Rajaram Bhosle I (Pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒaɾaːm – 3 March 1700) was the third ''

Chhatrapati Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit language.The word ‘Chhatrapati’ is a Sanskrit language compound word ( tatpurusha in Sanskrit) of ''chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). This title was used ...

'' of

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of S ...

, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of the

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adi ...

, the founder of the empire and younger half-brother of

Sambhaji Sambhaji Bhosale (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, ruling from 1681 to 1689. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing ...

, who he succeeded. His eleven-year reign was marked with a constant struggle against the Mughals. He was succeeded by his infant son

Shivaji II Shivaji II of Maratha Empire, later Shivaji I of Kolhapur (9 June 1696 – 14 March 1726) was the son of the Maratha Chhatrapati, Rajaram I, and his wife Tarabai. Biography He was born in Bhonsle family. Upon the death of his father, th ...

under the regentship of his widow

Tarabai Tarabai Bhosale (Pronunciation: ̪aːɾabaːi ''née'' Mohite) was the regent of the Maratha Empire of India from 1700 until 1708. She was the queen of Rajaram Bhonsale, and daughter-in-law of the empire's founder Shivaji. She is acclaimed ...

Early life and family

Rajaram was born in a family of

Bhonsle The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earlies ...

clan, to

and his younger wife,

Soyarabai Soyarabai Bhosale (née Mohite) (died 1681) was one of the eight wives of Shivaji, the founder of Maratha empire in western India. She was mother of Shivaji's second son, Rajaram. She was the younger sister of Maratha army chief Hambirrao Mohi ...

on 24 February 1670. He was thirteen years younger than his brother,

. Given the ambitious nature of Soyarabai, Rajaram was installed on the Maratha throne upon the death of his father in 1680. However, the Maratha generals wanted Sambhaji as the king and thus, he claimed the throne. Upon Sambhaji's death, Rajaram was crowned as Chhatrapati of the Maratha state. Rajaram married three times. His first marriage was at the age of ten to

Jankibai Janki Bhosale (née Gujar) (1675 - 2 March 1700 CE) was Empress consort of the Maratha Empire as the first wife of Rajaram I. Jankibai was the daughter of Prataprao Gujar, an aristocratic general, who was the commander-in-chief of the Mar ...

, the five -year-old daughter of Shivaji's army chief, Prataprao Gujar. His other wives were

, the daughter of Hambirrao Mohite, the army chief who succeeded Prataprao, and Rajasbai from the influential Ghatge family of Kagal. Rajaram had three sons, *Raja Karna(died in 1700) with mistress Sagunabai *

with Tarabai, *

Sambhaji II Sambhaji II or Sambhaji I of Kolhapur (1698 - 18 December 1760) was a Raja of Kolhapur from Bhonsle dynasty. He was a grandson of Shivaji and the second son of Chhatrapati Rajaram with his second wife, Rajasbai. After defeat by Shahu, Sambha ...

with Rajasbai.

Coronation and attack by the Mughals

After the death of Sambhaji, Rajaram was crowned at Raigad on 12 March 1689. As the Mughals started laying siege to the region around Raigad on 25 March 1689, the widow of Sambhaji (Maharani Yesubai) and her minister Ramchandra Pant Amatya sent young Rajaram to the stronghold of Pratapgad through Kavlya ghat. The Maratha army fought with the Mughals and led the new Maratha king, Rajaram to escape through Kavlya ghat to the fort of Jinji in present-day state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

via Pratapgad and Vishalgad forts, Rajaram reached Keladi (Near present-day Sagar in Karnataka) 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. Details of his escape are known from the incomplete poetical biography of Rajaram, the ''Rajaramacharita'' written by his

Rajpurohit Rajpurohit (Sanskrit:राजपुरोहित) is a Brahmin sub caste residing in South Asia natively in western Rajasthan of India. They maintain traditions that are similar to both Brahmins and Rajputs. They are historically engaged in ...

, Keshav Pandit, in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

Siege of Jinji

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

deputed Ghazi-ud-din Firoze Jung against the Marathas in the

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by t ...

, and specially sent Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung to capture the Jingi Fort. He laid siege to it in September, 1690. After three failed attempts, it was finally captured after seven years on 8 January 1698. Rajaram, however, escaped and fled first to

Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separa ...

and later to Vishalgad.

Santaji and Dhanaji

Rajaram occupied the fort at Jinji from 11 November 1689, but left before it fell in 1698, setting up his court at fort Satara. During that period when Jinji remained unconquered, "the intrepid Maratha commanders,

Santaji Ghorpade Santaji Mahaloji Ghorpade,(1645–1696) popularly known as ‘Santajirao’ or ‘Santaji Ghorpade’, was the most celebrated Maratha warrior and the sixth Sarsenapati of the Maratha Empire during Rajaram's regime. His name became inseparable fr ...

and Dhanaji Jadhav, wrought havoc in the Karnataka and Maharashtra by defeating the Mughal generals and cutting off their lines of communication."

Death

Rajaram died of lung disease in 1700 because of excessive use of bidi at Sinhagad near

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

in Maharashtra leaving behind widows and infants. Janakibai, one of his widows, committed sati upon Rajaram's death. Another of Rajaram's widows,

proclaimed her young son, Shivaji II as the Chhatrapati and ruled as his regent. However, the release of Shahu, by the successors of Aurangzeb led to an internecine conflict between Tarabai and Shahu with the latter emerging as the successful claimant to the Maratha throne of Satara. Tarabai established a separate seat at Kolhapur and installed her son as the rival Chhatrapati. She was shortly deposed by Rajasbai, the other surviving widow of Rajaram. She installed her own son by Rajaram called

on the Kolhapur throne. The Kolhapur line has continued to this day through natural succession and adoptions per Hindu customs.

Books

* Chatrpati Rajaram Tararani (Dr. Sadashiv Shivade) * Chatrpati Rajaram Maharaj (Ashokrao Shinde Sarkar) * Marathi Riyasat - Chatrpati Rajaram

Govind Sakharam Sardesai Govind Sakharam Sardesai (17 May 1865 – 29 November 1959), popularly known as ''Riyasatkar Sardesai'', was a historian from Maharashtra, India. Through his ''Riyasats'' written in Marathi, Sardesai presented an account of over 1,000 years o ...

) * Shiv Putra Rajaram (Dr. Pramila Jarag) * Bhangale Swapna Maharashtra (Drama, written by Bashir Momin Kavathekar)

Notes

References

Imperial Gazetteer of India
v. 2, p. 440.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chhatrapati, Rajaram 1670 births 1700 deaths 17th-century Indian monarchs People of the Maratha Empire Hindu monarchs People from Maharashtra