The Thanjavur Maratha kingdom ruled by the
Bhonsle dynasty was a principality of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language was
Thanjavur Marathi.
Vyankoji Bhosale was the founder of the dynasty.
Maratha conquest of Thanjavur
Following the demise of
Chola rule in the 13th century (specifically around 1279), the
Thanjavur area came under the rule of the
Pandyas and then, following
the invasion of Malik Kafur, it fell into disorder.
Pandya nadu very quickly reasserted their independence and added Thanjavur to their domain. Soon afterwards, however, they were conquered by the
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...
. The Emperor appointed his trusted Kin, who belonged to the
Telugu-speaking Balija caste as Governors (Nayakas) of Madurai and Tanjavur. An internal family squabble between
Chokkanatha Nayak of
Madurai Nayak dynasty and his uncle
Vijayaraghava Nayaka of Tanjavur led to a war and eventually ended in the defeat of Thanjavur. The rule of the
Thanjavur Nayaks lasted until 1673, when
Chokkanatha Nayak, the ruler of
Madurai
Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...
, invaded Thanjavur and killed its ruler, Vijayaraghava.
Chokkanatha placed his brother Alagiri on the throne of Thanjavur, but within a year the latter threw off his allegiance, and Chokkanatha was forced to recognise the independence of Thanjavur. A son of Vijaya Raghava induced the Bijapur Sultan to help him get back the Thanjavur throne. In 1675, the Sultan of Bijapur sent a force commanded by the
Maratha
The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...
general
Venkoji (alias Ekoji) to recapture the kingdom from the new invader. Venkoji defeated Alagiri, and occupied Thanjavur. He did not, however, place his protege on the throne as instructed by the Bijapur Sultan, but seized the kingdom and made himself king. Thus began the rule of the
Marathas
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
over Thanjavur.
Maratha kings
Venkoji
Vyankoji, a half-brother of the Maratha king
Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
, was the first Raja of Thanjavur from the Bhosale dynasty. It is believed that he took over the administration of Thanjavur in April 1674 and ruled until 1684. During his reign, Shivaji invaded
Gingee and Thanjavur in 1676–1677 and made his brother Santaji the ruler of all lands to the north of the
Coleroon. During the last years of his reign, Vyankoji also allied with Chokkanatha of
Madurai
Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...
to repulse an invasion from
Mysore
Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...
.
Shahuji I
Shahuji I was the eldest son of Venkoji and he ascended the throne at the age of twelve. During his reign, the Mughals occupied the
Coromandel coast and
Tiruchirapalli and forced him to pay tribute. Shahuji was a patron of
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
. During his reign, there were frequent
skirmishes and
battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
s with the Raja of Madurai and Ramnad for control of the border lands.
Serfoji I
Serfoji I was a younger son of Venkoji and he ruled from 1712 to 1728. His rule was marked by regular warfare and disputes with the Madurai Nayaks.
Tukhoji
Tukkoji, a younger brother of Serfoji I, ruled Thanjavur from 1728 to 1736. His reign witnessed the invasion of
Chanda Sahib and he is credited with having repulsed a Muslim invasion of Madurai.
Pratapsingh
A period of anarchy followed the death of Tukkoji and came to an end when
Pratapsingh came to the throne in 1739. He ruled until 1763. He allied with Muhammad Ali, the
Nawab of the Carnatic, and aided the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
against the
French East India Company in the
Carnatic Wars and the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
. He was the last king to be addressed by the Directors of the British East India Company as "His Majesty". In 1762, a tripartite treaty was signed between Thanjavur, Carnatic and the British East India Company by which he became a vassal of the Nawab of the Carnatic.
Thuljaji
Thuljaji was a very weak ruler and the last independent ruler of Thanjavur. In 1773, Thanjavur was annexed by the Nawab of the Carnatic who ruled till 1776. The throne was restored to him by the Directors of the British East India Company but that restoration came at a heavy price as it deprived him of his independence.
Serfoji II
Thuljaji was succeeded by his teenage son
Serfoji II in 1787. Soon afterwards, he was deposed by his uncle and regent
Amarsingh who seized the throne for himself. With the help of the British, Serfoji II recovered the throne in 1798. A subsequent treaty forced him to hand over the reins of the kingdom to the British East India Company, becoming part of the
Tanjore District (Madras Presidency). The district collectorate system was installed thereafter to manage the public revenues. Serfoji II was however left in control of the Fort and the surrounding areas. He reigned till 1832. His reign is noted for the literary, scientific and technological accomplishments of the Tanjore country.
Shivaji
Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
was the last Maratha ruler of Thanjavur and reigned from 1832 to 1855. As his first wife did not have any male heir, the Queen adopted her nephew, and the adoption took place after the Maharaja's (Shivaji I) death in 1855. The British did not accept this adoption and Thanjavur was annexed by them as per the provisions of the
Doctrine of Lapse.
Literature
The Thanjavur Maratha rulers patronized production of literature in four languages:
#
Tamil (the popular language of the Thanjavur region)
#
Telugu (the language of the preceding
Nayaka rulers)
#
Marathi (the language of the court elite)
#
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
(the liturgical language of the Vedic Scriptures)
The notable Marathi authors from the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom include Raghunatha Pandita, Ananda-tanaya, Gosavi-nandana and Subhan Rao. They mainly wrote short works on
Puranic or other religious subjects, on the royal family members, or on the splendours of Thanjavur.
In 1693, Shahaji renamed the village of
Thiruvisanallur as Shahaji-raja-puram and established an assembly of 45 scholars and poets there. These scholars included Ramabhadra Dikshita, Bhaskara Dikshita, Veda-kavi, Mahadeva-kavi, and Shridhara Venkatesvara. Shahaji's minister
Tryambaka-yajvan wrote the Sanskrit-language texts ''Dharmakuta'' (a commentary on ''
Ramayana
The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
'') and ''
Strī-dharma-paddhati''. Other members of his family also composed various works. His grandson Narayana-raya wrote ''Vikrama-sena-champu''. His brother Bhagavanta-raya wrote ''Mukunda-vilasa'', ''Uttara-champu'', and ''Raghavabhyudaya''. His nephew Ananda-raya wrote ''Ashvala-yana-grhya-sutra-vritti'', ''Jivananda-nataka'', and ''Vidya-parinaya-nataka'' (with a commentary). His grand-nephew Nrsimha-raya wrote ''Tripura-vijaya-champu''.
Dhundhiraja, another writer patronized by Shahaji, wrote the Sanskrit-language texts ''Shaha-vilasa-gita'' and ''Mudra-rakshasa-vyakhya''.
Serfoji built the
Saraswathi Mahal Library within the precincts of the palace to house his enormous book and manuscript collection. Apart from Indian languages, Serfoji II was proficient in English, French, Dutch, Greek and Latin as well.
Administration
The king was assisted in the administration of his country by a council of ministers. The supreme head of this council of ministers was a ''Mantri'' or ''Dalavoy''. The ''Dalavoy'' was also the Commander-in-chief of the Army. Next in importance at the court was a ''Pradhani'' or ''Dewan'' also called ''Dabir Pandit''. The country was divided into ''subahs'', ''seemais'' and ''maganams'' in decreasing order of size and importance. The five subahs of the country were
Pattukkottai,
Mayiladuthurai (erstwhile Mayavaram),
Kumbakonam,
Mannargudi and
Tiruvadi.
Economy
The ruler collected his taxes from the people through his ''mirasdars'' or ''puttackdars''. They were collected right from the village level onwards and were based on the agricultural produce of the village. Rice was one of the primary crops in the region and the land used for cultivation was owned by big landlords. It was Anatharama Sashtry who proposed collecting taxes to improve conditions for the poor. No foreign trade was carried out. The only foreign trade in the country was carried out by European traders who paid a particular amount of money as rent to the Raja. The currency system used was that of a ''chakram'' or ''pon'' (1 chakram = one and three-fourths of a British East India Company rupee). Other systems of coinage used were that of ''pagoda'' (1 pagoda = three and a half Company rupees), a big ''panam'' (one-sixth of a Company rupee) and a small ''panam'' (one-thirteenth of a Company rupee).
List of rulers
Family tree
See also
*
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
*
List of Maratha dynasties and states
*
Thanjavur Marathi people
References
{{Princely states annexed by British India
Hindu monarchs
History of Thanjavur
Maratha Empire
1674 establishments in India