Bhonsle dynasty
The Bhonsle dynasty is an Indian Marathi royal house of the Bhonsle clan. The Bhonsles claimed descent from the Rajput Sisodia dynasty, but were likely Kunbi Marathas.
They served as the Chhatrapatis or kings of the Maratha Confederacy from 1674 to 1818, where they gained dominance of the Indian subcontinent. They also ruled several states such as Satara, Kolhapur, Thanjavur, Nagpur, Akkalkot, Sawantwadi and Barshi.
The dynasty was founded in 1577 by Maloji Bhosale, a predominant general or sardar of Malik Ambar of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. In 1595 or 1599, Maloji was given the title of Raja by Bahadur Nizam Shah, the ruler of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. He was later granted was given the jagir of Pune, Elur, Derhadi, Kannarad and Supe. He was also given control over the first of the Shivneri and Chakan. These positions were inherited by his sons Shahaji and Sharifji, who were named after a Muslim Sufi Shah Sharif.
Origins
The origins of the Bhonsles in unclear. According to Jadunath Sarkar and other scholars, Bhonsles were predominantly Deccani tiller-plainsmen from the Shudra caste; they were part of the Marathas/Kunbis, an amorphous class-group. Scholars have however disagreed about the agricultural status of Bhosles. Rosalind O'Hanlon notes that the historical evolution of castes grouped under the Maratha-Kunbis is sketchy. Ananya Vajpeyi rejects the designation of Shudra, since the category has remained in a state of flux across centuries; she instead notes them to be a Marathi lineage, who enjoyed "reasonably high" social status as landholders and warlords, being in the service of Deccan Sultanate or Mughals.According to R. C. Dhere's interpretation of local oral history and ethnography, Bhonsles descend from the Hoysalas and Yadavas of Devagiri, who were cow-herding Gavli sovereigns. In early thirteenth century, "Baliyeppa Gopati Sirsat", a Hoysala cousin of Simhana migrated from Gadag to Satara along with his pastoral herd and kul-devta; the Sambhu Mahadev was thus installed at a hill-top in Singhnapur. Historical records indicate that this shrine received extensive patronage from Maloji onwards. Further, there exists a branch of the Bhosles named "Sirsat Bhosles" and Bhosle is linguistically similar to "Hoysala". M. K. Dhavalikar found the work to convincingly explain the foundation of the Bhosle clan. Vajpeyi too advocates that Dhere's theory be probed in greater detail — "rom pastoralist big men to warlords on horseback, is not an impossible distance to cover in two to three centuries."
Accuracy
Vajpeyi notes the "veridical status" of Chitnis' finds to be not determinable to "historical certainty" — the links were tenuous at best and inventive at worst. Shivaji was not a Rajput and the sole purpose of the lineage was to guarantee Shivaji's consecration as a Kshatriya, in a tactic that had clear parallels to Rajputisation. Jadunath Sarkar deemed that the genealogy was cleverly fabricated by Balaji Awji and after some reluctance accepted by Gaga Bhatt, who in turn was "rewarded with a huge fee". V. K. Rajwade, Dhere, Allison Busch, John Keay and Audrey Truschke also agree with Sarkar about the fabrication. G. S. Sardesai notes that the descent is "not authentically proved". Stewart N. Gordon does not pass any judgement but notes Bhatt to be a "creative Brahmin". André Wink deems that the Sisodia genealogical claim is destined to remain disputed forever.Establishment
Ahmadnagar Sultanate
The earliest accepted members of the Bhonsles are Mudhoji Bhonsle and his kin Rupaji Bhonsle, who were the village headman of Hingani — this branch has been since known as Hinganikar Bhonsles. A branch seem to have split soon, who went on to claim an ancestral right to the post of district steward of Kadewalit: Suryaji Bhonsle during the reign of Ahmad Nizam Shah I, and his son Sharafji Bhonsle during the conquest of the region by Daniyal Mirza. This branch has been since known as Kadewalit Bhonsles.The next significant Bhonsle was probably Maloji Bhosale from the Hinganikar branch. He was the great-grandson of one Kheloji.
The dynasty was founded by Maloji Bhosale who initially served as a patil of the Hingni Berdi and Devalgaon villages around Pune. Later, along with his brother Vithoji, he migrated to Sindkhed and served as a Horseman.
In 1577, they joined the service of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, under Sultan Murtaza Nizam Shah I. Maloji became a trusted General of the Peshwa Malik Amber fighting against rival powers such as the Mughals and Bijapur Sultanate the parganas of Elur, Derhadi and Kannarad. In 1595 or 1599, Maloji was given the title of raja by Bahadur Nizam Shah, officially establishing the dynasty. On the recommendation of Malik Ambar, he was given the jagir of Pune and Supe parganas, along with the control of the Shivneri and Chakan forts. Maloji carried out the restoration of the Grishneshwar temple near Verul, and also constructed a large tank at the Shambhu Mahadev temple in Shikhar Shingnapur. Maloji and his wife Uma Bai had 2 sons: Shahaji and Sharifji, named Sufi Pir Hazrat Shah Sharif.
According to Shivabharata, composed by Shivaji's court poet Paramananda, Maloji's wife Umabai prayed to the Sufi Pir Shah Sharif of Ahmadnagar to bless her with a son. She gave birth to two sons, who were named Shahaji and Sharifji after the Pir.
Shivaji's Coronation
By 1670s, Shivaji had acquired extensive territory and wealth from his campaigns. But, lacking a formal crown, he had no operational legitimacy to rule his de facto domain and technically, remained subject to his Mughal overlords; in the hierarchy of power, Shivaji's position remained similar to fellow Maratha chieftains. Also, he was often opposed by the orthodox Brahmin community of Maharashtra. A coronation sanctioned by the Brahmins was thus planned, in a bid to proclaim sovereignty and legitimize his rule.On proposing the Brahmins of his court to have him proclaimed as the rightful king, a controversy erupted: the regnal status was reserved for those belonging to the kshatriya varna. Not only was there a fundamental dispute among scholars on whether any true Kshatriya survived in the Kali Yuga, having been all destroyed by Parashurama but also Shivaji's grandfather was a tiller-headman, Shivaji did not wear the sacred thread, and his marriage was not in accordance with the Kshatriya customs. Thus, the Brahmins had him categorised as a shudra.
Compelled to postpone his coronation, Shivaji had his secretary Balaji Avji Chitnis sent to the Sisodiyas of Mewar for inspection of the royal genealogies; Avji returned with a favorable finding — Shahji turned out to be a descendant of Chacho Sisodiya, a half-Rajput uncle of Mokal Singh. Gaga Bhatt, a famed Brahmin of Banaras, was then hired to ratify Chitnis' find, and the Bhonsles were now permitted to stake a claim to Kshatriya caste. The coronation would be re-executed in June 1674 but only after going through a long list of preludes.
Led by Bhatt, who employed traditional Hindu imagery in an unprecedented scale, the first phase had Shivaji penance for having lived as a Maratha despite being a Kshatriya. Then came the sacred thread ceremony followed by remarriage according to Kshatriya customs and a sequence of Vedic rituals before the eventual coronation — a public spectacle of enormous expense that heralded the rebirth of Shivaji as a Kshatriya king. Panegyrics composed by court-poets during these spans reinforced onto the public memory that Shivaji indeed belonged from the Sisodiyas.
However, the Kshatriyization was not unanimous; a section of Brahmins continued to deny the Kshatriya status. Brahmins of the Peshwa period rejected Bhatt's acceptance of Shivaji's claims and blamed the non-dharmic coronation for all ills that plagued Shivaji and his heirs—in tune with the general Brahminical sentiment to categorize all Marathas as Shudras, carte-blanche; there have been even claims that Bhatt was excommunicated by Maratha Brahmins for his role in the coronation of Shivaji! Interestingly, all claims to Rajput ancestry had largely vanished from the family's subsequent projections of identity.
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire was established by Shivaji I the grandson of Maloji in 1674. This was established to invasions from the Mughal Empire and the Bijapur Sultanate. Shivaji's forces initially occupied the Fort of Torna in 1642. He had expanded his kingdom to Raigad by 1674. he crowned himself He was crowned as Chhatrapati, meaning emperor.Shivaji wanted to establish his government based on his Philosophy of Hindavi Swarajya. This advocated for more representation of the people and less power of the elites. He later established the Ashta Pradhan, an institution of a council of eight ministers to guide the administration of his nascent state. Each of the ministers was placed in charge of an administrative department; thus, the council heralded the birth of a bureaucracy. Shivaji appointed Moropant Trimbak Pingle as the Peshwa, the leader of the council.
Shivaji was succeeded by his son Sambhaji I. In early 1689, Sambhaji and his commanders met at Sangameshwar. Mughal forces, under Emperor Aurangzeb attacked Sangameshwar when Sambhaji was accompanied by just a few men. Sambhaji captured by the Mughal troops on 1 February 1689. Aurangzeb had charged Sambhaji with attacks by Maratha forces on Burhanpur. He and his advisor, Kavi Kalash, were taken to Bahadurgad by the imperial army, where they were executed by the Mughals on 21 March 1689.
After the execution of Sambhaji, Rajaram I was crowned at Raigad on 12 March 1689. During the Mughal started siege on Raigad on 25 March 1689, the widow of Sambhaji and Peshwa Ramchandra Pant Amatya sent young Rajaram to the stronghold of Pratapgad through Kavlya ghat. Rajaram to escape through Kavlya ghat to the fort of Jinji through the Pratapgad and Vishalgad forts, Rajaram reached Keladi in disguise and pursued assistance from Keladi Chennamma - who kept the Mughal attack in check to ensure safe passage and escape of Rajaram to Jinji where he reached after a month and a half on 1 November 1689.