Bhonsle

The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle, Bhonslà)^[7] are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system. Traditionally a warrior clan,^[8][9] some members served as rulers of several states in India, the most prominent being Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. His successors ruled as chhatrapatis (emperors/maharajas) from their capital at Satara, although de facto rule of the empire passed to the Peshwas, the Maratha hereditary chief ministers, during the reign of Shahu I. In addition to the Bhonsle Chhatrapatis of Satara, rulers of the Bhonsle clan established themselves as junior branch of Chhatrapatis at Kolhapur, and as Maharajas of Nagpur in modern-day Maharashtra in the 18th century.

After the British defeat of the Marathas in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the four Bhonsle dynasties continued as rulers of their princely states, acknowledging British sovereignty while retaining local autonomy. The states of Satara, Thanjavur, and Nagpur came under direct British rule in the mid-nineteenth century when their rulers died without male heirs, although the British allowed titular adoptions to take place. Kolhapur state remained autonomous until India's independence in 1947, when the rulers acceded to the Indian government.

Akkalkot State,^[10][11] Sawantwadi State^[12] and Barshi^[6] were amongst other prominent states ruled by the Bhonsles.

Origin

Bhonsles claim their origin from Suryavanshi Sisodia Rajputs.^[13][14][15] Sources supporting this claim include Pandit Ganga Bhatt of Varanasi, who had been hired for the purpose by Shivaji, and in 1674 presented a genealogy tracing Shivaji's ancestry to the Sisodias of Mewar.^[16]

Scholars such as Jadunath Sarkar have contested Shivaji's Rajput origin, saying that it was a fabrication required during his coronation.^[17] Others, such as C. V. Vaidya, do not accept this and point to works authored before his rise that refer to the connection. For example, the Radha Madhav Vilas Champu, written by the poet Jayaram, mentions Shahaji Bhonsle, the father of Shivaji, as being a Sisodia Rajput and Shahji's letter to Sultan Adil Shah in 1641 refers to the Bhonsle as Rajputs.^[18] The discovery of Persian-language firmans in the 1920s also dented the claim of those such as Sarkar. The documents bear seals and tughra of Bahmani and Adil Shahi sultans and establish the direct descent of Shivaji and Ghorpade with that of Sisodia of Chittor.^[19]

Knights, regents and monarchs

Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhonsle, founder of the Maratha Empire

• Babaji Bhonsle (d. 1597), father of Maloji Bhonsle who was a patil of the Hingni Berdi and Devalgaon villages around Pune
• Maloji Bhonsle (1552–1607), father of Shahaji who served as a knight for the Ahmadnagar Sultanate
• Shahaji (1594–1664), father of Shivaji who served as a knight for the Ahmadnagar Sultanate and later the Adilshahi of Bijapur
• Shivaji (1630–1680), first Chhatrapati of the Maratha realm
• Sambhaji (1657–1689), son of Shivaji and his successor as Chhatrapati
• Rajaram Chhatrapati (1670–1700), second son of Shivaji; succeeded Sambhaji as Chhatrapati
• Tarabai (1675–1761), commander of Maratha forces after the death of her husband Rajaram in 1700; regent for her son Shivaji II until being deposed by Shahu I and then by her husband's other widow, Rajasbai.

Other maharajas of the dynasty include:

House of Satara

• Shahu I (1708–1749), son of Sambhaji, became Chhatrapati in 1708 after defeating his aunt Tarabai in a war of succession.
• Ramaraja (1749–1777), grandson of Rajaram and Tarabai; adopted son of Shahu I.
• Shahu II of Satara (1777–1808), son of Ramaraja.
• Pratap Singh.
• Raja Shahaji of Satara

House of Kolhapur

Shahu I of Kolhapur (r. 1894–1922)

• Shivaji II of Maratha Realm, later Shivaji I of Kolhapur (1700–1714); imbecile son of Rajaram and Tarabai
• Sambhaji II (1714–1760): His mother, Rajasbai, the second wife of Rajaram, deposed Tarabai's son Shivaji II and put her own son on the Kolhapur throne.
• Shivaji II (1760–1812) (adopted from the family of Khanwilkar)
• Shahoji I (1822–1838)
• Shivaji III (1830–1866)
• Rajaram I (1866–1870) (adopted from the family of Patankar)
• Shivaji IV (1870–1883)
• Shahu I (1874–1922) (adopted from the family of Ghatge of Kagal)
• Rajaram II (1922–1940)
• Shivaji V (1940–1946)
• Shahaji II (1946–1983) (adopted from Puar Dewas Senior)
• Shahu II (1983–present) (adopted from Bhonsle Nagpur)

Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu

Shivaji Bhonsle, Raja of Thanjavur

• Shahaji Raje (1594–1664)
• Ekoji I (1676–1684) half-brother of Shivaji
• Shahuji I of Thanjavur
• Serfoji I
• Tukkoji
• Ekoji II
• Sujanbai
• Shahuji II of Thanjavur
• Pratapsingh of Thanjavur
• Thuljaji became vassal of the East India Company
• Serfoji II (1798–1832)
• Shivaji of Thanjavur (1832–1855). After his death, the state was absorbed by the East India Company.

Nagpur

Raghoji Raje Bhonsle of Nagpur

• Raghoji I (1738–1755)
• Janoji (1755–1772)
• Mudhoji I (1772–1788)
• Raghoji II (1788–1816)
• Mudhoji II (1816–1818)
• Raghoji III (1818–1853)^[20]

See also

• List of Maratha dynasties and states
• List of people involved in the Maratha Empire
• Bhat family

References