Chapter 3 — The Rise of the Marathas

The Marathas are a group of people native to the Deccan plateau, specifically present-day Maharashtra. They are identified with the Marathi language, which has had a continuous literary history since the 12th century. Saints like Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram, and Ramdas gave the community a strong cultural foundation that later enabled its political rise.

Chhatrapati Shivaji was born in 1630 in the Bhonsle clan to Shahji and Jijabai. He grew up in his father's jāgīr at Pune, raised under the watchful eyes of Jijabai and trusted officials while his father served the Deccan sultanates.

The wāgh nakh is a small weapon shaped like a tiger's claw. Shivaji used it to kill the Bijapur general Afzal Khan in close combat at a one-on-one meeting arranged at the foot of the Pratapgad fort amid thick forests.

The Maratha Navy was founded in 1657. It was a revolutionary step because neither the Bijapur Sultanate nor the Mughal Empire maintained a full-time naval force — the Bijapur rulers had only merchant ships. The navy secured access to coastal resources and eventually, under Kanhoji Angre in the 18th century, challenged European naval dominance by demanding passes (cartaz) from the Europeans themselves.

Shivaji devised a strategy of distributing gifts in large baskets of fruits and sweets to holy men and Mughal generals. Guards initially checked the baskets but soon stopped doing so. Anticipating this, Shivaji and his son Sambhaji hid inside the baskets and escaped. Aurangzeb could never capture Shivaji again.

Shivaji was crowned in 1674 at the Raigad fort with full Vedic rites. His formal title was 'Shri Raja Shiva Chhatrapati', and he started his own era called the Rājyābhiṣheka shaka.

Chauth was a tax of 25 per cent levied by the Marathas from provinces not directly under their control. Sardeshmukhi was an additional 10 per cent on top of chauth. In return, the Marathas protected those provinces and did not intervene in their internal administration. The Mughals approved this arrangement through treaties.

The ashta pradhana mandala was Chhatrapati Shivaji's council of eight ministers that assisted with administration. It included the Pradhān (Prime Minister), Amātya (Finance Minister), Sumant (Minister for Foreign Affairs), Sachiv (Land Revenue Minister), Mantrī (Intelligence Minister), Nyāyādhīsh (Chief Justice), Panḍitrāo (Head of Religious Affairs), and Senāpati (Commander-in-chief).

Tarabai was the queen of Rajaram (who became Chhatrapati after Sambhaji's execution). After Rajaram's death in the early 18th century, she organised large Maratha armies and sent them to invade Mughal territories in the north, making her the architect of the northward Maratha expansion. Her military strategy and tenacity outsmarted the Mughal Empire and preserved Maratha independence during a critical period.

The Battle of Panipat in 1761 was a disastrous defeat for the Marathas when they fought the Afghans. Despite this setback, the Marathas quickly recovered during the time of Peshwa Madhavrao I. Under Mahadji Shinde, they recaptured Delhi in 1771, which remained under their control until the British captured it three decades later.

Ahilyabai Holkar was a ruler of the Holkar dynasty, which controlled a kingdom around present-day Indore. Even after losing her husband and son, she governed the state for thirty years. She rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi (destroyed by Aurangzeb) and the Somnath temple in Gujarat (destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni), and promoted the Maheshwar weaving industry in Madhya Pradesh.

Three Anglo-Maratha wars were fought between 1775 and 1818. The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) ended in a Maratha victory. Owing to increasing Maratha internal disunity and the superior organisational and technological abilities of the British, the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1818) ended Maratha power. The chapter states that the British took India effectively from the Marathas more than from the Mughals or any other power.

Ekoji, Shivaji's half-brother, conquered the Thanjavur region in the late 17th century. The Thanjavur Marathas created a syncretic multilingual culture blending Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi influences. Serfoji II was notable for patronising Carnatic music, contributing to the early stages of Bharatanatyam, establishing the Dhanwantari Mahal (a free medical centre using Indian and Western medicine), and starting the first printing press in India by a native ruler. He also had the Bhonsle family history inscribed on the walls of the Brihadishwara temple at Thanjavur.

Yes — the NCERT PDF for 'The Rise of the Marathas' (Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Chapter 3) is available free on cbseprepmaster.com. No sign-up is required.