Shahuji II | |
---|---|
Raja of Thanjavur | |
Reign | 1738 to 1739 |
Predecessor | Sujanbai |
Successor | Pratapsingh |
House | Bhonsle |
Father | Serfoji I |
Religion | Hinduism |
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.
Ever since the death of Serfoji I, Shahuji II desired to occupy the throne. However, on Serfoji I's death in 1728, throne passed on to his younger brother Tukkoji. Not until the death of Tukkoji in 1736 was Katturaja able to place his claim on the throne. Katturaja did not make any claim to the throne during the short rule of Ekoji II but during the rule of his wife Sujanbai he superseded the former in power. Soon he was driven out and approached the French for help. Meanwhile, the cunning court-official Sayid imprisoned Sujanbai and impaled her favorite minister Siddoji thereby enabling Katturaja to take power in 1738.
Katturaja ascended the throne as Sawai Shahuji or Shahuji II and ruled for about a year. In February 1739, Chanda Sahib forced the Raja to cede Karaikal to the French and in April 1739, Shahuji II confirmed the grant. However, in July 1739, Shahuji II tried his best to prevent the French from landing in Karaikal. This alienated the French. Shahuji II approached the Dutch of Negapatam and the English of Fort St David for help but to no avail. Chanda Sahib invaded Thanjavur and deposed the Raja on the basis of the new discovery that Katturaja was the son of a washerwoman at the Fort and not the queen herself.
With Thanjavur in the enemy's hands, there was no ruler in Thanjavur. Pratapsingh was reluctant to lay his claim on the throne. However, Katturaja exhorted him to lead from the front. He wrote a letter to Pratapsingh:
If you do not accept the Government, both of us lose our heads, if, on the other hand, we continue alive, we may watch the course of events. Hence ascend the throne.
Pratapsingh accepted Shahuji II's request and ascended the throne in 1739.
Shahuji II lived for a fair part of Pratapsingh's reign. During the early part of Pratapsingh's reign, he intrigued along with Chanda Sahib, Koyyaji Kattigai and the powerful court-official Sayyid in order to capture the throne. Sayyid was captured and killed on the orders of the Raja.
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.
Chanda Sahib was a subject of the Carnatic Sultanate between 1749 and 1752. He was the son-in-law of the Nawab of Carnatic Dost Ali Khan, under whom he was a Dewan. An ally of the French, he was initially supported by Joseph François Dupleix during the Carnatic Wars. He annexed the Madurai Nayaks and was declared Nawab, bringing Tanjore and Tinnevelly into the dominions of the Mughal Empire.
Bangaru Thirumala Nayaka, also known as Bangaru Tirumala and Vangaru Thirumala, was a member of Madurai Nayak royal family and Governor/Commander of the Madurai Nayak King Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha (1704–1731). His son, a young boy was adopted and crowned to the Madurai Throne, with the queen Meenakshi as queen regent, when the Madurai king died without heir. Strife between Bangaru Thirumala and queen Meenakshi would later erupt into many battles leading to the downfall of the dynasty. Later, through marriage alliances with the Sinhalese royalty, relatives of Bangaru Thirumala came to rule the Kandy kingdom in Sri Lanka. They ruled till 1815 when the last king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was deposed and taken captive by the British. He was exiled to Vellore Fort from Kandy.
Raja Shivaji of the Bhonsle dynasty of Thanjavur in India, was the son of Raja Serfoji II and ruled the fortress of Thanjavur and its surroundings from 1832 to 1855. He was the last Raja of Thanjavur known to wield any authority.
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.
Amar Singh or Ramaswami Amarasimha Bhonsle was the younger son of the Maratha Raja of Thanjavur Pratap Singh and served as the regent soon after the death of his brother Thuljaji II and ruled Thanjavur Maratha Kingdom in the name of Thuljaji's minor son Serfoji II from 1787 to 1793.
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.
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.
Ekoji II Bhonsle aka Venkoji II or Vyankoji II of the Bhonsle dynasty was the eldest surviving son of Maratha king of Thanjavur Tukkoji who succeeded to the throne on the death of his father in 1736. His reign was remarkably short and he died due to ill-health in 1737.
Sujana Bai Bhonsle or Sujan Bai Bhonsle was the wife of Ekoji II, the Maratha queen of Thanjavur of the Bhonsle dynasty. She ruled the state from the death of her husband in 1737 until she was deposed in 1738.
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.
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.
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