The Rise of the Marathas | CBSE Class 8 History Notes

This note covers the Marathas’ origins, Chhatrapati Shivaji’s rise, struggles with the Mughals, territorial expansion, government, armed forces, trade, women leaders, cultural achievements and historical legacy.

What was the background to the rise of the Marathas?

The Marathas are people native to the Deccan plateau, particularly present-day Maharashtra. They are identified with Marathi, a language with a rich and continuous literary history since the 12th century. Literary history means the development of writings in a language over time.

During the 13th century, the Yadava dynasty, a ruling family, governed most of Maharashtra from Devagiri, now Daulatabad. In the early 14th century, the Khilji Sultanate from Delhi overcame the Yadavas. Cultural traditions continued amid these political changes.

How did bhakti provide a cultural foundation?

Bhakti means devotion to the divine or a particular deity. Between the 7th and 17th centuries, saints from diverse social backgrounds preferred devotion to merely external rituals. Their songs and poetry used the languages of ordinary people, helping their ideas spread widely.

In Maharashtra, Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram and Ramdas became popular. Saints helped translate important texts, including the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita, into Marathi. This made their philosophy accessible to people who could understand that language.

Some saints also encouraged social organisation and political awareness. These developments gave society a strong cultural foundation that later helped the Marathas organise themselves as a political power. Devotional activity and political organisation were therefore connected through this wider cultural setting.

By the 17th century, some Maratha chiefs had attempted to establish sovereignty, meaning independent authority to rule. Their early attempts failed. Chhatrapati Shivaji subsequently brought the Marathas together and established a kingdom.

Why did Shivaji’s early campaigns, forts and geography matter?

Chhatrapati Shivaji was born in 1630 into the Bhonsle clan, to Shahji and Jijabai. Chhatrapati means sovereign king; a clan is a group of related families. Shahji served the Deccan sultanates and was often away. Shivaji received education and values under Jijabai and trusted officials in Shahji’s jagir at Pune.

Definition: A jagir was land granted by a ruler, usually to a noble or soldier for service. Its holder could collect taxes to support personal needs or assist the ruler when required.

Fighting between the Deccan sultans caused much hardship in the Pune region. At sixteen, Shivaji began military campaigns. The beginning of his rule is dated to 1646. He strengthened his position around Pune by capturing neglected and unoccupied forts and improving their defences.

His ideal of Swarajya, a sovereign kingdom, developed over time. It included political, economic and cultural aims. The acquisition of forts provided a practical foundation for this growing ambition.

How did the landscape support military strategy?

Guerrilla warfare uses small groups, speed, surprise and knowledge of the terrain to defeat larger armies. Terrain means the physical character of the land. Mountains and forts helped the Marathas control routes and shelter soldiers during such warfare.

Bijapur sent its experienced general Afzal Khan against Shivaji. Shivaji and his advisers persuaded him to attend a one-to-one meeting near Pratapgad Fort, amid thick forests. Shivaji killed Afzal Khan, while concealed Maratha forces defeated his army through guerrilla attacks.

The wagh nakh, a small weapon shaped like a tiger’s claw, was used in the close combat with Afzal Khan. Do not confuse this individual encounter with the attacks made by Maratha forces on his army.

As the kingdom reached the western coast, Shivaji needed secure access to coastal resources. He founded the Maratha navy, an armed force operating at sea, in 1657. Coastal expansion therefore required protection at sea as well as strong positions on land.

How did conflict with the Mughals lead to coronation and southern expansion?

The Mughal nobleman Shaista Khan invaded Shivaji’s territories with a large army for three years. Shivaji eventually entered his camp at night with a few soldiers. Shaista Khan barely escaped, lost a few fingers and promptly left Maharashtra.

In retaliation for those attacks, Shivaji sacked, or plundered, the wealthy Mughal port of Surat. He obtained treasure worth almost one crore of rupees. A crore means ten million. He avoided attacking religious places and spared the house of the charitable Mohandas Parekh.

Shivaji sacked Surat again after a few years. The attacks damaged Mughal prestige. Aurangzeb sent the Rajput general Jai Singh, against whom Shivaji conceded defeat at Purandar Fort. Under the resulting treaty, Shivaji surrendered a sizeable part of his kingdom and Sambhaji entered Mughal service.

What happened at Agra and Raigad?

Jai Singh persuaded Shivaji to visit Aurangzeb’s court at Agra. Angered by his treatment there, Shivaji left the court and was placed under house arrest, meaning confinement in a residence. His imprisonment and escape occurred in 1666.

Shivaji began sending gifts, often fruits and sweets in large baskets, to holy men and Mughal generals. Guards initially checked them but later stopped. Shivaji and Sambhaji hid in the baskets and escaped. Aurangzeb could never capture Shivaji again.

In 1674, Shivaji was crowned at the mountain fortress of Raigad with Vedic rites, religious ceremonies associated with the Vedas. His formal title became Shri Raja Shiva Chhatrapati. He also began the Rajyabhisheka shaka, an era reckoned from his coronation.

Photographs: Raigad Fort (NCERT Class 8 Figure 3.1). One photograph shows fortifications following a steep, wooded mountainside; the other shows the grand stone entrance to the palace where Shivaji was crowned in 1674, marking the formal beginning of the Maratha Empire.

His dakshina-digvijaya, meaning conquest of the South, followed in 1677. It included present-day northern Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka. This extension later gave the Marathas strategic depth: southern territory where resistance could continue during the Mughal invasion.

While in the South, Shivaji forbade the Dutch from trading slaves. At the time, most Europeans were capturing and selling Indians as slaves. His intervention opposed this abuse and expressed concern for his subjects.

How did the Marathas survive after Shivaji’s death?

Shivaji died of fever in 1680, aged fifty. His two sons were Sambhaji and Rajaram. Sambhaji succeeded him as Chhatrapati, the sovereign ruler. The Marathas then stood as the only obstacle to complete Mughal control of the Deccan.

Aurangzeb invaded the region and conquered Bijapur, also called the Adil Shahi Sultanate, and Golconda, also called the Qutb Shahi Sultanate. He captured Sambhaji, brutally tortured and executed him, and subsequently captured the Maratha capital, Raigad.

Why did resistance continue?

Rajaram became Chhatrapati after Sambhaji and escaped to Gingee in present-day Tamil Nadu. The conflict consequently extended into southern India. This development shows the importance of the southern territories acquired during Shivaji’s campaigns.

The Mughal-Maratha wars extended from 1682 to 1707. The Marathas defended their forts determinedly and often gained the upper hand in battles and smaller encounters. Aurangzeb remained occupied in the Deccan and died without subduing them.

Resistance depended on more than possession of the original capital. Strong fortresses and the ability to continue fighting elsewhere helped preserve the state even after major losses. The Marathas emerged from these struggles as a strong contender against Mughal power.

Under Tarabai, Rajaram’s queen, the Marathas moved beyond defence and made large incursions into Mughal territories. Their long experience of resistance helped prepare the way for expansion across large parts of India in the 18th century.

Orange marks Shivaji’s territory, including western areas and a southern extension around Gingee and Vellore. Grey marks Ekoji’s territory around Thanjavur. The legend separately identifies hill, coastal and land forts.

See Fig. 3.9 in your NCERT textbook

How did Maratha expansion end in conflict with the British?

Expansion changed the organisation of Maratha power. The relatively centralised state of Shivaji’s time gave way to a more decentralised structure, in which chiefs exercised greater authority. The Chhatrapati remained the nominal centre, but regional leaders gained power and autonomy, or freedom of action.

The Peshwa, a Persian term meaning prime minister, became particularly influential, even over the Chhatrapati. Peshwa Bajirao I and his son Nanasaheb Peshwa played major roles in the Marathas’ pan-Indian expansion, meaning expansion across India.

The Marathas generally governed their territories well. However, greater regional autonomy also produced occasional indiscipline and abuse, in sharp contrast with Shivaji’s values. Their expansion should therefore be studied alongside these changes in government.

Why was Panipat not the end of Maratha power?

During their northward expansion, the Marathas briefly controlled Lahore, Attock and even Peshawar, now in Pakistan. They suffered a disastrous defeat against the Afghans at Panipat in 1761, but recovered quickly under Peshwa Madhavrao I.

Mahadji Shinde, also known as Mahadji Scindia, led the recapture of Delhi in 1771. Delhi remained under Maratha control until the British captured it three decades later. Recovery after Panipat is essential to understanding their continuing importance.

The Marathas were the British’s chief rivals in India during the latter half of the 18th century. Three Anglo-Maratha wars, wars between the British and Marathas, occurred between 1775 and 1818. The first, from 1775 to 1782, ended in Maratha victory.

Nana Phadnavis, an influential official under the Peshwas, is credited with organising the first pan-Indian anti-British alliance. It included former opponents such as Hyder Ali of Mysore and the Nizam of Hyderabad.

Increasing Maratha disunity and superior British organisational and technological abilities eventually enabled the British to end Maratha power in 1818. In effect, British conquest took India from the Marathas more than from any other Indian power.

How did administration under Shivaji compare with later Maratha government?

Shivaji established a relatively centralised administration: authority was concentrated around the ruler. He abolished hereditary posts, which passed within families, and land assignments. Every government official received a salary from the state treasury, the government’s funds.

Many officials were periodically transferred. This prevented them from accumulating enough power to dictate terms to the king. Shivaji also provided pensions to soldiers’ widows and offered military positions to the sons of soldiers killed in battle.

What was the council of eight ministers?

The ashta pradhana mandala was a council of eight ministers assisting the ruler. Their responsibilities covered different areas of government. The distribution of duties can be remembered through the following complete list.

Revenue means government income, including taxes; intelligence means information gathered for government and security. Foreign affairs concern relations with other powers. The commander-in-chief heads the armed forces, while the chief justice has a leading role in administering justice.

A central oval names the Chhatrapati as sovereign king. Arrows connect him with eight surrounding boxes, each naming a minister and responsibility. Use all eight labels when drawing the council.

See Fig. 3.13 in your NCERT textbook

The Marathas often collected chauth, a tax of 25 per cent, and sardeshmukhi, an additional 10 per cent to chauth, from provinces outside their direct rule. They protected these provinces without interfering in internal administration. Mughal treaties approved such arrangements; some provinces later joined the empire.

The panchayat administering justice was a local gathering of officials and prominent men. Unsatisfactory verdicts could be appealed to a Maratha chief. The judicial system used capital punishment, the death penalty, with moderation. In prominent towns, the kotwal, or police, maintained order.

Note: The historical panchayat delivering justice should not be confused with today’s Panchayat as a governmental body. Similar names do not make the institutions identical.

How did the armed forces and trade networks support Maratha power?

The armed forces contained infantry, soldiers fighting on foot; cavalry, soldiers fighting on horseback; and the navy. Cavalry soldiers belonged to two categories distinguished by who paid for their horses and equipment.

In the 18th century, the Marathas recognised the superiority of European-style disciplined troops and artillery, large guns used in warfare. They tried to raise and recruit such forces. Mahadji Shinde maintained a large European-style army.

Swords and lances were preferred weapons, although guns were also used in sizeable numbers. Rockets had been used since Shivaji’s time, and metal tube rockets were being used by 1770. Forts remained important for controlling routes and sheltering armies.

How did the navy challenge European power?

Unlike Shivaji’s full-time navy, Bijapur maintained merchant ships without a permanent naval force to defend its coast. Mughal naval use was also very limited. Kanhoji Angre later won many naval battles through skilful use of geography and tactics.

Maratha ships were less technologically advanced than European vessels. Even so, they challenged European naval dominance. Europeans required Indians to buy naval trade passes, called cartaz in Portuguese, and confiscated ships without them. The Marathas began demanding passes from Europeans themselves.

European frustration led them to label Angre a “pirate”. This label arose in a contest over maritime power, meaning power at sea. The Maratha challenge concerned control of shipping and the right to trade.

In 1665, the ruler of Muscat captured four ships from Shivaji’s fleet and arrested their crews. He prepared to attack Maratha coastal possessions, but withdrew into the harbour after hearing that Shivaji’s navy had more than a hundred ships.

What infrastructure helped commerce?

Shivaji and his officials sent their own ships to Mocha in Yemen, Muscat in Oman and Malacca in Malaysia. Some carried gold and textiles. Trade networks also depended on maintained roads, bridges over rivers and streams, and ferries for river transport in 18th-century Odisha.

How did different groups and women leaders participate in Maratha development?

Saints and Marathi-speaking society

Bhakti saints from diverse sections of society spread devotion through songs and poetry. In Maharashtra, translations and Marathi teachings widened access to religious philosophy. Some saints also promoted social organisation and political awareness, strengthening the cultural foundation of later political unity.

Soldiers and their families

Soldiers defended fortresses, fought larger armies and supported territorial expansion. Their families also mattered in government policy. Shivaji’s pensions for soldiers’ widows and military opportunities for their sons expressed concern for households affected by deaths in battle.

Women who shaped warfare and government

Jijabai helped guide Shivaji’s upbringing and education while Shahji was often away. Her role belongs to the early formation of the leader, while Tarabai and Ahilyabai Holkar exercised leadership in later periods.

Tarabai ruled in the early 18th century after Rajaram’s death. She recognised that Aurangzeb’s presence with his army in the Deccan left northern Mughal territories unprotected. She organised large armies and sent them north.

In that sense, Tarabai was the architect of northward Maratha expansion. Her strategy and determination preserved independence at a critical time. Her contribution combined defence of the state with an offensive against Mughal territories.

Ahilyabai Holkar belonged to the Holkar ruling family, whose central Indian kingdom lay around present-day Indore. Despite losing her husband and son, she governed for thirty years, administering the state wisely and caring for ordinary people.

She built and restored hundreds of temples, ghats, wells and roads across India. Ghats are steps leading down to water. Her works extended from Kedarnath to Rameswaram. She rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and the Somnath temple in Gujarat.

Ahilyabai is also credited with promoting Maheshwar weaving in Madhya Pradesh. Support for handloom crafts, public facilities and religious buildings demonstrates that Maratha achievements extended beyond warfare and conquest.

How did cultural revival and Thanjavur’s achievements develop?

Shivaji’s Sanskrit seal expressed a commitment to people’s welfare. He commissioned the Rajya-Vyavahara-Kosha, a treatise, or systematic written work, promoting Marathi by providing Sanskrit equivalents for Persian words used in diplomacy. Diplomacy means exchanges and relations between political powers.

This considerably reduced foreign loanwords in Maratha diplomatic language. Loanwords are words borrowed from another language. The Modi script, a cursive form of Devanagari in which writing flows between characters, was the main script used for Maratha correspondence.

Shivaji was a devout Hindu who respected other religions while upholding his own. He rebuilt desecrated temples, supported Sanskrit and Marathi literature, religious institutions and traditional arts. All Marathas adopted his saffron-coloured flag.

The Bhonsles of Nagpur supported local traditions. With Maratha support, worship of Lord Jagannath at Puri, often interrupted under Mughal rule, was revived. These activities linked political authority with support for cultural and religious life.

Why was Thanjavur a centre of innovation?

Ekoji, Shivaji’s half-brother, conquered Thanjavur in the late 17th century. Maratha rulers there supported a syncretic culture, one combining different cultural influences. Local Tamil, earlier Telugu and Maratha cultural traditions interacted freely.

Many Thanjavur rulers were themselves poets and dramatists. Serfoji II knew many Indian and European languages. His Marathi play, Devendra Kuravanji, described world geography as it was known at the time.

Serfoji supported talented musicians. Modern Carnatic music, a classical musical tradition, took shape during his time, as did the early stages of the classical dance form Bharatanatyam. Cultural patronage meant practical support for artists and their work.

His Dhanwantari Mahal was a medical centre offering free treatment through Indian and Western medicine. He also started a printing press, the first such example established by a native ruler in India.

Serfoji had the Bhonsle family’s history inscribed on the walls of the Brihadishwara temple. This is one of India’s largest single inscriptions, or texts cut into a lasting surface. It preserved a family history for future generations.

What do historical sources reveal about Maratha aims and government?

Historical sources are surviving writings, objects and other evidence used to study the past. Maratha history can be explored through administrative writing, letters, newspaper reports, paintings, coins and inscriptions. Each preserves a different kind of information.

What can writings and letters show?

Ramachandrapant Amatya’s Adnyapatra, meaning The Royal Edict, is dated 1715. An edict is an authoritative command. Amatya, Shivaji’s finance minister, explained the importance of forts in protecting the kingdom during prolonged invasion.

The same work warned that European merchants sought territory and religious expansion, supported by naval force and gunpowder. This concern connects overseas trade with political ambition. The London Gazette also reported Shivaji’s demands for money from European diplomatic agents at Surat.

A letter from Shivaji instructed officials to obtain permission before cutting forest trees needed by the navy. They were not to touch people’s mango and jackfruit trees or use force. The letter connected government action with the suffering caused by oppression.

Match each claim to the evidence: Amatya’s account explains why forts helped the state survive the Mughal-Maratha wars of 1682 to 1707. Shivaji’s letter records instructions against coercion and damage to people’s trees, showing the values he expected officials to follow.

What do objects and images preserve?

A painting from the 1680s portrays Shivaji. Coins minted in his name expressed sovereignty, while their Devanagari script asserted cultural identity. Such objects give evidence of how royal authority was presented.

The Brihadishwara inscription preserves the Bhonsle family’s history. Its purpose differs from an official instruction or a newspaper report. Recognising these differences helps distinguish commands, representations of authority and accounts preserved for posterity, meaning future generations.

What timeline traces the main stages of Maratha power?

This timeline places the main events in chronological order, from Shivaji’s birth to the end of Maratha power. Chronology means arranging events according to when they occurred. It distinguishes the founding of the kingdom from its later expansion and conflicts.

Notice the distinction between 1754, the beginning of Maratha control over Delhi, and 1771, its recapture. Likewise, the defeat of 1761 was followed by recovery. The end of Maratha power belongs to 1818, rather than to the Battle of Panipat.

What was the legacy of the Marathas?

The Maratha legacy, the lasting influence of their rule, included resistance to Mughal dominance and the creation of the largest Indian empire before British control of the Subcontinent. Their territories covered much of central and northern India.

Their achievements combined military strength with government. Forts supported survival against powerful enemies; the navy resisted European dominance for quite some time despite lacking access to the latest technology. Administration, justice and trade networks supported the functioning of the state.

Cultural activity also extended across regions. Marathi and Sanskrit learning, Thanjavur’s multilingual environment and Ahilyabai’s support for public works and weaving illustrate different forms of contribution. The Marathas revived local Hindu traditions without religious discrimination.

Perhaps Shivaji’s greatest contribution to reviving ancient Indian culture and values was demonstrating that mighty powers could be defeated and that the Marathas could maintain, expand and govern an empire of their own.

The ideal of Swarajya later encouraged Indians to believe in their ability to govern themselves, planting early seeds for the freedom movement. This influence was broader than a sequence of battles: it concerned confidence in independent political life.

At the same time, later disunity and occasional abuses remain part of the history. Understanding the legacy requires keeping both the achievements and these limitations in view, including the eventual defeat by the British.

Glossary

• Bhakti — Devotion to the divine or a particular deity, expressed through religious practice, poetry or song.
• Jagir — Land granted by a ruler whose holder could collect taxes for support or service.
• Swarajya — A sovereign kingdom, Shivaji’s ideal with political, economic and cultural aspects.
• Guerrilla warfare — Fighting through small groups using speed, surprise and knowledge of terrain against larger armies.
• Peshwa — A Persian term meaning prime minister, an office that became greatly influential among the Marathas.
• Ashta pradhana mandala — The council of eight ministers assisting Shivaji in different areas of government.
• Chauth — A tax of 25 per cent often levied on provinces outside direct Maratha rule.
• Sardeshmukhi — An additional tax of 10 per cent to chauth, often collected by the Marathas.
• Bargir — A cavalry soldier whose horse and military equipment were paid for by the state.
• Shiledar — A cavalry soldier who paid for his own horse and military equipment.
• Cartaz — The Portuguese term for naval trade passes that Europeans required Indian ships to purchase.
• Panchayat — A local gathering of officials and prominent men that chiefly delivered justice under Maratha rule.
• Kotwal — The police authority deployed to maintain law and order in prominent Maratha towns.
• Syncretic culture — A culture formed through the interaction and combination of different cultural influences.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: Shivaji began ruling only when crowned. Correct: His rule began in 1646; the coronation at Raigad followed in 1674.
• Misconception: Maratha warfare depended entirely on large armies. Correct: Guerrilla warfare used small groups, surprise, speed and knowledge of terrain to challenge larger forces.
• Misconception: Panipat ended Maratha power. Correct: After the defeat in 1761, the Marathas recovered and recaptured Delhi in 1771; their power ended in 1818.
• Misconception: Maratha government stayed equally centralised throughout its history. Correct: Later expansion brought a more decentralised structure with stronger chiefs and Peshwas.
• Misconception: Bargirs paid for their own equipment. Correct: The state paid for bargirs’ horses and equipment; shiledars paid for their own.
• Misconception: Chauth was collected only from directly ruled provinces. Correct: The Marathas often collected chauth and sardeshmukhi from provinces outside their direct rule in return for protection.
• Misconception: The historical judicial panchayat was identical to today’s Panchayat. Correct: It was a gathering of officials and prominent men delivering justice, distinct from the present governmental body.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. Bargirs and shiledars were cavalry soldiers. A bargir’s horse and equipment were paid for by the state, while a shiledar paid for his own. State the two arrangements separately. [2 marks]

1. A bargir served in the cavalry with a horse and equipment financed by the state.
2. A shiledar served in the cavalry but personally paid for his horse and equipment.

Q2. Maratha forts controlled important routes and sheltered soldiers. Small fighting groups used speed, surprise and knowledge of terrain against larger armies. Using these facts, explain three military advantages. [3 marks]

1. Control of important routes gave the Marathas strategically useful positions from which to strengthen their hold over the surrounding region.
2. Forts sheltered their soldiers, providing protected places that supported the army while it carried out guerrilla warfare.
3. Small groups could use speed, surprise and local knowledge to attack larger armies effectively without depending simply on greater numbers.

Q3. Shivaji abolished hereditary posts, which passed within families, and land assignments supporting officials. He paid officials from the treasury, transferred many periodically to prevent them becoming powerful enough to dictate terms to him, and gave pensions to widows of soldiers killed in battle. Explain four features of his administration from this information. [4 marks]

1. Abolishing hereditary posts and land assignments reduced reliance on offices passed through families and on grants of land to support officials.
2. Payment from the state treasury made salaries the stated means of supporting government officials under Shivaji’s system of administration.
3. Periodic transfers of many officials helped prevent them from becoming powerful enough in their positions to dictate terms to the ruler.
4. Pensions for soldiers’ widows showed that government support extended to the families of men who died in military service.

Q4. The Marathas suffered defeat at Panipat in 1761, recovered under Peshwa Madhavrao I, recaptured Delhi under Mahadji Shinde in 1771, won the First Anglo-Maratha War of 1775 to 1782, and lost power in 1818 because of growing disunity and superior British organisation and technology. Use this evidence to explain their recovery and eventual defeat in five points. [5 marks]

1. The defeat at Panipat in 1761 was a major setback, but it did not itself bring Maratha political power to an end.
2. Recovery under Peshwa Madhavrao I demonstrates that the Marathas rebuilt their position after this defeat and remained an important political force.
3. The recapture of Delhi under Mahadji Shinde in 1771 provides a specific example of renewed Maratha success after the disaster at Panipat.
4. Victory in the First Anglo-Maratha War, fought from 1775 to 1782, further shows their continuing ability to resist the British.
5. The eventual end came in 1818, when increasing internal disunity combined with superior British organisation and technology to bring about their defeat.

Q5. Serfoji II’s Marathi play Devendra Kuravanji described world geography as then known. He patronised musicians; modern Carnatic music and the early stages of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form, took shape during his time. His Dhanwantari Mahal offered free Indian and Western medical treatment. He started the first printing press established by a native ruler in India and recorded Bhonsle history on the Brihadishwara temple walls. Explain five contributions using these facts. [5 marks]

1. Serfoji contributed to literature and geographical learning through Devendra Kuravanji, a Marathi play describing the world as it was known at the time.
2. His patronage supported musicians in a period when modern Carnatic music took shape and Bharatanatyam developed through its early stages as a classical dance form.
3. The Dhanwantari Mahal widened access to care by offering free treatment and drawing on both Indian and Western systems of medicine.
4. He supported printing by establishing the first printing press started by a native ruler in India.
5. Recording Bhonsle family history on the Brihadishwara temple walls preserved an account for future generations through a lasting inscription rather than an unwritten memory.

Q6. Tarabai recognised that Aurangzeb’s presence with his army in the Deccan left northern Mughal territories unprotected. She organised large Maratha armies, sent them north and preserved Maratha independence during a critical period. Explain her contribution in three points. [3 marks]

1. Tarabai identified a strategic opportunity by recognising that the concentration of Mughal forces in the Deccan left northern territories exposed to attack.
2. She acted on this opportunity by organising large Maratha armies and sending them into Mughal territories in the north.
3. Her leadership combined northward expansion with the preservation of Maratha independence at a critical stage in the struggle against the Mughals.

Key takeaways

• Marathi language and bhakti traditions supplied a cultural foundation that later helped the Marathas organise as a political power.
• Shivaji’s rule began in 1646, while his coronation at Raigad in 1674 marked the formal beginning of the Maratha Empire.
• Forts, guerrilla warfare and naval strength connected Maratha military strategy with the opportunities offered by mountains and coastlines.
• After Shivaji’s death, resistance continued through Sambhaji, Rajaram and Tarabai, eventually supporting expansion beyond the Deccan.
• Later Maratha government became more decentralised, with growing influence exercised by regional chiefs and the Peshwas.
• The defeat at Panipat in 1761 was followed by recovery; British victory ended Maratha power in 1818.
• Ahilyabai Holkar and Serfoji II illustrate contributions to public welfare, crafts, medicine and cultural life beyond military achievement.
• The ideal of Swarajya inspired confidence in self-government and later helped plant early seeds for India’s freedom movement.

Test yourself

What did Swarajya mean in Shivaji’s developing vision?

It meant a sovereign kingdom, with political, economic and cultural aspects that developed over time.

Why did the southern extension of Shivaji’s kingdom matter later?

It provided strategic depth against Mughal invasion. Rajaram fled to Gingee, and resistance continued in southern India.

Who paid for a bargir’s and a shiledar’s horse and equipment?

The state paid for a bargir’s horse and equipment, while a shiledar paid for his own.

What did provinces paying chauth and sardeshmukhi receive?

They received Maratha protection without intervention in their internal administration, although some later became part of the empire.

Why does the European label “pirate” require context when discussing Kanhoji Angre?

Europeans used it in frustration when the Marathas challenged their naval trade passes and demanded passes from Europeans themselves.

What happened after the Maratha defeat at Panipat?

They recovered under Madhavrao I and recaptured Delhi under Mahadji Shinde in 1771.

What made Thanjavur’s cultural environment multilingual?

Local Tamil culture, Telugu culture from former rulers and Marathi culture from the Maratha rulers interacted freely.

How did Ahilyabai Holkar support people beyond military activity?

She cared for ordinary people, built and restored public and religious facilities, and is credited with promoting Maheshwar weaving.