b5e76.html *http://www.smartyoungsters.com/2019/09/mee-radhika-book-3the-starry-night-at.html? {{DEFAULTSORT:Vishwasrao 1741 births 1761 deaths People of the Maratha Empire