The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Confederacy and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately 97 kilometres (60 mi) north of Delhi. The Afghans were supported by three key allies in India: Najib ad-Dawlah who persuaded the support of the Rohilla chiefs, elements of the declining Mughal Empire, and most prized the Oudh State under Shuja-ud-Daula. The Maratha army was led by Sadashivrao Bhau, who was third-highest authority of the Maratha Confederacy after the Chhatrapati and the Peshwa. The bulk of the Maratha army was stationed in the Deccan Plateau with the Peshwa.
Bajirao I, born as Visaji, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he engaged in several military conflicts such as Nizam's Carnatic campaigns (1725-27) and Maratha invasion of Deccan (1739). Bajirao made efforts to establish Maratha dominance in the Subcontinent. As a result, he was responsible for Maratha raid on Delhi (1737) and also engaged In conflicts with the Portuguese.
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.
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.
Karhaḍe Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
Chhatrasal Bundela was the Raja of Panna from 1675 to 1731. He is well known for his Resistance against the Mughal Empire.
The Maratha Conquests were a series of conquests in the Indian subcontinent which led to the building of the Maratha Empire. These conquests were started by Shivaji in 1659, from the victory at the Battle of Pratapgad against Bijapur. The expansion of the empire was limited and interrupted by the Mughal conquests of south India by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Marathas were forced to defend their territories against the overwhelmingly strong Mughal army in the 27 years long Deccan wars. They were able to defend their territories and gain an upper hand over Mughals in the sustained conflict.
Sadashivrao Bhau Peshwa was son of Chimaji Appa and Rakhmabai and the nephew of Baji Rao I. He was a finance minister during the reign of Maratha emperor Rajaram II. He led the Maratha army at the Third Battle of Panipat.
Pant or Panta is a last name, commonly found in Nepal and in the Indian states of Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. It is a traditional surname used by Brahmins, a priestly community. Foremostly involved in the activities of the state, they were generally found involved in activities such as academics, religion, management, politics and warfare.
Parvatibai was second wife of Sadashivrao Bhau. She was from the Kolhatkar family of Pen and was married to Sadashivrao Bhau after the death of his first wife Umabai and hence became a member of the Peshwa family. She was also a trusted confidante of Shahuji. Her niece Radhikabai was married to Vishwasrao.
Vishwasrao Bhat was the eldest son of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao of the Maratha Empire and the heir to the title of Peshwa.
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).
Mahadaji Ballal Karkare was an accountant, Special Envoy of Peshwas, tutor and advisor of Peshwa Madhavrao I and Sawai Madhavrao. He was preceptor of Peshwa Madhavrao (I), when he was a child. He afterwards became Peshwa's domestic priest. Later he was his private treasurer.
Chimnaji Damodar Moghe, popularly known as Chimnaji Damodar, was among the first Sardars to cross the boundary of Maharashtra to engage Mughal forces located in the central and northern regions of India in 1698. He also served as Rajadnya in the court of Shahu I and as Peshwa in the court of Sambhaji II of Kolhapur.
Ranoji Bhoite was a Maratha chieftain of the Bhoite clan who lived in the 18th century. The Commander in Chief of the Maratha army from satara He was a contemporary of Ranoji Shinde, Dattaji Shinde, and others. Bhoite was an active Commander in Maratha's North India Campaign. Some Maratha leaders survived after the Panipat battle and created their own kingdoms, but Bhoite did not. He served under King Shahu in the Satara Kingdom.
Dattaji Rao Shinde, also known as Dattaji Rao Scindia, was the second son of Ranoji Rao Shinde and Maina Bai, alias Nimba Bai. His elder brother was Jayappaji Rao Shinde and his younger brother was Jyotiba.
Jankoji Rao Shinde was the third Maharaja of Gwalior State. He became Maharaja of Gwalior after death of his father, Jayappaji Rao Scindia.
Shamsher Bahadur I, was a ruler of the Maratha dominion of Banda in northern India. He was the son of Bajirao I and 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.
The Saugor subha was a province of the Maratha Empire comprising the central Indian territories of the Peshwa or prime minister. It was ruled by hereditary Maratha Pandit governors who had their headquarters at the city of Sagar.
