Shahu I

Chhatrapati Shahu Bhosale I (Pronunciation: �aːɦuː CE) was the fifth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Born into the Bhonsle family, he was the son of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Shivaji Maharaj's eldest son and successor. He was captured at a very young age and held captive by the Mughals till the death of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. At that time, he was released from captivity in the hope of keeping the Marathas locked in an internecine struggle.

Under Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj's reign, Maratha power and influence extended to all corners of the Indian subcontinent, which eventually turned into a strong Maratha Empire during his time. After his death, his ministers and generals such as the Peshwas, Bhonsle of Nagpur, Gaikwad, Shinde and Holkar carved out their own fiefdoms and turned the empire into a confederacy.

Early life

Shahu, as a seven year old child, was taken prisoner along with his mother in 1689 by Mughals after the Battle of Raigarh.
The Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, then fighting the Marathas, hoped to use Shahu as a pawn in his struggle with them, and therefore treated Shahu and his mother well. During captivity, he was married to two daughters of Maratha sardars in the Mughal service. The Mughals also granted him lands and revenue rights, around Akkalkot and Khargone respectively, for his maintenance. After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, one of his sons, Prince Azam Shah, released Shahu in the hope of starting an internecine conflict between the Marathas, and also to have Shahu on his side for a succession battle for the Mughal throne. At that time his aunt Tarabai, the widow of Rajaram who governed the Maratha realm in the name of her son Shivaji, denounced Shahu as an impostor substituted by the Mughals for the son of Sambhaji. He fought a brief war with Tarabai to gain the Maratha throne in 1708.

Expansion of the Maratha Empire

Kanhoji Angre seized the opportunity of war between Tarabai and Shahu to effectively free himself of the suzerainty of either. Instead, he captured the major trading center of Kalyan and the neighboring forts of Rajmachi and Lohgad. Shahu sent a large force under his ''Peshwa'' or Prime Minister, Bahiroji Pingale. Kanhoji defeated Pingale and imprisoned him at Lohagad, and started to advance towards Shahu's capital of Satara. Shahu commanded Balaji Vishwanath to raise another army to subdue Kanhoji. Balaji preferred the path of negotiation and was appointed as Shahu's plenipotentiary to negotiate with the admiral. Balaji and Kanhoji met at Lonavala. The newly appointed Peshwa appealed to the old sailor's patriotism for the Maratha cause. Angre agreed to become the ''Sarkhel'' (admiral) of Shahu's navy with control of the Konkan. Balaji and Angre then jointly attacked the Muslim Siddis of Janjira. Their combined forces captured most of the Konkan coast, including Balaji's birthplace of Shrivardhan, which became part of the Angre fiefdom. Delighted with Balaji's success, Shahu dismissed Bahiroji Pingale and appointed Balaji Vishwanath as Peshwa on 16 November 1713.

Shahu and his successors were recognized by the Mughal Emperors as the rightful heirs to Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Mughals became a puppet government of the Marathas, and gave a quarter of their total revenue as Chauth and an additional 10% for their protection.

Over the next fifty years, Balaji, followed by his son Bajirao I and grandson Balaji Bajirao and with the help of capable military leaders from the clans of Shinde, Holkar, Gaekwad, Pawar and Bhonsle of Nagpur, expanded Maratha power in all directions of the Indian subcontinent. The Battle of Palkhed was fought on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between the Maratha Empire and the Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad, wherein the Marathas defeated the Nizam. After the Battle of Bundelkhand, the Marathas became major players in the all-important Ganga-Yamuna Doab. During Shahu's lifetime, Marathas conquered Bundelkhand, Bundi, Malwa and Ganga-Yamuna Doab.

Family

Shahu had four wives, who gave him two sons and four daughters. Shahu adopted Parvatibai when she was 3 years old. She was the daughter of a mamledar of Pen, Raigad. He trained her in warfare and administration. He later had her married to Sadashivrao Bhau when she was 15 years old. Even though her father was alive, he did her kanyadan. He also adopted two sons, Fatehsinh I and Rajaram II of Satara (who succeeded him as the Raja of Satara). Rajaram II had been brought to him by Shahu's paternal aunt, Tarabai, who initially claimed that the young man was her grandson and a descendant of Shivaji Maharaj, but later disowned him as an imposter. After Shahu's death, the powers were indirectly shifted to the Peshwa Balaji Bajirao.

Shahu also adopted Ranoji Lokhande, later known as Fatehsinh I Raje Sahib Bhonsle, the son of Meherban Sayaji Lokhende, the Patil of Paru

Fatehsinh became the first Raja of Akkalkot State, Akalkot around the year 1708. Upon his adoption, Fatehsinh received the town of Akkalkot and surrounding areas. The descendants of Fatehsinh later went on to establish the Bhonsle dynasty in Akkalkot state.

Death and succession

Shahu died in December 1749. At that time his widow, Sakvarbai and his concubines committed sati because of political intrigues by Tarabai and Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao regarding succession at the Satara court. His adopted son Rajaram II of Satara, claimed by Tarabai to be her grandson, succeeded to the Satara throne. But the actual power was held by others: first by Tarabai and then by Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao.

References

Bibliography

*

External links

Imperial Gazetteer of India
v. 2, p. 441.
* Kasar, D.B. Rigveda to Raigarh making of Shivaji the great, Mumbai: Manudevi Prakashan, Rs. 165 (2005).

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahu, Chattrapati
Chattrapati Shahuji
Chattrapati Shahuji
Maharajas of Satara
18th-century Indian monarchs