This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2017) |
Shaniwar Wada | |
---|---|
Location | Pune, India |
Built | 1732 |
Architectural style(s) | Maratha imperial architecture |
Owner |
|
Shaniwar Wada is a historical fortification in the city of Pune, India.
Built in 1732, [1] it was the great seat of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire until 1818. Following the rise of the Maratha Empire, the palace became the center of Indian politics in the 18th century. [2]
The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, but the surviving structures are now maintained as a tourist site.
The Shaniwar Wada was normally the seven-story capital building of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire. It was supposed to be made entirely of stone. However, after the completion of the base floor or the first story, the people of Satara (the national capital) complained to the Chhatrapati Shahu I (Emperor) saying that a stone monument can be sanctioned and built only by the emperor himself and not the Peshwas. Following this, an official letter was written to the Peshwas stating that the remaining building had to be made of brick and not stone. Even today if you visit and see the walls carefully, they are partly made of stone and partly of bricks. The Wada was then completed and upon being attacked by the British Artillery 90 years later, all the top six stories collapsed leaving only the stone base, which was immune to the British artillery. Hence only the stone base of the Shaniwar Wada remains and can be seen even today in the older parts of Pune.
By 1758, at least a thousand people lived in the fort.
In 1773, Narayanrao, who was the fifth and ruling Peshwa then, was murdered by guards on orders of his uncle Raghunathrao and aunt Anandibai. A popular legend has it that Narayanrao's ghost still calls for help on full moon nights. Various people, working around the area, have allegedly reported the cries [3] [4] of "Kaka mala vachava" (Uncle, save me) by Narayanrao Peshwa after his death.
In June 1818, the Peshwa, Bajirao II, abdicated his Gaadi (throne) to Sir John Malcolm of the British East India Company and went into political exile at Bithoor, near Kanpur in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India.
On 27 February 1828, a great fire started inside the palace complex. The conflagration raged for seven days. Only the heavy granite ramparts, strong teak gateways and deep foundations and ruins of the buildings within the fort survived. [5]
According to Haricharitramrutsagar, a biographical text of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, he had visited Shaniwarwada on the insistence of Bajirao II in 1799. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Peshwa Baji Rao I, prime minister to Chattrapati Shahu, laid the ceremonial foundation of his own residence on Saturday, 10 January 1730. It was named Shaniwar Wada from the Marathi words Shaniwar (Saturday) and Wada (a general term for any residence complex). Teak was imported from the jungles of Junnar, stone was brought from the nearby quarries of Chinchwad, and Lime (mineral) was brought from the lime-belts of Jejuri. Shaniwarwada was completed in 1732, at a total cost of Rs. 16,110, a very large sum at that time. [11]
The opening ceremony was performed according to religious customs, on 22 January 1732, another Saturday chosen for being a particularly auspicious day.
Later the Peshwas made several additions, including the fortification walls, with bastions and gates; court halls and other buildings; fountains and reservoirs. Currently, the perimeter fortification wall has five gateways and nine bastion towers, enclosing a garden complex with the foundations of the original buildings. It is situated near the Mula-Mutha River, in Kasba Peth.
Shaniwar Wada has five gates:
The important buildings in the palace includes the Thorlya Rayancha Diwankhana (Marathi: the court reception hall of the eldest royal, meaning Baji Rao I), Naachacha Diwankhana (Dance Hall), and Juna Arsa Mahal (Old Mirror Hall).
Since the buildings were destroyed in the fire of 1828, only descriptions of the living areas of the fort are available. All the state halls in the buildings are said to have doorways with exquisitely carved teak arches, with ornamental teardrop teak pillars shaped like Suru (cypress tree) trunks supporting the ceilings, which were covered with beautiful teak tracery, carved creepers and flowers. Exquisite glass chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The floors were made of highly polished marble, arranged in a mosaic pattern and adorned with rich Persian rugs. The walls contained paintings with scenes from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
The buildings are said to have been designed and constructed by well-known artisans, including Shivaram Krishna, Devaji Sutar, Kondaji Sutar, Morarji Patharwat Bhojraja (an inlay-work expert from Jaipur) and Ragho (a painter).
It is said that the Shaniwarwada complex was seven storeys high. On the top floor was the residence of the Peshwa which was called Meghadambari. It is said that the spire of Jñāneśvar temple at Alandi, 17 km away, could be seen from there.
The complex had an impressive lotus-shaped fountain: the Hazari Karanje (Fountain of a thousand jets). It was constructed for the pleasure of the infant Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao. It was designed as a sixteen petal lotus; each petal had sixteen jets with an eighty-foot arch. It was the most complicated and intricate fountain of its time.[ citation needed ]
Shrimant Anandrao Rudrajirao Dhulap-More (an admiral of Maratha navy in 18th century) who visited the Shaniwarwada in 1791 described it as "very magnificent. A hundred dancers can dance here at a time. In one corner is a marble Ganapati statue and the palace is flanked by a fountain and a flower garden.".
Bajirao I, born as Visaji, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy.
Peshwa was second highest office in the Maratha Confederacy, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha empire, the office became hereditary after the death of Shahu in 1749. During the reign of Shahu, the office of Peshwa grew in power and the Peshwas came to be the de facto rulers of the Maratha empire. However following the defeat of the Marathas in 1761, the office of the Peshwa became titular as well and from that point onwards served as the ceremonial head of the Confederacy underneath the Chhatrapati.
Balaji Baji Rao, often referred to as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his father, the Peshwa Bajirao I.
Madhavrao I was the 9th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. During his tenure, the Maratha Confederacy fully recovered from the losses they suffered during the Third Battle of Panipat, an event known as Maratha Resurrection.
Shahu I was the fifth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Shivaji I. He was born into the Bhonsle family, and was the son of Sambhaji I and Yesubai. At a young age, he was taken into custody at the Siege of Raigad by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and held captive by the Mughals. He was released from captivity after the death of Aurangzeb in the hope of engineering an internecine struggle among the Maratha factions of Tarabai and Shahu. Raja Shahu emerged victorious in the bloody Battle of Khed and was crowned as Chhatrapati.
Mastani was the daughter of Chhatrasal and Ruhani Bai Begum. She was the second wife of the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I. Her relationship within the Maratha Brahmin family has been subject of both admiration and controversy and well adapted in Indian novels and cinema.
Nana Fadnavis, born Balaji Janardan Bhanu, was a Maratha minister and statesman during the Peshwa administration in Pune, India. James Grant Duff states that he was called "the Maratha Machiavelli" by the Europeans.
Tarabai Bhosale (née Mohite) was the regent of the Maratha Empire from 1700 until 1708. She was the queen of Rajaram I, and daughter-in-law of the empire's founder Shivaji I. She is acclaimed for her role in keeping alive the resistance against Mughal occupation of Maratha territories after the death of her husband, and acting as the regent during the minority of her son, Shivaji II.
Gopikabai was Peshwin of Maratha Empire, as the wife of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao. She had a very orthodox religious upbringing and belief. After the death of Nanasaheb Peshwa, she tried to expand her power over the Peshwa and the administration. She influenced her son Madhavrao Peshwa, who by sidelining Raghunathrao at her urging, assumed control. However, after trying to interfere in administrative matters, namely to save her brother from punishment, she was confined to Nashik. In 1773 she was freed after the death of Madhavarao and went back to Pune. Afterwards, Gopikabai became part of the priestly class. She developed a rivalry with other women in the Peshwa's household. She was the mother of three successive Peshwas.
Visaji Krushna Chinchalkar, popularly known as Visaji Pant Biniwale, was one of the leading generals of Peshwas in Northern India during 1759 to 1772. Peshwa Madhavrao I mainly sought his assistance in his attempt to restore Maratha Empire in the North after the defeat in the Battle of Panipat (1761).
Anandibai was a Peshwa Queen and the wife of Raghunathrao, the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. In August 1773, she successfully plotted the death of her nephew, the 17-year-old Peshwa Narayanrao. Her husband was acting regent at the time and next in line for the throne, at the time of Narayanrao's death.
Menavli is a village about three kilometres from Wai in the Satara district. The village's claim to fame is due to the palace (wada) built by Nana Fadnavis, 18th century Maratha statesman and the regent of Peshwa Madhavrao II.
Umabai Dabhade was a prominent member of the Maratha Dabhade clan. The members of her family held the hereditary title senapati (commander-in-chief), and controlled several territories in Gujarat. After the deaths of her husband Khande Rao and her son Trimbak Rao, she exercised executive powers while her minor son Yashwant Rao remained the titular senapati. Her unsuccessful rebellion against Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao resulted in the downfall of the Dabhade family.
Shaniwar Peth is a historic ward in the centre of the Indian city of Pune. Shaniwar means Saturday in Marathi and other Indian languages.
Saswad is a municipal council located on South-Eastern corridor of Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Saswad is situated on the banks of the Karha River. Saswad is about 31 km from Pune-Central Station.
Vishrambaag Wada, a fine mansion situated at central Pune's Thorale Bajirao Road, was the luxurious residence of Peshwa Baji Rao II, the last Peshwa of Maratha confederacy, in early 19th century. The 20,000 sq.ft. wada presently houses a post office on its ground floor, a few other offices of the municipal corporation and a small museum of Maratha artifacts put together by noted Maratha historian, Babasaheb Purandare. This structure is famous for its fine entrance and the balcony with carved woodwork.
Kashibai was the first wife of Bajirao I, the Peshwa to the fourth Maratha Chhatrapati (Emperor) Shahu. With Bajirao, she had four children, including Balaji Baji Rao and Ragunath Rao. Balaji succeeded Bajirao as Peshwa upon the latter's death in 1740. Also following Bajirao's death, Kashibai fostered her step-son, Shamsher Bahadur, whose mother was Bajirao's second wife, Mastani.
The Bhat Peshwa family earlier known as Bhat family is a prominent Indian Chitpavan Brahmin family who dominated India for around 100 years in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Most of the members in this family were the Peshwas in the Peshwa Era of the Maratha Empire, and Peshwa later became their family name. During their regime, most of the Indian subcontinent was under their control. The last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, was defeated by the British East India Company in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818. The territory was annexed to the British East India Company's Bombay Presidency, and he was pensioned.
Peshwa Bajirao is an Indian Hindi historical drama television series, which broadcast from 23 January 2017 to 25 August 2017 on Sony TV. The series is based on a Peshwa of the Maratha Empire, Bajirao I, who ruled under the Chhatrapati known as Shahu. The series was produced by Sphere Origins of Sunjoy Waddhwa and creatively produced by Nilanjana Purkayasstha's company Invictus T Mediaworks. The series was aired on weekdays.
The Assassination of Narayan Rao occurred on 30 August 1773, when the 18 year old Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy Narayan Rao, was assassinated. This plot was carried out During the Ganesh Chaturthi Festival that took place from 21 to 31 August. This was plotted by his uncle Raghunath Rao and his wife Anandibai. They used members of the Kalbelia tribe as assassins. Raghunath Rao was the next in line for the throne, at the time of Narayan Rao's death. Narayan Rao and his servant Chapaji Tilekar were both killed. A total of eleven people had been killed in the palace, seven of them were Brahmins, two servants, two maids. One cow was also killed.