Balaji Baji Rao

Nana Saheb I
18th century portrait of Balaji Bajirao
8th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire
In office August 1740 – 23 June 1761
Monarchs	Shahu I Rajaram II
Preceded by	Bajirao I
Succeeded by	Madhavrao I
Personal details
Born	Balajirao Bhat (1720-12-08)8 December 1720 Sate Mawal, Pune, Maratha Empire (modern day Maharashtra, India)
Died	23 June 1761(1761-06-23) (aged 40) Parvati Hill, Pune, Maratha Empire (modern day Maharashtra, India)
Spouse	Gopikabai ​ (m. 1730)​ [1]
Children	Vishwasrao Madhavrao I Narayan Rao
Parent(s)	Baji Rao I (father) Kashibai (mother)
Relatives	Raghunath Rao (brother) Sadashivrao Bhau (cousin) Shamsher Bahadur I (half-brother)
Residence(s)	Shaniwarwada, Pune, Maratha Empire (modern day Maharashtra, India)
Signature

Balaji Baji Rao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761), often referred to as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire.^[2] He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his father, Peshwa Bajirao I.

During his tenure, the Chhatrapati (Maratha Emperor) was a mere figurehead. At the same time, the Maratha empire started transforming into a confederacy, in which individual chiefs—such as the Holkars, the Scindias and the Bhonsles of Nagpur kingdom—became more powerful. During Balaji Rao's tenure, the Maratha territory reached its zenith. A large part of this expansion, however, was led by the individual chiefs of the Maratha Empire.

Balaji Bajirao's administration worked with his cousin Sadashivrao Bhau, introducing new legislative and financial systems in the state.^{[citation needed]} Under his leadership, the borders of the Maratha Empire expanded to Peshawar in present-day Pakistan, Srirangapatna in Karnataka, and Medinipur in West Bengal. Nanasaheb built canals, bridges, temples and lodges for travellers in the capital city of Pune and in other parts of the Maratha Empire. In his twenty-year reign as the Peshwa, Nanasaheb subdued three major powers under his tenure, viz. Mughals in the North, the Nizam in the South and the Bengal Sultanate. Along with that he also weakened the Afghan control over Punjab, stopped their repeated invasions on the imperial capital of Delhi, subdued the Rajputs and Rohillas and neutralized the state of Oudh.

This article is missing information about the Peshwa's reign. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (December 2022)

Balaji Rao, later known as Balaji Baji Rao or Nanasaheb Peshwa, was born on 8 December 1720 into the Bhat family to Peshwa Baji Rao I and Kashibai.^[3]

After the death of Baji Rao I in April 1740, Chhatrapati Shahu appointed the 19-year-old Balaji as Peshwa in August of the same year, despite opposition from several Maratha chiefs, including Raghoji I Bhonsle.^[4]

Balaji’s grandmother, Radhabai, first met Gopikabai—a six-year-old girl from the Raste family—during a family visit. Impressed by Gopikabai’s orthodox Hindu upbringing and her knowledge of religious customs and rituals typical of priestly Brahmin families, Radhabai proposed her marriage to her ten-year-old grandson, Balaji. The two were married on 11 January 1730.^[5]

The couple had three sons: Vishwasrao, who was killed in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761; Madhavrao I, who succeeded Nanasaheb as Peshwa; and Narayanrao, who later succeeded Madhavrao during his late teens. Nanasaheb’s brother, Raghunathrao, was an able administrator but his ambitions to become Peshwa ultimately proved disastrous for the Maratha Empire.^{[citation needed]}

In the early years of Balaji Rao’s tenure as Peshwa, Raghoji I Bhonsle played a key role in extending Maratha influence in the southern and eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent. However, his relationship with the Peshwa was strained from the outset.

Shortly before Balaji’s appointment as Peshwa, Raghoji had led a Maratha force to the southern territories to assist Pratap Singh of Thanjavur, a member of the Bhonsle clan, against Dost Ali Khan. Raghoji killed Dost Ali in May 1740 and installed Dost Ali’s son, Safdar Ali Khan, as the Nawab of Arcot. Upon returning to Satara, Raghoji unsuccessfully protested Balaji Rao’s appointment as Peshwa before returning south. There, in March 1741, he defeated Chanda Sahib but was soon forced to retreat due to the intervention of Chanda Sahib’s French allies from Pondicherry. After returning to Satara, Raghoji continued to oppose Balaji Rao’s authority.^[4]

In 1743, Raghoji Bhonsle attacked the forces of Alivardi Khan in Orissa. Alivardi Khan subsequently paid ₹2,000,000 to Balaji Rao, who assisted him in driving Raghoji out of Orissa in 1744. Raghoji then appealed directly to Chhatrapati Shahu, who appointed him in charge of Maratha affairs in Orissa, Bengal, and Bihar. By 1752, Raghoji had taken over the administration of Orissa and was conducting regular raids into Bengal and Bihar to collect chauth (tribute). The political instability caused by his campaigns in Bengal later facilitated the rise of the East India Company in the region.^[3]

Tarabai, the senior widow of Chhatrapati Rajaram I, was granted asylum by her nephew Chhatrapati Shahu after being released from captivity by her stepson Sambhaji II of Kolhapur. During the 1740s, in Shahu’s final years, Tarabai presented to him a boy named Rajaram II, claiming he was her grandson and a direct descendant of Shivaji. Shahu accepted this claim and adopted the boy. Upon Shahu’s death in 1749, Rajaram II succeeded him as Chhatrapati.^[6]

In 1750, while Peshwa Balaji Rao was campaigning against the Nizam of Hyderabad, Tarabai urged Rajaram II to dismiss him from the office of Peshwa. When the Chhatrapati refused, she imprisoned him in a dungeon at Satara on 24 November 1750, claiming that he was an impostor whom she had falsely presented as her grandson. Tarabai failed to secure support from other Maratha nobles or from the Nizam Salabat Jung, but she managed to gain the backing of Umabai Dabhade.^[7]

Umabai Dabhade was the matriarch of the Dabhade family, hereditary Senapatis (commanders-in-chief) of the Maratha Empire and controllers of large territories in Gujarat. Her husband had been killed by the Mughals, and her eldest son by Baji Rao I for rebelling against Shahu. Although Shahu had pardoned the Dabhades and allowed them to retain their jagirs and titles on the condition that they remit half their Gujarat revenues to the royal treasury, the family had never done so. After Shahu’s death, Balaji Rao—facing an empty treasury—insisted that they honor this agreement. When Umabai met him in 1750, she argued that the arrangement had been made under duress; the Peshwa rejected her claim.^[3]

In support of Tarabai’s rebellion, Umabai dispatched a force of 15,000 troops under her lieutenant Damaji Rao Gaekwad. Gaekwad advanced toward Pune, causing Peshwa Balaji Rao’s mother Kashibai and grandmother Radhabai to flee to Sinhagad. While encamped at Pargaon near Pune, Gaekwad received a letter from the Peshwa loyalist Mahadji Purandare, denouncing him as a traitor. Gaekwad then redirected his march toward Satara. He defeated Mahadji’s brother, Trimbakrao Purandare, at Nimb—a small town north of Satara—but was later defeated on 15 March 1751 at the Venna River and forced to retreat with heavy losses.^[7]

On learning of the rebellion, Balaji Rao marched swiftly from the Mughal frontier, covering 400 miles in 13 days. He reached Satara on 24 April 1751, captured the Yavateshwar garrison, and defeated Tarabai’s troops. After Gaekwad’s forces were surrounded, Balaji Rao demanded that he cede half of Gujarat and pay a war indemnity of ₹2,500,000. Gaekwad refused, saying he was only a subordinate acting under Umabai’s orders. On 30 April, Balaji Rao launched a surprise attack, forcing Gaekwad’s surrender.

Balaji Rao then besieged Satara Fort, demanding that Tarabai release Rajaram II, whose health had declined during captivity. She refused, and Balaji Rao withdrew to Pune rather than engage in a prolonged siege.^[7]

A subsequent mutiny by Tarabai’s own troops weakened her position. Realizing the futility of continued resistance, she sought peace. She met Balaji Rao in Pune, dismissed her adviser Baburao Jadhav, and accepted the supremacy of the Peshwa’s office. On 14 September 1752, both swore mutual peace at the Khandoba temple in Jejuri, where Tarabai declared under oath that Rajaram II was not her grandson but an impostor of the Gondhali caste.^[7] Despite this, Balaji Rao retained Rajaram II as the titular Chhatrapati, a ceremonial and powerless figurehead.^[6]

In May 1751, Balaji Rao arrested Damaji Gaekwad and his relatives and imprisoned them in Pune. The Dabhades were later detained and stripped of their jagirs and titles.^[2] When Damaji refused to yield half of Gujarat’s territory, he was confined in Lohagad Fort. Eventually, after prolonged negotiations, he agreed in March 1752 to abandon the Dabhades and ally with the Peshwa. In return, Balaji Rao appointed him as the Maratha chief of Gujarat and promised military support against the Mughals. Damaji consented to pay an annual tribute of ₹525,000 and a one-time payment of ₹1,500,000, and to maintain a cavalry of 20,000 horses for the Peshwa's services.^[7]

• 
  24 Feb 1731. Bajirao writes to his uncle Chimaji Appa referring Chhatrapati Shahu I's pilgrimage to Jejuri.
• 
  Signatures of the Marathas line 4 is the handwriting of Balaji Bajirao.

In 1751, Balaji Rao invaded the territories of Nizam of Hyderabad Salabat Jung, who was supported by the French Governor-General of Pondicherry Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau. Due to Tarabai’s rebellion and the growing strength of French-trained forces allied with Maratha rivals, Balaji Rao was initially forced to withdraw from his campaigns. In 1752, after restoring internal stability, he launched a renewed offensive against the Nizam of Hyderabad. Seeking to counterbalance French influence in the Deccan, Balaji Rao approached the British East India Company for military support. However, the British declined to intervene in the conflict. The Marathas wanted Salabat Jung's brother Ghazi ud-Din Khan to be appointed as the Nizam; as he had promised them a payment of ₹ 6,000,000 among other favours.^{[citation needed]} However, Khan was poisoned to death by his step-mother. Ultimately, Balaji Rao and Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau concluded a peace treaty. Raghoji Bhonsle also agreed to peace on the condition that Nizam would grant him some jagirs in Berar.^[8]

Balaji's father Baji Rao aimed to establish a Hindu Padshahi (Hindu kingship) in the Indian subcontinent, and thus maintained good relations with the Rajputs. However, during Balaji Rao's tenure, the Marathas alienated the Rajput rulers.^[3]

When Jai Singh II of Jaipur died in 1743, a war of succession broke out between his sons Ishwari Singh and Madho Singh. Madho was supported by Jagat Singh II of Mewar and Ummed Singh of Bundi. The Marathas, however, initially supported Ishwari, simply because he offered them more money. Later, Jagat Singh was able to enlist Malhar Rao Holkar on Madho's side, while Jayappa Rao Scindia continued to support Ishwari. This episode not only spoiled Maratha relations with the Rajputs, but also resulted in internal strife among the Marathas. Madho Singh later sought arbitration from Balaji Rao, who personally came to Jaipur and convinced Ishwari Singh to cede 4 mahals to Madho Singh. Ishwari Singh initially agreed, but refused to abide by his promise after Balaji returned to Pune. Malhar Rao Holkar then not only forcefully captured the mahals for Madho, but also imposed a tribute on Ishwari Singh. In 1750, the Marathas declared a war on Ishwari Singh for his failure to pay the arrears. Ishwari Singh was desperate as he did not have sufficient money to pay off the Marathas, and he could not impose excessive taxes on his citizens. As a result, he committed suicide by consuming poison.^[3]

After Ishawari Singh's death, Madho Singh became the ruler of Jaipur. However, he no longer trusted the Marathas, having seen their treatment of his elder brother. He participated in battles against the Marathas, until Safdar Jang intervened and convinced the Marathas to leave with an apology and some compensation. After Safdar Jang's death, the Marathas again invaded the Rajput territories. This forced Madho Singh to seek help from Safdar Jang's successor Shuja-ud-Daula as well as the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Durrani (Abdali).^[3]

In 1749, Abhai Singh of Jodhpur (Marwar) died, leading to a war of succession between Bakht Singh and Ram Singh. Ram Singh sought help from Jayappa Scindia. By the time Scindia marched to Jodhpur in September 1752, Bakhat Singh had died. He was succeeded by his son Bijay Singh, who sought help against the Marathas from the Mughals, the Rohillas and Madho Singh. With Madho Singh's help, Maharaja Vijay Singh resisted the Marathas for a year, before he agreed to peace talks. During one such peace negotiation, Jayappa Rao Scindia was assassinated by emissaries of Vijay Singh of Marwar in July 1755. This led to further hostilities between the Marathas and the Rajputs until Dattaji Rao Scindia concluded a peace treaty in February 1756.^[3]

The Maratha-Jat relations also worsened during Balaji Rao's reign. Balaji's younger brother Raghunath Rao wanted a share of revenue from the prosperous Bharatpur State. Suraj Mal, ruler of the state, had interfered in Jaipur politics in support of Ishwari Singh. This had antagonized Maratha chiefs like Malhar Rao Holkar, who had supported Madho. In 1754, the Mughal wazir Safdar Jang sought Suraj Mal's help against the Mughal emperor. To counter him, the imperial loyalist Imad-ul-Mulk sought support from the Marathas. Raghunath Rao used this opportunity and sent a force led by Malhar Rao Holkar to Bharatpur. Suraj Mal tried to avoid a war by offering him ₹ 4,000,000; but, Raghunath Rao was not satisfied with the offer. The Marathas besieged Bharatpur's Kumher fort in early 1754 for around four months, before a peace treaty was concluded. The Marathas accepted an offer by Suraj Mal to pay ₹ 3,000,000 in three yearly installments.^[3]

During Baji Rao's tenure, the Mughals had nominally granted the Malwa to the Marathas, but the control was not actually passed to the Marathas. After becoming Peshwa, Balaji Rao approached the Mughal emperor through Jai Singh II, and managed to get appointed as the Deputy Governor of Malwa (with Ahmad Shah as the titular Governor). In return, he pledged faithfulness to the Mughal emperor. He also agreed to keep a force of 500 soldiers at the emperor's court, in addition to providing a force of 4,000 soldiers on a need basis.^[3]

In 1748, Javed Khan, a rival of the Mughal wazir Safdar Jang invited the new Nizam of Hyderabad Nasir Jung, to join an alliance against the wazir. Safdar Jang requested Maratha support against Nasir Jung. Balaji Rao dispatched Scindia and Holkar chiefs to prevent Nasir Jung from reaching Delhi, and thus, saved Safdar Jang.^[3]

Starting in 1748, the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Durrani (Abdali) launched several invasions of India, forcing the Mughals to seek Maratha help. In 1752, the Rohillas of the Doab region rebelled against the Mughal emperor. They defeated Safdar Jang in a battle, and invited Durrani to invade India. Once again, Safdar Jang sought assistance from the Marathas, who helped him crush the rebellion. The Marathas and the Mughals signed an agreement in 1752. The Marathas agreed to help the Mughals defeat external aggressions as well as internal rebellions. The Mughals agreed to appoint Peshwa Balaji Rao as the Governor of Ajmer and Agra. The Marathas were also granted the right to collect chauth from Lahore, Multan, Sindh, and some districts of Hissar and Moradabad. However, the Mughal emperor had also ceded Lahore and Multan to Ahmad Shah Durrani in order to pacify him. In addition, he did not ratify the transfer of Rajput-ruled territories like Ajmer to the Marathas. This brought the Marathas in conflict with Durranis as well as Rajputs.^[3]

From 1741 to 1751, the Marathas under Raghuji Bhonsle invaded Bengal six times. The first one in 1741, The second in 1742, as also the third in 1744 and the fourth in 1745 were led by Raghuji himself. The fifth in 1747 and the sixth in 1748 were undertaken by Janoji and Sabaji respectively. These invasions caused heavy destruction in the armies of the Nawab of Bengal. Nawab Alivardi Khan was successful in repelling only the first invasion in 1741. In 1743 two Maratha armies invaded - one belonged to Raghoji Bhonsle and the other of Balaji Rao. Alivardi Khan was obliged to pay him a subsidie, promising to pay him Chauth tax.^[9] The continuous conflict took a heavy toll on the population of Bengal.^[10] The Hindu Maratha warriors invaded and occupied western Bengal up to the Hooghly River.^[11]

During this period, warriors called as "Bargis", perpetrated atrocities against the local population,^[11] against Hindu Bengalis Muslims and Biharis.^[11] As reported in Burdwan Kingdom's and European sources, the Bargis are said to have plundered villages,^[12] and Jan Kersseboom, chief of the Dutch East India Company factory in Bengal, estimated that perhaps 400,000 civilians in Western Bengal and Bihar were dead owing to the invasion of Bargis.^[11][13] The resulting casualties of Bargi onslaught against in Bengal are considered to be among the deadliest massacres in Indian history.^[12] According to the 18th-century Bengali text Maharashtra Purana written by Gangaram:^[11]

In 1751, the Marathas signed a peace treaty with the Nawab of Bengal, according to which Mir Habib (a former courtier of Alivardi Khan, who had defected to the Marathas) was made provincial governor of Orissa under nominal control of the Nawab of Bengal.^[10] It made The Nawab of Bengal a tributary to the Marathas who agrees to pay Rs. 1.2 million annually as the chauth of Bengal and Bihar, and the Marathas agreed not to invade Bengal again.^[14][15] The Nawab of Bengal also paid Rs. 3.2 million to the Marathas, towards the arrears of chauth for the preceding years.^[16] The chauth was paid annually by the Nawab of Bengal up to 1758, until the East India Company took over.^[17]

After his initial invasions of India, Ahmed Shah Durrani appointed his son Timur Shah Durrani as the governor of Punjab and Kashmir. Balaji Rao then dispatched Raghunath Rao to check the advance of the Durranis. In 1758, Raghunath Rao conquered Lahore and Peshawar, and drove out Timur Shah Durrani. This was the high-water mark of Maratha expansion, where the boundaries of their empire extended north of the Sindhu river all the way down south to northern Kerala. The Marathas thus became the Durrani's major rivals in the north-western part of the subcontinent.^[18] Meanwhile, the Marathas had reduced the Mughal emperor to a figurehead, and Balaji Rao talked of placing his son Vishwasrao on the Mughal throne.^[19] The Mughal loyalist Muslim intellectuals of Delhi were alarmed at these developments, and appealed Durrani to check the rising Maratha power.^[20]

Under these circumstances, Ahmad Shah Durrani launched a fresh invasion of India, reaching Lahore by the end of 1759.^[21] He gained allies in the Rohilla noble Najib-ud-Daula and the Nawab of Oudh Shuja-ud-Daula. Balaji Rao responded to the Durrani invasion by dispatching a large force commanded by Sadashiv Rao Bhau. This force was supplemented by the contingents of Holkar, Scindia, Gaikwad and Govind Pant Bundele. The Jat ruler Suraj Mal of Bharatpur also joined the Marathas, but later left the alliance due to a misunderstanding with Bhau.^[22]

Between 1759 and 1761, the Durranis and the Marathas fought each other in several skirmishes and small battles, with varying results. Due to the extended duration of the siege of the Maratha garrison at Panipat which Balaji's reinforcements were supposed to break but never reached beyond the Narmada, the Durranis decisively defeated the famished and under-equipped Maratha army in the Third Battle of Panipat on 14 January 1761.^[23] According to Suresh k Sharma, "It was Balaji Bajirao's love of pleasure which was responsible for Panipat. He delayed at Paithan celebrating his second marriage until December 27th, when it was too late."^[24]

The defeat at Panipat resulted in heavy losses for the Marathas, and was a huge setback for Balaji Rao. He received the news of the defeat of Panipat on 24 January 1761 at Bhilsa, while leading a reinforcement force. Besides several important generals, he had lost his own son Vishwasrao and cousin Sadashivrao Bhau in the Battle of Panipat. As a result, went into depression and died on 23 June 1761 at Parvati hill and was succeeded by his younger son Madhav Rao I.^[3]

• 
  A 19th-century portrait of Balaji Bajirao
• 
  19th-century depiction of Balaji Bajirao
• 
  Artist impression of Balaji Bajirao

• In 1994 Hindi TV series The Great Maratha, Peshwa Balji Bajirao's character was portrayed by Bal Dhuri.
• In the 2014 Indian Marathi-language film, Rama Madhav, he is portrayed by Ravindra Mankani.
• In the 2015 Bollywood film Bajirao Mastani, Ayush Tandon essays the role of a young Balaji Bajirao.
• In the 2019 Bollywood film, Panipat, Peshwa Balaji Bajirao was portrayed by Mohnish Bahl.
• "The Extraordinary Epoch of Nanasaheb Peshwa" (published in 2020) a book written by Uday S. Kulkarni about the life and tenure of Nanasaheb Peshwa.^[25]
• "Dhurandhar Peshwa Nanasaheb", a Marathi novel written by Kaustubh S. Kasture on the life of Nanasaheb Peshwa.^[26]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Balaji Baji Rao.

• Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb) Peshwa by Prof. S. S. Puranik
• Solstice at Panipat by Uday S. Kulkarni, Mula Mutha Publishers, 2nd ed., 2012.
• Panipat by Vishwas Patil, Rajhamns publishers.