Ruhani Bai Begum (also spelled as Ruhaani Bai Begum) was the chief consort of Bundela Rajput ruler

Chhatrasal Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela (4 May 1649 – 20 December 1731) was the Bundela Raja of Panna State, Panna from 1675 to 1731. He is well known for his resistance against the Mughal Empire and leading the struggle of independence of Bundelkhand. ...

, ruler of Panna from 1675 to 1731.

Mastani’s marriage

In 1728, when

Muhammad Khan Bangash Nawab "Ghazanfar-Jang" Bangash Khan (1665–1743) was the first Nawab of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a "Bawan Hazari Sardar" (Commander of 52,000 men strong force) in the Mughal Army. He served as governor of Malwa and Allahabad p ...

invaded

's kingdom and besieged his capital. Chhatrasal wrote to Maratha Peshwa

Bajirao I Bajirao I (né Visaji, ; 18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740) was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed Peshwa at the age of nineteen by Shahu I, following the death of his father, Balaji Vishwanath. He is credited with establis ...

for help but being occupied in a military campaign Bajirao could not respond until 1729, when he finally marched on towards

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the Post-Vedic Chedi kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Prad ...

. Ultimately Bajirao defeated Bangash after reaching Jaitpur near

Kulpahar Kulpahar is a city in Mahoba district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a historical town in the Bundelkhand region. Before 11 Feb 1995 Kulpahar was a Tehsil of Hamirpur District, Uttar Pradesh, Hamirpur ...

in present

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. In gratitude, Chhatrasal gave Bajirao the hand of Mastani, his daughter with his concubine Ruhani Begum, along with dominion over

Jhansi Jhansi ( ) is a historic city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (Toshan) Balwant Nagar was the old name of Jhansi. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand, on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme ...

, Sagar and

Kalpi Kalpi is a historical city and municipal board in Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is on the right bank of the Yamuna. It is situated 78 kilometres south-west of Kanpur from which it is connected by both road and rail. History Th ...

. At first Ruhani Begum was against the marriage of her daughter

Mastani Mastani (29 August 1699 – 28 April 1740) was either the daughter of Nizam Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad or Chhatrasal Bundela of Bundelkhand. She was the second wife of the Maratha Peshwa (Prime Minister) Baji Rao I. The marriage was arranged to ...

with Bajirao I as Mastani was half-Muslim. She was concerned that her daughter may be discriminated for being a follower of

Shia Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

, whereas Bajirao was a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

. However, Ruhani Begum accepted this marriage later on the advice of her husband, that Mastani was also a half-Hindu and being a follower of the

Pranami Pranami () is a sect of Indian origin and also from part of Nepal and Bhutan that worships Krishna as the Supreme God. Adherents follow the teachings of Mahamati Prannath and Devchandra and their holy book, the Tartam Sagar. History The ...

Sampradaya ''Sampradaya'' (/ səmpɾəd̪ɑjə/,; ), in Indian-origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and transmissi ...

will not treated with any discrimination.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Ruhani Bai 18th-century Indian Muslims