Remembering Bajirao Peshwa – I
Throughout history, the world has witnessed the rise and fall of many great civilisations. Through its long history, Hindu civilisation has endured numerous attacks and attempts at its destruction. However, it has also produced a long line of heroes and warriors who rose to protect their motherland from the fate of other ancient civilisations. Bajirao Peshwa was one of the greatest warriors and protectors of Hindu Dharma in the History of Bharat in the 18th century.
Shrimant Bajirao Peshwa (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740)
The rebirth of Hindu polity after the Vijayanagara Kingdom, under the nomenclature of Hindu Pad Padshahi, well-founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, attained its full shape during the ascendancy of the Peshwas.
Expert swordsman, outstanding rider, master strategist and leader by example, Bajirao I succeeded his father as Peshwa when he was only twenty years of age…launching into an illustrious military career that occupies its own special place in the history of Bharat.
Peshwa Bajirao, the great Maratha general and statesman, changed the map of India in the mid-eighteenth century.His military campaigns were classic examples of his genius. Amidst the religious intolerance that continued under the tottering Mughals after Aurangzeb, Bajirao stood out as the champion of Hinduism, protecting Hindu Dharma from the onslaught of Islamic rulers.
It was he who expanded the Hindu Kingdom beyond Maharashtra, across the Vindhyas, and forced its recognition in Delhi, the capital of the Mughals who had kept Bharat under their rule for several centuries.
The Hindu Kingdom created by its founder, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and later expanded by Bajirao, reached its peak during his son’s reign twenty years after his death. After driving the Afghans out of the Punjab, the Marathas raised the saffron flag not just atop the walls of Attock, but even beyond.
Bajirao is thus acknowledged as one of the greatest warriors of Hindu Dharma and among the most famous leaders in the history of Bharat. He was a noted general who served as Peshwa (Prime Minister) to the fourth Chhatrapati, Shahu Maharaj.
Birth and early life of Bajirao
Bajirao was born on August 18, 1700, as the eldest son of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath Rao, who had taken the office of the Peshwa to new heights. He belonged to the reputed, traditional Chitpavan Brahmin family of the Konkan. Balaji Vishwanath, though the third among the Peshwas, had overtaken his predecessors in terms of achievements.
Thus, Bajirao was born into a position of prominence. He was well-trained by Maratha cavalry generals who were veterans of the 27-year war of independence. For the young Bajirao, in the absence of his mother, his close association with his father served as a practical school of politics. Bajirao, even from a young age, rarely missed his father’s military campaigns. This provided him with early maturity in military science. Balaji’s role in Bajirao’s life was similar to that played by Jijabai in Chhatrapati Shivaji’s life.
In 1716, Maharaja Shahu’s army chief, Damaji Thorat, treacherously arrested Peshwa Balaji. Bajirao chose to stay with his father for two years until his release. Bajirao shared the hardships bestowed upon his father during his imprisonment. This experience brought him face to face with political treachery.
The post-imprisonment career of Balaji Vishwanath reached a new dimension in the history of Maratha-Mughal relations. Young Bajirao was an eyewitness to all these developments. In 1718, he travelled to Delhi with his father. In the capital, he witnessed unimaginable intrigue and learnt quickly to cope with the devious ways of political machinations. These experiences, coupled with his own youthful energy, vision, and skill, prepared him for the position to which he was to rise. He was a natural leader who preferred to lead by example, inspiring his troops with his own skill at using the deadly circular dandpatta sword and riding into the thick of battle.
Bajirao becomes the Peshwa
On 2 April 1720, Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath breathed his last. The Satara royal court and various Maratha power factions were rife with only one question: would Bajirao, the son of the deceased Peshwa, just 20 years old and devoid of experience be suitable for the supreme post? There was criticism against appointing a person so young.
Maharaja Shahu, a great judge of human qualities, made no delay in answering this question. He immediately announced the appointment of Bajirao as the new Peshwa. The announcement was soon translated into a royal function. It was 17 April 1720, when Bajirao was ordained with the regal formalities. He was entrusted with the honourable post due to his stout mental and physical constitution and political sagacity, rather than merely due to conventional hereditary succession. Still, a number of nobles and ministers were unable to hide their jealousy. Bajirao, however, hardly spared any opportunity to justify the decision of the King, effectively silencing his rivals.
Expansion of Hindu Kingdom
Bajirao soon realised that feudalistic forces had a tendency towards fragmentation and that the prestige of the kingship required a determined deterrent to centrifugal forces. Only then could the expansion of the Hindu Pad Padshahi be assured. Bajirao’s realistic insight was phenomenal. He was quite aware of the inimical surroundings. The Nizam, the governor of the Mughal Empire, the hostile Siddi of Janjira, and the Portuguese, along with internal rivals, demanded a commanding performance for the sake of the security of the Hindu Kingdom.
Bajirao believed that if the lofty dream of Shivaji Maharaj for Hindavi Swarajya was to be achieved, the two Maratha factions of Satara and Kolhapur had to come together. When Bajirao realised that this was unacceptable to the Kolhapur faction, he decided to achieve his objectives without their help. To accomplish his dream, Bajirao’s mind was working faster than anything else, and finally, he decided to put forth his thoughts in the court of Chhatrapati Shahu.
Standing tall, poised, and confident before Shahu Maharaj and his court, the young Peshwa is said to have thundered, “Let us transcend the barren Deccan and conquer central Bharat. The Mughals have become weak, insolent, womanizers, and opium addicts. The accumulated wealth of centuries in the vaults of the north can be ours. It is time to drive the invaders from the holy land of Bharat. Let us throw them back over the Himalayas, back to where they came from. The saffron flag must fly from the Krishna to the Indus. Hindustan is ours.”
The Pratinidhi (Chief Delegate) opposed the idea and suggested that they should first consolidate in the Deccan, but Bajirao insisted on his original plan. He fixed his piercing gaze on Shahu Maharaj and said, “Strike, strike at the trunk, and the branches will fall off by themselves. Listen only to my counsel, and I shall plant the saffron flag on the walls of Attock.”
Chhatrapati Shahu was deeply impressed and exclaimed, “By heaven, you shall plant it on the Himalayas!” He permitted the warrior Peshwa to lead the armies and launch forth.
This story illustrates the vision of Bajirao and Shahu Maharaj’s faith in the young man. Shahu Maharaj appointed him at a tender age, recognising his talents and entrusting him with imperial troops which had recently emerged victorious in the Mughal-Maratha conflict. Bajirao’s greatness lies in justifying his master’s judgment. His conquests brought a sense of terror toward the Maratha armies across the subcontinent. He moved the administrative capital of the Maratha Empire from Satara to the new city of Pune in 1728.
He then embarked on a ceaseless twenty-year campaign in a strike northward, every year inching nearer to Delhi and towards the extinction of the Mughal Empire. The holy pilgrimage routes of the Hindus, from Mathura to Benares and Somnath were made free from harassment.
Bajirao’s first campaign in the North-west started in 1723 with the victory in Malwa, followed by Gujarat. He conquered Gujarat and most of central India, shaking the foundations of the Mughal Empire by attacking imperial Delhi. Bajirao’s political wisdom stands out in his Rajput policy. He sought to avoid confrontation with the Rajput houses and opened a new era of friendly relations. These included the houses of Bundi, Amer, Dungarpur, Udaipur, Jaipur, and Jodhpur. Visualising the danger lurking close to Delhi, the Sultan called for the help of the once-vanquished Nizam. Bajirao again defeated him soundly, cementing his influence over the Delhi court.
Military Genius and The Undefeated Record
Bajirao fought more than 41 battles and is recorded to have never lost a single one. He is regarded as one of the very few generals in world history who remained undefeated throughout their career. He is often compared to Napoleon Bonaparte by noted historians for his tactical speed.
The greatest warriors of the empire, whether Mughal, Pathan or Central Asian, were defeated by Bajirao. Nizam-ul-Mulk, Khan-i-Dauran, and Muhammad Khan are but a few of the names who failed against the Marathas. His conflict with the Nizam at Bhopal is recognised as a masterpiece of tactical warfare and political maturity.
One of his crowning successes was the defeat of Muhammad Khan Bangash, regarded as the bravest commander of the Mughal army, while he was busy bullying the old Hindu King of Bundelkhand.
King Chhatrasal of Bundelkhand sent a desperate message to Bajirao:
“Jo gati bhayi Gajendra ki, wahi gati hamri aaj; Baaji jaat Bundel ki, baaji raakhiyo laaj.”
Upon receiving this, Bajirao immediately mounted his horse, refusing to finish his lunch, stating: “If Chhatrasal loses because of a delay, history will say that Bajirao was busy eating.” He defeated Khan Bangash, and Chhatrasal awarded one-third of his kingdom to the Maratha Chief.
The Territorial Extent of the Empire
When Bajirao assumed the Peshwaship in 1720, the Maratha state was a modest power centered in western Maharashtra. By his death in 1740, the “from-to” extent of the empire had dramatically shifted:
- To the North: Maratha influence and the collection of Chauth (taxes) reached the gates of Delhi and the Rajput states of Rajasthan.
- To the Central Plains: He secured direct control over Malwa (modern-day Madhya Pradesh) and significant portions of Bundelkhand (including Jhansi, Sagar, and Kalpi).
- To the West: He consolidated Maratha supremacy over Gujarat and reclaimed the Konkan coast from the Portuguese and the Siddis.
- To the South: His influence extended to the Tungabhadra River, effectively challenging the Nizam of Hyderabad’s dominance over the Deccan
At the time of his passing, he had expanded the Maratha reach across nearly one-third of the Indian subcontinent, creating a stable confederacy of regional houses like the Scindias of Gwalior, Holkars of Indore, Gaekwads of Baroda, and Pawars of Dhar.
Quotes on Bajirao Peshwa
J. Grant Duff: “Bred a soldier as well as a statesman, Bajirao united the enterprise, vigour, and hardihood of a Maratha chief with the polished manners, sagacity, and address that frequently distinguish the Brahmins of the Konkan… he had both the head to plan and the hand to execute.”
Sir R. Temple: “Bajirao was hardly to be surpassed as a rider and was ever forward in action… He died as he lived, in camp, under canvas among his men, and he is remembered among the Marathas as the fighting Peshwa.”
Jadunath Sarkar: “Bajirao was a heaven-born cavalry leader… unequalled for the daring and originality of his genius… If Sir Robert Walpole created the unchallengeable position of the Prime Minister in the unwritten constitution of England, Bajirao created the same institution in the Maratha Raj at exactly the same time.”
Battle tactics
- Bajirao’s success depended a great deal on his light-cavalry tactics.
- He mainly used his cavalry. Two riders had three horses between them; while one horse rested, the other two were ridden. As a result, his army could move forty miles in a day and sustain this rate of advance for many days.
- This was the highest speed of any army of his time. He often attacked the enemy before they had any inkling of his whereabouts.
- His army moved two thousand miles in six months from the time he left Pune in October 1727 until the end of the Battle of Palkhed in March 1728.
- Only horse-mounted fighting troops went into combat. There were no camp followers or servants to encumber the mobility of the fighting forces. Furthermore, he had no use for heavy infantry or artillery like the Mughals. His cavalry was lightly armed with a spear and dandpatta – the circular gauntlet sword of the Marathas useful for a close quarter battle or hand to hand combat .
- His main focus was always on cutting enemy supply lines using rapid troop movement and knowledge of the local terrain. He revolutionised military tactics by encircling the enemy quickly, appearing from the rear, and attacking from unexpected directions.
- “Night,” said Bajirao, “is not for sleeping but to engage an enemy superior in numbers.” He told his brother Chimaji Appa, “The night is your shield, your screen against the cannons and swords of a vastly superior enemy force.”
- A major reason for Peshwa Bajirao’s success lay in his formidable intelligence department. His intelligence network was so efficient that at every moment he received precise information regarding his enemies’ whereabouts.
Leading by example, with his swallow-tailed saffron flag held high, he always moved into battle with the cry “Har Har Mahadev,” inspiring his troops to fight without fear.
Legacy
Bajirao passed away on April 28, 1740, on the banks of the Narmada. A famous English historian, Sir Richard Carnac Temple, wrote, “He died as he lived, in camp under canvas among his men, and he is remembered to this day among the Marathas as the fighting Peshwa and the incarnation of Hindu energy.”
When Bajirao took over as Peshwa, Maratha territorial limits were confined to tracts in Western India. At his death in 1740, the Marathas had conquered a large part of Western and Central India and were dominating the South. Though Bajirao died before he could plant the Maratha flag on the Himalayas as promised, his son Raghunath Rao, in 1758, planted the saffron flag on the fort of Attock and across the Indus River.
He has been described as the incarnation of Hindu energy, ceaselessly striving for 20 years to establish Hindavi Swarajya. His sons continued his mission, carrying the saffron flag to the gates of Afghanistan in 1758 to the Fort of Attock in the North, whilst simultaneously marching to the southern shores of India. He represents the creative and destructive power of Dharma, as he unleashed the aspirations of a people yearning to be free, and he remains a symbol of victory for Hindus in the modern era.
Peshwa Bajirao I was a legend during his lifetime and continues to be so in his passing. His presence remains indelibly marked on the Hindu psyche as it traverses the passage of time.
