Thuljaji
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Thuljaji Bhonsle (
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
: तुळजाजी, also known as Tullasu Rasa) (1738–1787) was the eldest son of Pratap Singh and the ruler of
Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...
Bhonsle dynasty from 1763 to 1773 and 1776 to 1787. He was a weak-hearted ruler despite being extremely generous. His period is known for the treaties which made Thanjavur subordinate to 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 ...
.


Invasion of Ramnad and the Occupation of the Nawab of the Carnatic

In 1771, Thuljaji invaded the dominion of the
Polygar Palaiyakkarars, or Poligar, Palegara (as the British referred to them) in Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were the holders of a small kingdom as a feudatory to a greater sovereign. Under this system, ''palayam'' was given for valuable military ...
of Ramnad who had wrested Hanumantagudi from Thanjavur during the reign of Pratapsingh. Subramanian, Pg 60 The Raja of Ramnad was a dependent of the Nawab of Carnatic and this act of aggression by Thuljaji forced the Nawab to interfere. The Nawab and the East India company laid siege to Tanjore, and forced the Raj to surrender. A humiliating treaty was forced upon the Raja and was later
ratified Ratification is a principal's legal confirmation of an act of its agent. In international law, ratification is the process by which a state declares its consent to be bound to a treaty. In the case of bilateral treaties, ratification is usuall ...
by the officials of the British East India Company. Subramanian, Pg 61 Eighty
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...
s of arrears had to be paid apart from a war indemnity of thirty-two lakhs. Thuljaji also ceded two Subhas of Thanjavur to the Nawab. Arni and Hanumantagudi were taken from the Raja's hands and Thanjavur was to have the same foreign policy as the kingdom of the Nawab. Humiliated and shaken by the provisions of the treaty, Thuljaji applied to the
Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...
for help. A large army commanded by Raghoba was dispatched to help Thuljaji. But court intrigues at Satara forced him to turn back. Thanjavur was taken by the forces of the Nawab of Carnatic and Thuljaji was deposed. Thanjavur loathed under the rule of the Nawab for three years (from 1773 to 1776).


Restoration

In 1776, the Board of Directors of the British East India Company ordered the restoration of Thuljaji. Subramanian, Pg 62 However, soon after his restoration a treaty was forced upon him by which he became a mere vassal of the British. His army was disbanded and replaced with Company troops. He was to pay regular tribute to both the Nawab and the Company.


The Second Mysore War

The Second Mysore War broke out in 1780 between
Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...
and the Company. The very next year, along with his son
Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...
he invaded Thanjavur. The
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 ...
army was in occupation of the kingdom for 6 months. The region was plundered and the people carried away. The missionary Schwartz records the abduction of 20,000 children from Thanjavur by Tipu Sultan in the year 1784 alone. The produce fell and a calamity ensued. Thanjavur did not recover from the impact of Tipu's invasion till the beginning of the 19th century.


Literature

Thuljaji was a fine writer and could compose in
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 ...
as well as Telugu and
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
. Subramanian, Pg 58 He conferred the title of ''Andhra Kalidasa'' on poet Aluri Kuppana. Kuppana wrote classics such as ''Acharyavijayamu'', ''Panchanada Sthalapurana'', ''Yakshaganas'' of
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 the Bhagavata, ''Parana Bhagavatacharitra'', ''Indumati Parinaya'' and ''Karmavipaka''. Thuljaji was tolerant of other faiths and religions. He confided upon a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
called Schwartz who hoped to convert Thuljaji to Christianity. Subramanian, Pg 66 Thuljaji however remained a devout Hindu, drawn deeply to the Saivism sect.


Death

Thuljaji died in 1787 at age 49 leaving behind an impoverished state. Two of his queens committed Sati. As two of his sons had predeceased him, he had adopted Serfoji from a collateral branch of the Bhonsle family. Serfoji II ascended the throne at the age of 10 with Thuljaji's brother Amarsingh as
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
. Subramanian, Pg 67


See also

* Bhonsle *
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 Maratha kingdom The Thanjavur Maratha kingdom ruled by the Bhonsle dynasty, Bhonsle dynasty was a principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language was Thanjavur Marathi dialect, Thanjavur Marathi. Vyankoji Bhosale was the ...
*
Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...
* Nawab of Carnatic


Footnotes


References

# K. R. Subramanian(1928). ''The Maratha Rajas of Tanjore''
Thuljaji II in Saraswathi Mahal Library website
{{MarathaEmpire 1738 births 1787 deaths Rajas of Thanjavur