 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2019) |
| Shahuji I | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Raja of Thanjavur | |
| Reign | 1684–1712 |
| Predecessor | Ekoji I |
| Successor | Serfoji I |
| Born | 1672 |
| Died | 1712 |
| House | Bhonsle |
| Father | Ekoji I |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Shahuji I (b.1672) also called Shahji of the Bhonsle dynasty was the second Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. He was the eldest son of Ekoji I, who was a half brother of Shivaji, the first Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. He reigned from 1684 to 1712.
Shahuji I ascended the throne in 1684 at the age of 12 on the death of his father Venkoji or Ekoji I the first Maratha ruler of Thajnavur.
The Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb's Deccan campaign reached its highpoint after the death of Shivaji. The Deccan sultanates were annexed in 1687 and Shivaji's eldest son Shambhaji was captured and slain. However, the annihilation of the Maratha Empire was prevented by the brave resistance offered by Shivaji's second son Rajaram and his wife Tara Bai. As the Maratha territories were overrun by Mughal troops, the focus of resistance shifted to Gingee fort which Rajaram took in 1693 with an army of 20,000 men provided by his cousin, the Raja of Thanjavur.
Aurangazeb retaliated by sending his general Zulfiqar Khan who recaptured Gingee and pursued the fleeing Marathas into Thanjavur. From 1691, Thanjavur had been forced to pay a tribute of four lakhs to the Mughals in order to retain their sovereignty. In 1697, Zulfiqar Khan forced Shahuji I to return the lands he had obtained from Mangammal, the Nayaki of Tiruchirapalli. Eventually Shahuji defeated the Mughals and captured lands as far as Varanasi. For this; he was immortalized in many literary works.
An inscription at Pattukkottai boasts of the conquest of all lands between Pamban and Pudukkottai by Babaji son of Gangadhara, the agent of Shahuji I and the construction of a fort by the same official. Inscriptions also refer to the help offered by Shahji I to the Maravas. In 1700, Babaji invaded Tiruchirapalli in alliance with the Sethupathy of Ramnad. However, Rani Mangammal, the Queen of Tiruchirapalli inflicted a crushing defeat on Ramnad. Soon Shahuji I switched sides on account of the common danger to Thanjavur and Tiruchirapalli from the anicut built by Mysore across the Cauvery. A major war with Mysore was averted. But furious with Shahuji I over his new-found friendship with the Nayaks of Madurai / Tiruchirapalli, Kilavan, the Raja of Ramnad invaded Tiruchirapalli and defeated the forces of the Nayaki. He sent a huge army across the dominions of Shahuji I and took the fort of Aranthangi in 1709.
Shahuji I patronized learning and promoted literature. There are some dramas (koothu) in manuscript in the Thanjavur library which belong to this period. A large number of high-quality Sanskrit works were produced during this period. Dharmakuta heaps praises on Shahuji I. Tryambaka Raya Makhi gave a new interpretation to the Ramayana. Venkata Krishna Dikshitar who was a court-poet of Shahuji I composed Natesa Vijayam. Apart from this, Bhaskara Dikshit wrote Ratnatulika while Veda Kavi wrote Vidya Parinayam and Jivananda
In 1693, Shahuji I renamed Thiruvisanallur as Shahajirajapuram and made a gift of this village to 46 Pandits of his court. This village soon emerged as the hub of literary, art and architectural activity.
Bhulokadevendra Vilasam, Athirupavathi Kalyanam, Sankaranarayana Kalyanam, Chandrikahasa Vilasa Natakam, Koravanji and Vishnu saharasraja vilasam are some works in Tamil drama which belong to this period. However, almost all Tamil works of Shahuji's period indicate a decline in quality. The usual plot is that some princess falls in love with Sahendra or Shahuji and secures him at last. The king is described in them as a linguist and a conqueror. Besides these, there are a few stray pieces praising Ekoji, Shahuji and Serfoji.
There are also some Telugu works from this period which are also lower in quality when compared to those of the Nayak period. Sahasraja vilasa nataka narrates how Shahuji I defeated the Muslim sultans and conquered all lands up to Varanasi. Vishnu sahasraja vilasam is a Tamil koothu written in Telugu script.
According to the Advaita Kirtana, Shahuji I abdicated the throne in 1712 and became a yogi. He was succeeded by his brother Serfoji I.
Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit used to denote a sovereign. The word "Chhatrapati" is a Sanskrit language compound word of chhatra and pati (master/lord/ruler). This title was used by the House of Bhonsle, between 1674 and 1818, as the heads of state of the Maratha Confederacy.
The Bhonsle are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system.
Shahaji Bhosale was a 17th century Indian military leader who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a member of the Bhonsle dynasty, Shahaji inherited the Pune and Supe jagirs (fiefs) from his father Maloji, who previously served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. During the Mughal invasion of the Deccan, Shahaji joined the Mughal forces and served under Emperor Shah Jahan for a short period. After being deprived of his jagirs, he defected to the Bijapur Sultanate in 1632 and regained control over Pune and Supe. In 1638, he received the jagir of Bangalore after Bijapur's invasion of Kempe Gowda III's territories. Afterwards, he became the chief general of Bijapur and oversaw its expansion.
Rajaram Bhonsle I was the third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Kingdom, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of the Shivaji, the founder of the empire and younger half-brother of Sambhaji, whom he succeeded. His eleven-year reign was marked with a constant struggle against the Mughals. He was succeeded by his infant son Shivaji II under the regentship of his dowager Maharani Tarabai.
The Deccan wars were a series of military conflicts between the Mughal Empire and the descendants of the Maratha ruler Shivaji from the time of Shivaji's death in 1680 until the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. Shivaji was a central figure in what has been called "the Maratha insurgency" against the Mughal state. Both he and his son, Sambhaji, or Shambuji, typically, alternated between rebellion against the Mughal state and service to the Mughal sovereign in an official capacity. It was common practice in late 17th-century India for members of a ruling family of a small principality to both collaborate with the Mughals and rebel.
Serfoji II also spelt as Sarabhoji II Bhonsle, was the last ruler of the Bhonsle dynasty of the Maratha principality of Tanjore to exercise absolute sovereignty over his dominions. His descendants, however, have managed to thrive as titular Maharajahs of Thanjavur to the present day. Serfoji belonged to the Bhonsle clan of Marathas and was descended from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's half-brother Venkoji. He ruled Thanjavur from 1798 until his death in 1832.
Thuljaji Bhonsle (1738–1787) was the eldest son of Pratap singh and the ruler of Thanjavur Bhonsle dynasty from 1763 to 1773 and 1776 to 1787. He was a weak-hearted ruler despite being extremely generous. His period is known for the treaties which made Thanjavur subordinate to the British East India Company.
Pratap Singh Bhonsle or Pratapsinha was the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur of the Bhonsle dynasty from 1739 to 1763. His rise to power followed three years of anarchy and civil war and restored the state to its previous greatness. His reign witnessed the Carnatic Wars and the Seven Years' War.
Tukkoji Bhonsle (1677–1736) was the fourth Maratha ruler of Thanjavur, located in South India. He was from the Bhonsle dynasty and was the son of Ekoji I as well as the younger brother of Shahuji I and Serfoji I. Tukkoji ruled Thanjavur from 1728 to 1736.
Serfoji I (1675–1728), also spelt as Sarabhoji I Bhonsle, was the son of the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur Ekoji I and the Raja of Thanjavur from 1712 to 1728. He was the third Raja of the Bhonsle dynasty of Thanjavur. He consolidated the hold of Marathas over Thanjavur and patronised arts and literature.
Vyankojirajah Bhonsle or Ekojirajah I Bhonsle was the younger half-brother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and founder of Maratha rule in Thanjavur in modern day Tamil Nadu. He was the progenitor of the junior branch of the Bhonsle family which ruled Thanjavur until the formal annexation of the kingdom by the British East India Company in 1855.
Shahuji II Bhonsle of Katturaja of the Bhonsle dynasty was the name of the ruler of Thanjavur from 1738 to 1739 who rose to power based on the unverified claim of being an illegitimate son of Serfoji I.
The Thanjavur Maratha kingdom ruled by the Bhonsle dynasty was a principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language was Thanjavur Marathi. Vyankoji Bhosale was the founder of the dynasty.
Panhala fort, is located in Panhala, 20 kilometres northwest of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India. It is strategically located looking over a pass in the Sahyadri mountain range which was a major trade route from Bijapur in the interior of Maharashtra to the coastal areas. Due to its strategic location, it was the centre of several skirmishes in the Deccan involving the Marathas, the Mughals and the British the grand son's of chhatrapati shivaji maharaj East India Company, the most notable being the Battle of Pavan Khind. Here, the queen regent of Kolhapur, Tarabai Ranisaheb, spent her formative years. Several parts of the fort and the structures within are still intact. It is also called as the 'Fort of Snakes' as it is zigzagged in shape.
Kolhapur State or Kolhapur Kingdom (1710–1949) was a Maratha princely State of India, under the Deccan Division of the Bombay Presidency, and later the Deccan States Agency. It was considered the most important of the Maratha principalities with the others being Baroda State, Gwalior State and Indore State. Its rulers, of the Bhonsle dynasty, were entitled to a 19-gun salute – thus Kolhapur was also known as a 19-gun state. The state flag was a swallow-tailed saffron pennant.
Anandarayar Sahib was a poet and administrator who served as a minister in the courts of the Thanjavur Maratha kings Shahuji I, Serfoji I and Tukkoji. He was given the honorific title "Peshwa".
The siege of Jinji,, began when the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb appointed Zulfiqar Ali Khan as the Nawab of the Carnatic and dispatched him to besiege and capture Jinji Fort, which had been sacked and captured by Maratha Empire troops led by Rajaram, they had also ambushed and killed about 300 Mughal Sowars in the Carnatic. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb then ordered Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I to protect the supply routes leading to Jinji Fort and to support and provide reinforcements to Zulfiqar Ali Khan when needed.
Shivaji Bhonsle II of the Maratha Kingdom, later Shivaji Bhonsle I of Kolhapur was the son of the Maratha Chhatrapati, Rajaram I, and his wife Tarabai.
Tryambaka-yajvan (1665-1750), also known as Tryambaka-raya-makhin, was a Hindu pandit and a minister at the court of the Thanjavur Maratha kings Shahaji I and Serfoji I. He is best known for writing Strī-dharma-paddhati - a treatise that describes the duties of the ideal Hindu woman from an orthodox point of view, and Dharmākūta - a commentary on Ramayana.
The Bhonsle dynasty is an Indian Marathi royal house. The Bhonsles claimed descent from the Rajput Sisodia dynasty, but were likely Kunbi Marathas.
