578 91 12MB
English Pages [245] Year 1949
THE MAIN CURRENTS of
Originally Patna University Readership Lectures 192(1,
now
greatly enlarged, rewritten, amt brought up to da to.
BY
00 VINT)
SAKT-I ARAM
Editor. Selections from
Author ok Marathi
the
SARDESAL
Biyasai
,
Handbook
to the
Records in the Alienation Office, dc.
Rs.
2]
b.a.
Peshcns' Daftar , Poona.
1933
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INDIA pr '
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works
INTIf-IC Nf ^ DIT ROAD
UOM0AY
IQ
It
(flit's
reserved
bij
the Authoi.
inittLfsMi
KESHA V BHIKAJI DlfAVM Gu gaunt, Bombay.
P
REF
A.
C
E
Since the years' ago,
a,
first edition of these lectures was printed seven great advance has taken place in the research history, particularly on account of- the ample
of Maratha selections from the Peshwas’ Daftar published by the Government of Bombay. While editing these selections 1 had to wade, with the help of stall, through the vast mass of old papers, both historical and administrative, and naturally obtained an insight into many useful topics, which I consider indeed to be more valuable than the papers actualI do not like to allow this experience to ly published.
my
with me and am ardently seeking means to put it on record. In the mean time -the demand for copies of niy Patna Lectures has long been pressing, and 1 am now trying to meet it immediately after obtaining relief from my underperish,
taking at the Peshwas’ Daftar.
While revising these lectures for a fresh edition, many new points have struck me for which I have now tried to make room without materially altering either the original plan or the size of the book. The main object of these lectures was to interpret Maratha history from purely Maratha standpoint, to those who cannot study the original materials at first hand owing to their ignorance of the language. This object I have scrupulously followed even now. But there were obvious gaps in the performance when it was first executed. No mention was made about the rise and career of Shivaji, or the grand successes of Peshwa Bajirao I. and his brother.
A sudden jump was taken from the death of Shahu to the Maratha War with the English, thus skipping entirely over the important event of Panipat or the brilliant career of Madhaorao I. These topics I have now put in and incidentally made a few alterations in my discussion of the character and achievements of Mahadji Sindia and Nana Eadtiis and of the causes of the Maratha downfall which form the subject of the last chapter.
My readers will hear in mind that I have by no means attempted to write heroin a full history of the Marathas. My purpose is to supply a running constructive criticism and a reasoned interpretation of the salient features involved in that vast subject, more or
Dominion in India,
Ms
less following the
work) The- British alihoitgh I do not Claim to possess his
lines of Sir Alfred Lyall, in
brilliant
powers or his sound judgment. Having purposely avoided entering into minute details and thereby making critical
the treatment cumbrous, I have tried to explain the aims aucl objects, the strong and weak points, the motives and general nature of the Maratha power, correcting and adding what appeared necessary from a personal study and experience, and removing the misconceptions and wrong views which 1 happened to notice during the course of my reading. Readers may judge how far I have succeeded in this rather ambitious design. All 1 can claim is that the views herein expressed are entirely my own. as any presentation of historical topics is bound to be. It would be ab-
surd in ail undertaking of this kind to try to please this or that school of thought. But I know I have tried to avoid partisanship and to give out an impartial reading of the old Maratha days. If history is to be of any practical use, an unbiassed and fearless criticism is, in my opinion, most essential, and, in this respect, I ieel I have tried to meet the educational needs of all students so far as the Maratha period of Indian history is concerned. I cordially repeat what I wrote in the first edition, viz. that, “the Patna University have laid me under deep obligations, by undertaking to have the lectures printed promptly T cannot personal supervision at Calcutta. and under also omit to thank my valued friend Prof. Sarkar for the kind and ready help he has rendered me in this task, shewing thereby what a keen interest he takes in Maratha His-
my
tory.”
Kamshct, Poona 1st Deo. 1933 Dist.
'i )-
J
Cr.
$.
SARDESAI
CONTENTS Lecture
I,
pages 28
MAHARASTRA PHARMA, —THE IDEAL OF THE MAHATMAS Pace 1.
Muslim south
2.
3.
influence .
The two
not penetrate
dirt
. .
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.
.
.
-
into
.
.
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.
the • .
•• •• 5 .. blended in Shiva ji .. Maharastra Dharma or the Maratha .spirit 7 actuated the Maratlias up to tire Last . ..II .. Meaning of Maharastra Dharma 13 Evil cffoatK of this Maratha ideal Visible marks of Maratha influence along the 14 . . . scared rivers Influence of this political ideal on Marathi litera21 ture and society Legitimate Maratha pride in past achievements .. -26
How
.
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4. 5. 6.
8.
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7.
1
Devagiri and Vijayanagar
traditions of
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.
Lecture
II,
•
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.
.
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•
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.
.
pages 30
HISTORICAL EE SEARCH IN MAHARASTRA Extent, scope, and limitation of historical research Indian history has yet to he constructed by a
20
2,
3.
Fortunate
synthesis of materials from all sources lead given by two eminent scholars of two distinct types, Sarkar and Raj wade
4.
Eajwade
..
5.
Parasnis
.
6.
Khare
7.
B.I
.
8.
S. Mandal of Sardesai
9.
The
spirit
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35
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..
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..38 -.41
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42 .
Poona
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actuating a before the nation
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.. .
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national history, .
Lecture
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—the .
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47
task .
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5L
III, pages 41
SHIVAJFS CONCEPTION OF A HINDU EMPIRE 1
,
2.
Shivaji takes his cue from his father Main incidents in Shivaji ’s career
.
,
'.
.
50 63
PAC4E Influence of Ramdas and other saints The coronation ceremony and its purpose Befriending Hindu princes .. All-India travel and experience Measures for Uniting Maratha elements
3.
4. 5.
.
6. 7. 8.
9.
.
.
.
13.
example inspired others .. Ghauthai, its origin and purpose Love of the Maratha Deshmukhs patrimony Origin of Uardeshmnkhi and tiaranjumi
14.
Perversion of the originaf object
11.
12.
.
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. .
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69 70
..
..74
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Aurangxeb’s correct estimate of the danger .. The War of Independence ..
How
10-
Rhivaji’s
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•
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70
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their
for .
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..
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86 94
.. .
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..77
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Lecture IV, pages 36
SHAHU 1.
ANJ.)
THE MARATHA EXPANSION
—
Early life of Slialnl, situation at Attrangzeb’s 100 death Division of the Maratha Kingdom, why the 103 Peshwas looked to the north 105 Services of Balaji Vishvanatli The Rajput pact, ot non-co-operation with tho 108 Emperor, Shankaraji jVlalhar .. ..112 The brilliant career of Bajirao I. .. The process of Maratha expansion, interchange ..116 .. .. between north and south .. 121 Shahu’s personality and character Shahu’s last days, the question of succession and 127 how the Pcshwa handled the situation Change in Maratha Government, the Poshwa’s 130mistakes .
2.
3.
4.
5. 6.
7. 8.
9.
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—
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Lecture V, pages
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2]
DEVELOPMENT OF MU SLIM- MARATHA CONTEST
—antecedent causes
1.
The
2.
Abdali accepts the challenge
3.
4. 5. ,6. 7.
8,
battle of Panipat,
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136 140
..141 .. .. .. Dattaji Sindia killed .. ..143 Sadasliivrao Bhau beaten 146 Results of the battle . 148 Muslim view of Maratha. conquests 15L Madhavrao, the greatest of the Peshwas 155 British jealousy at the increasing Maratha power .
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4 2
wii
Lec-tcee VI, pages 33
MAHADJI SINDIA AND NANA FADNIS Paoe Three periods of Maratha history 137 Early careers of Mahadji and Naua. 159 . How the two leaders won the First, Maratha War 163 Physical and temperamental differences between the two ..165 . .. Drawbacks of Nana's policy .. .. 170 (a) WANT or A CONOUJATOffiY spieit ..170 (b) DID NOT P.EALIZE BRITISH PRESSURE is THE . .
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NOBTH
1
affairs of
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Lecture VII, pages 'HE
.
73
..176
.. Mahadji .. .. Limitations of Nana’s power . What could have been done for future safety
Confused
. .
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180 184
38
DOWNFALL OF THE MARATHA STATE
The Peskwai hastening to its end Marquess of Hastings on Bajirao II.
. .
Bajirao’s last effort
.
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Causes of the Maraiha downfall
... .
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190 192
..193
... ...
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A -TT RAO ANDDAULATKAU PRDIAHELY RESPONSIBLE 195 • Neglect of science 198 . . . II
Neglect of artillery
Lack of organization The Maraiha and
—a contrast
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•
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•
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British
the .
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...
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...
Angering
DEX
memory before us
..
of the past
..
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205 207 21
downfall ...
. . Prominent Maratha personalities ... Munro’s reflections on the Maratha strength
The task
200 202
personnel,
.
False notion of religion Superior .British polities How far is caste responsible for our . . Peculiar position of the British
T
.
...
?
. .
... . .
21
221 223
..224 ...
226
...
22 $
THE MAIN CURRENTS OF
MARATBA HISTORY
“ Alt Empires, all states, all organizations of human society are in the ultimate, things of understanding and will.”
—H. 0.
Wells
Short History oj the. World.
LECTURE 'THE
MAHARASTRA DHARMA IDEAL OF THE MARATHAS
Muslim
1.
1
influence did not penetrate into the south.
— v '
The one on which
subject oi great historical importance
many eminent
scholars in Maharastra have
concentrated their attention in their research, has reference to the prime aim of the Marathas, I mean,
conception of their Swaraj ya, their object in
"the
striving for
the main
it,
the principles for which they stood,
unifying force which heartened
them
in
times of trouble and adversity, and enabled them to
work
years.
for national uplift for
The subject
and ranges over a tion, '
and the
saints, teachers
is
some two hundred
obviously vast and intricate,
large extent of literature, tradi-
lines of
succession
and leaders
of the
of very
many
Maratha people. It
o
T.EOTURE
would
1)0
writings
very instructive
and
produced by
records,
many
examine
to
and from the mass
recent scholars,
and written on the
subject.
better than take
up
it
ning of ray task, by
Maratha history
l
from old
it
of literature
who have thought
I cannot, therefore,
do
for discussion, at the begin-
way
of clearing the
ground of
and present to you a few facts and views and some of the important results of study and research in Maharastra on this basic subject. It was that great scholar and thinker M.
(!.
of
the
of
in general,
Ranade who,
in his brilliant
Maratha Power,
first
in
nation-building
the
,
The
guiding principle.
the
process
Deccan, and set down
Maharastra Dharma the duty its
work The Rise
described
of Maharastra, to be
original and full
mean-
ing of this phrase requires a searching examination,
us the clue, by which we can
so as to furnish for
understand,
why
of
ail
the nationalities of India,
the Marathas alone found
it
possible to establish an
independent power for a pretty long time. India south of the Nerbudda was never com-
by
pletely subjugated
sense
in
the
Muhammadans,
which northern India was.
in
the
The Hindu
princes in the north, from the time of Jaipal and Prithviraj
to
that of liana Banga, had struggled
hard but in vain to
Muslim conquest. crushed; they
roll
back the onrushing
The Rajput
tide of
princes were entirely
became, servants of the Emperors,
contracted marriage alliances with them, and sub-
mitted to them in pline.
their
all
matters of religion and
The sacred places of the Hindus were temples
were
pulled
down,
their
diseir
violated, religious.
M AHA RASTRA PHARMA were interfered with
practices
in
;
z other
places,
wholesale populations were converted to the Muslim
One has only
faith.
to visit
any important city
in northern India, in order to realize the havoc caused to
Hindu
temples, images, palaces and to old Sanskrit
inscriptions, as, for instance, at
in fact, to
and
Dhax and Mandugad,
that every nation cherishes as sacred
all
An
inspiring.
old
hakim
of Mahikavati
(Mahim
near Bombay), finished in 1578 by one Bhagawan
Nanda Dutta, with many
portions written centuries
that time, has been discovered and printed.
lief ore
It contains the following description of the terribly
depressing condition of north Konkan, after
hands
into the
the
of the
Muhammadans
“All religion
author:
lost
all
;
Says
in 1348.
was destroyed;
friendship and relationship vanished
it fell
of
ties
the Kshatriyas
They
sense of duty towards the country.
gave up their arms and took up the plough instead*
Rome took np
the profession of mere clerks and the
rest were reduced to
slaves
the
humiliating
and Bhudras, while a
wiped out
of existence.
self-respect
destroyed.”
position
of
host of others were
Most of the people
lost their
and the Maharasfcra Dharma was totally But, while the Hindu mind in
north had helplessly submitted to violence and
the
force,,
the onward march of Muslim conquest received a strong check in the south, where the invasions of
Alauddin Khilji and Malik Kafur had hut made transitory impression.
mad
The
fierce
hand
Tughlak could not win the Deccan
and although the tablished
rebellious
of
Muham-
for Delhi,,
Hasan Bahmani
an independent dynasty
a.
es-
at Gulbaxga, that.
LECTURE
4 kingdom,
I
was a Hindu
for all practical purposes,
rule with only a nominal
mixture of the Muslim
.element.
-of
For two hundred years preceding the birth Shiv a i, forces were at work in the Deccan, facij
Hindu independence at different centres of Shivaji only less magnitude and influence.
litating
more
or
supplied the adhesive clement unifying the scattered units,
and shrewdly worked upon the
religious senti-
ment, which so strongly appealed to the popular Raj wade
imagination. •spirit
of
of Maharastra
by
India,
aptly
differentiates
this
from that of the other provinces former
the
calling
jayishiu or
conquering”, and the latter sahishnu or “passively
This genius or
suffering/’
spirit of
Maharastra runs
unmistakably through the utterances
and preachers, and through the .And diplomats. is
known
saints
actions of her warriors
The expression Maharastra Dharma
have been used
to
of her
for the first
time
by the
a popular Marathi work Guru-Gharitra
author
of
or 'the
life
of the great
Guru Dattatreya,’ composed
.somewhere about the middle of the 15th century, .although the Maratha saints had preached and spoken
of Maharastra Dharma long before.
The
late Prof.
Limaye, a great authority on history, says the saints
of
force that
Maharastra did was to create the moral
would exalt and ennoble the
ideal of the Marathas.
making up
“What
:
political
There were two main factors
this national
movement, the one
repre-
by the more, or Deshmukhs (of whom
senting the political power wielded less
1
independent Jagirdars or
am
going to speak in
a
later
discourse),
who'
MAHARASTBA DHAEMA opposed Shivaji in represented
tire
liis
moral
5
early career, and
force,
oilier
tlxe
which the people derived
from the preaching of Ramdas and other great
saints.
Shivaji stands forth for the synthesis of the two.
Himself the son of a great Maratlia nobleman and as such possessed of
power and
thoroughly imbued with the the saints.
of
by
Inspired
strove to realize
them
in his
he was
influence,
spirit of the teachings
their life
high ideals, he
and
doing
in
so.
he was prepared to risk both his power and position.
That is
is
and
the significance of Shivaji’s life-work,
that which entitles him
to
it
rank by the side of the
greatest of the world’s heroes ",
The two
2,
traditions
of Decay iri and
Vijayamgar blended
At
the outset
in Shivaji.
we must remember that
did not start his national work three predecessors in the
all of
all
His
a sudden.
family were
men, imbued with the national
Shivaji
spirit
clever
all
common
to
Marathas, in an increasing degree in succession.
They
all
seem
traditions
to
have been clearly inspired by
coming down to them in two
currents, the one starting giri of
from the Yadavas
tile
d'stinct of
Deva-
the 13th century on the northern border of
Maharastra, and the other from the Bays of Vijaya-
nagar
of the 16th
coming through
century on the southern Shivaji’s
mother
Jijabai.
;
the
first
who was
descended directly from the Yadavas, and the other
from
liis
father Shahji,
whose life-work was
in the historic regions of Yijayanagar. titles
assumed by the Yadava kings such
cast
The grand as
Pratap
:
LECTURE
6
1
Ohakravarti, Samasba-Bhuvanashraya, Bamrat, 8hriRrithvi-Vallabha, and their national banner bearing
the golden image of an eagle/ were vivid emblems fresh in tbe Maratlia
memory,
directly inspiring
tliem with, ancient glory, liberty and independence.
Similarly as regards ihe Rays of Vijavanagar, the
Deva-Ray concentrated
famous
improving horsemanship as
broken country
and
Bhivaji
the
principal
the Deccan,
of
arm
of
suited to the hilly
particularly
warfare,
guerilla
attention on
liis
which
later
his successors so cleverly developed
on
and
so successfully utilized in attaining their life’s purpose.
An
old paper records a dialogue between
Rama Ray.
the victim of Talikot, and his mother, when, on the
eve of the famous battle (January 1565 ), he went to ask her blessings lor his success.
Ray
our
“This
our
of
resort
gods,
and conspired
to
forces
on me.”
attitude
of
the
spirit of religion
Muhammadan
a favourite
religion,
and
kings have combined
In order to prevent
it.
me, mother, go with
Do you
and conquer them.
blessings
Bliivaji,
let
been
Brahmins,
destroy
such a catastrophe,
my
has
Muhammadan
Rive
charities.
country
Rama
Bays
all
confer your
This conversation describes the
Hindu mind and shows how the had inspired
it
to
rise
against
oppression in the south long before
who simply took up
the cue later with
the same object, as the bakhars and other records
go to the
prove. saints
The
and
influence
particularly
of
the
teachings
of Ramtlas,
I
of will
MAHAIiA STRA DHAKUA
have occasion
to explain later,
and need not repeat
here.
it
The famous verse adopted by
by
since continued o
7
i
another strong
evidence of
It runs thus — “Evor-gi owing
spirit.
the crescent
and ever
i
an inscription
his successors as
their state seal, is
the same
Shiva;
like
:
the
of
first
moon, and commanding;
obedience from the world, this seal of Khivaji, the
soil
of Shahji, shines forth for the good of the world.’ * 1
The late Mr, Bliavc, a penetrating scholar, maintained that this verse was formerly used by the Moreys of Javli on their seal
;
Shiva ji borrowed
from them
it
with a few suitable modifications of his owu. 3.
How Maharashn Dhanm actuated the Marathas
This sustained trials
vein
the
of
or the
up
Maharastra
nation
through
Maratha
spirit
to the last.
Dhaima
not
most
their
only
terrible
during their long struggle with Autvuigzeb,
but was
faithfully
kept up through the subsequent
transformations and later expansion of the Maratha empire.
The
first
evidence of their
four Peshwas have
left
having ever kept this
Maharastra Dharma before their eyes.
In
ample
ideal all
of
their
undertakings in the north, and their dealings with the Bajputs and other races, they steadily strove,
not so
much
for
empire or power, as
for tire release
of the famous holy places of the Hindus from the
Muhammadan hands, viz.,
Prayag, Benares, Mathura,
4 i
LECTURE
I
Hard war, luimlcshetra, Puahkar, Gadamukteshvai and others in the end they succeeded in taking ;
possession of nearly
all,
except Prayag and Benaies.
which never came hack into Hindu possession. a memorable (
which Kbahu addressed
letter
onsin Kambhaji. when
his
to
leagued with the
“This kingdom belongs to gods
Nizam, Khaim says and Brahmins
lattei
tlie
Tn
the blessings of Clod Khankara and
•
goddess Bhavani.
ancestor Shiva ji to rescue
Muhammadans.
our great and revei eel
enabled it
from the bands of the
"What a pity
it
is,
then, that
you
should have given up our Maliarastia Dliarma and
sought shelter with the enemies
of
it.
Our family
boasts of descent from Baradevrao Yadava
behove you
not therefore
to
;
it
does
go contrary to our
Khaim's greatest Peshwa Balaji Bajirao wa
grain.’’
so fully
imbued with
tor the
Hindus, that, in a letter
this spirit
6-
of religious liberty ol
1752 he asks his
agent residing at the court of the Nizam to remind
him
Nizam) that,
(the
"We
Maratha gcinims are the
disciples of the great Khivaji Maharaj*’, thei
conveying
ebv a hint as to how they were actuated by
religious motives in their dealings with the various
potentates of India,
and bow they were trying
to
complete what Khivaji bad undertaken.
Even century,
as late as the early nineties of the 18th
the famous Maratha diplomat Govindrao
Hale, who long resided at the court of Hyderabad, thus writes to
Nana
Faclnis,
Government on the
and congratulates the Maratha
signal achievements of Mahadji
Smd ia in regulating the affairs of the Emperor and
fulfilling
the
at Delhi,
objects of Maratha policy.
The
;;
MAHAEASTEA DHAEMA and despatches
letters
S-
of litis Clovindrao Kale have*
been prin ted in several volumes, and show him to have been a man of high principles and great capacity,
fully
bieathing the Maratha atmosphere of those days. will
quote the letter in
correct idea of
and talked I
have
:
felt,
full, in
1
order to give you
what the Maratha,s
of those
days
felt
“If I were to adequately express all that
upon reading your most
inspiring letter,
giving an account of the crowning glories achieved
Mahadji at Delhi, still
myself so bold as
my
enthusiasm,
to transgress
and
item
gives
make
I
the ordinary limit, and
write some of the uppermost thoughts of single
by
should have to write volumes
1
I cannot repress
Each
l.
occasion
my mind.
a
for
separate
India extends from the Indus to the
congratulation.
southern ocean beyond the Indus comes Turlristau ;
Hindu control since the days of the Mahabharata. But some of the later Hindu kings lost tlieir old vigour, and yieldthese limits of India have been under
ed to the Havanas who thereafter became powerful. Delhi was captured
by
the
(
'hagtais
;
the culminating
came in the reign of the great Emperor Alamgir. Every sacred thread received an imposipoint
tion of Ks.’ 3 /8 for
payment
cooked food was offered for
were compelled
on a
reaction.
to
buy
.it.
of
Jam
sale in shops,
:
fucca or
and people
This oppression brought
The epoch-making Shiva ji
a small corner to protect the
Hindu
religion,
rose in
There-
upon came such luminaries as Peshwa Balajirao and Bhau Saheb, who gave the whole of India.
Mahadji Sindia
so
fresh light
and hope
to-
This spirit later on possessed
much, that he was able to
fulfil
LECTURE
10
ancestral purpose.
tile
If
T
we had
tmoariJck-wnlGTs
Muhammadans, they would have written volumes on Mahadji’s victories, for they know how to magnify small things up to the skies. We Hindus the
like
We
arc of a reverse temperament.
out even about signal doings.
indeed
been
Impossibilit ins have
The Patil-bova (Mahadji)
achieved.
broke the heads of those
him
do not speak
who
tried to raise them.
ill
luck, hut he did accomplish his
object dauntlessly.
This victory will surely bear the
All wished
desired fruit on the model of the great Shivaji.
no
evil
eye
Let
Not only have
soil this glorious result.
and kingdoms been acquired by this hut the protection of the Vedas and the
territories
victory,
Shastras, the foundation of religion and unmolested
and cows
worship, the preservation of Brahmins in fact, this
this
fame and
:
suzerain regal power of the Marathas, glory, all
have now been achieved and
proclaimed in the loudest accents to the world.
To
preserve this grandeur will be the glory of Patil-bova
and yourself. All
You must not
be remiss
in this task;
doubts about our supremacy over India have
been set
now be
at
rest.
Grand
Maratha
annies
must
stationed on the plains of Lahore, for there
exist countless evil-doers,
who rejoice
and try to compass our downfall.” did not conceive of a
through the sea
at our reverses
Poor Govindrao
new danger from
the
west
!
I have purposely quoted this long letter which is
dated 2nd Jnly 1792, that
is,
exactly ten years
before the transfer of the sovereign power from the
Maratha hands
into the British.
Many
lettprs of
MAHARASTRA DIIARMA
Nana Fadnis
11
are extant addressed to Mahadji Sindia
urging him (o obtain from the Emperor a transfer
Hindu holy places from Muhammadan
of the
control
and an explicit circular order prohibiting the slaughter
Such
cows throughout India.
u>'
obtained and paraded with great I
need not
not only
were constantly surging
how
order
pomp
in Poona,
the great ideals
Maratha minds
in
was
having made
stress this point further,
sufficiently clear,
It
an
right,
up to the last, but how high their spirits were, even when their fall was imminent, as we know it now, 4.
I
am
Mecmi'H'/ of Maharastni DJutnna.
not here discussing
Maharastra Dharma was
how
right,
far this ideal of
or whether
harmful, and whether in the long run or evil to India as a whole. to
discuss
later.
once more, how Inns
it
it
was
did good
This point I shall have
I only wish
to
emphasize- here
the main point of Maratha history
been missed by very
their inability to grasp
many
and trace
writers, this
Maratha
through the character and actions of well as their literature
and history,
Hellenic culture, which
is
owing to
like
ideal
the race as
the ancient
said to have actuated the
Greeks in their national expansion.
The best minds
in Maharastra have devoted their energies to the
discussion of this topic ever since, the day of Eanade,
and have, time and again, proved by fresh evidence the existence of this grand purpose, of which I have
not been able to present here more than a bare outline.
Materials discovered in Maharastra have been,
read and discussed so frequently and so exhaustively*
.
.
12
LECTURE
that in
I
could not very well omit this pervading topic
3
my
talks on
Maratka
V llasa Champ a,
Radha - Madhava-
history.
Mahilavati-Balchar, Shiva-Bharal,
-
Par nala - Parvata - Grahan - A khyan the Shahavalis, the JRajaniti of
and
and papers
letters
and the utterances inscriptions
and
of
,
TaliJcot
-
Ram chandra
Bahha/r >
Amatya,
Shahji and his ancestors,
of older bards
and
and documents about
.Brahmins during Maratha
saints, as also
gilts to
and
temples
pre-Maratka
times, all these are growing in volume and import-
ance every day, and testify to the existence religious spirit of of
the
of this
Makarastra Pharma in the minds
people for a
long time.
Shaliy was the
patron of poets and literature; two of his proteges,
Jayram and Paramanand, wrote several works,, which have recently been discovered and printed and deserve careful study. Bays Raj wade ‘‘Those bom in Makarastra are :
called Mahariistras==Marasti'a, corrupted into Maratha.
The country inhabited by the Maliarastrikas came be called Maharastra.
Brahmins
to
All the
Hindu
to
castes from the
the Ant yagas residing in that country,
obtained the comprehensive
name Marashra
or
Mara-
Marathas came to ho
tha.
The
called
by a comprehensive title Makarastra Pharma.
religion of all these
It
includes four elements viz„( 1) practices towards gods
and injunctions (2) (
local,
the Sliastras Dem-Shastrachara ), (.
practices (Deshac/tara)
Kuladiara ) and
The
of.
(4)
inhabitants of
follow all these.
caste
(3)
family practices
practices
(Jatyacltara ).
Maharastra were
bound
to-
Says Justice Rauade: “The onlyr
motive power which
is
strong enough to
move
the,-
MAHARASTRA DHAEMA masses in this country
had been
of India
an appeal
is
During the
gious faith.
visibly
with the
Muhammadan
had been
action
last.
militant
and reaction
the
new
contact
and there
creed,
marked kind,
of a very
cannot enter into the
I
problem here,
of this
to their reli-
300 years the whole
moved by
particularly in Maharastra.” full details
13
which requires
patient and original study, and which
difficult
is
to
grasp merely from translations.
But
to understand
Maratha
the
sources
must
in
their
he read proper
properly,
history in
the
original
Evil
effects
all
and
considered
light.
5.
me
Let
of this Maratha
say frankly that
ideal.
however useful this
Dhanna might have been
ideal of Maharastra
securing national interests hi the beginning, to it
appears as not an altogether healthy one.
main drawback was entirely inert progress,
that
it
made
the Maratha
is
changes to suit the changing
provision for
making
This spiritual
practice,
amounting
Shahu acted on
this principle for
“we must
to
not change the old, must not take up
it
mind
thcMarathas was often impracticable, giving a rule in
rise to
Its
requirements of suc-
ceeding times, no power can last long. ideal of
mo
Dominion means
and unprogressive.
and unless there
in
the new.”
40 years and made
the condition of his transfer of power into the
hands
of the
now we mind
Peshwas
at the time of his death.
painfully realize
how tenaciously
the Indian
sticks to old impracticable Shastras
injunctions,
as
in
the
case
of
the
Even
and
their
removal of
LECTURE
14
I
untouchability, even though they had been
unsuitable to our present situation.
In
matters of the Hindus, every item of
on
We
religion.
and out
all
roved
])
practical
life is
based
are proud of quoting, in season
and the Bhastras what we may happen to be doing. This conservative turn of mind prevented the of season, the Smritis
in support of
Maratlias from
travelling to
from
ideas,
new education and new
acquiring
training their
own men
in
western
western
western warfare, so as to introduce
or
countries,
and
science
new methods and
work into their constitution. How this affected the Maratha power I shall relate later on. For the present it is enough for mo to point out, how the failure to detect this underlying and unifyprocesses of
ing principle of Maliarastra Dharma, has led
many
a writer to describe Maratha rule as mere outbursts
an inborn tendency for ravaging,
of
troying, doing good to nobpdy.
pillaging, des-
This wrong notion
has much vitiated the character of Maratha history
and requires
correction.
Visible
6.
marks of Maratha influence along
the
‘
sacred rivers. It is interesting to trace the results of
rule to
ideal
this
of
Maliarastra
examine them from the general people.
Minar
We
We
Maratha
Dharma and
character of the
cannot look for a Taj Mahal or a Kutb-
in the
works
left
behind by the Marathas.
know, of course, they never had the
leisure,
the
peace and the money that are necessary for such constructions.
But even
if
they had these, they
MA H Alt A
?!
Tit
A DIIAEMA
never in
my
nation.
The Maratlva race, as
opinion possessed
tlio
15 requisite
their soil
incli-
and history
have made them, are a rugged, strong and sturdy people,
having
wards
and
practical,
mental cast the urge of
utility to-
intelligent,
in their
life
and
self-assertive
action, patient, industrious
trating in learning
and study, hardy,
and pene-
frugal
and
cal-
culating in their temperament, but not emotional or
showy
idealists.
practical interests all
that
They always had an eye for and the conveniences of life, in
they planned and accomplished.
What-
ever one could expect from such a character and
from to,
their religious turn of
mind already alluded
has doubtless been profusely in evidence in the
Deccan and elsewhere, wherever Maiatha influence
They built temples, bathing ghats on tanks and wells, walls and forts, residential
penetrated. rivers,
palaces contrived for protection
and convenience,
and hill-passes. The temples and their vicinities wore usually the places for schools where serais
the Vedas and the Shastras were taught, their cost
being defrayed from assignments of land or cash, styled anm-chhatras.
The Maratha edifices are by no means pretentious. They are ingenious in conception and exquisite in execution,
when minutely examined. Big black stones
were specially brought to the Deccan from the river Dandaki for working them into images, some of which are indeed remarkable for their skill and art.
Most of
these temples and images are to be found in out-of-the-
way
places,
away from the railway, and have hardly
attracted the notice of the present day advertising:
i
LECTURE
6
travellers.
I
About 30 years ago the
Bane, a touring Maratlia
official
late
Kao Bahadur
in the Educational
had occasion to visit nearly every the Poona and the Ivolaba Districts
Service, in
Bombay
village
the
o£
Presidency, and being fond of observation,
kept a record in the form of a diary, in which he wrote
down every
met
peculiar point that
his eye.
Extracts from these diaries, which have recently been
most valuable and interesting account of the relics of old Maratlia rule and conclusively prove that, after all, that rule was not so
published,* yield a
generally supposed.
Water-
works, temples, tanks, images, palaces and
forts, are
barren of results as
is
to be found nearly everywhere built
by the various
and Jagirdars who served in distant parts but who had a sort of a home capital in
-Sirdars
of India,
the Deccan.
Jambgaum
and C'handwad of
of
the Holkars, Davdi and
the Gaikwads, are only a few
existing
Wafgauni
of the Sindias,
among
Mibb gaum
the plentiful
types of the past Maratlia constructions.
The old Peshwas’ palace
at Nasilc,
the District Judicial Courts,
is
now
indeed a
worth being recorded as a work of at the shrine of Jejuri
and
beautiful,
Kao
II.
occupied by
on the top
monument
art.
of a hill
having been constructed
The paths
The tank is
large
by
Baji
and the temples there, are all very well executed and exhibit care and skill of construction. The temple of Bhuleswar in the
Katraj
same
vicinity
tank, which
of the ghats
is
also a fine
then
supplied
building.
The
water to the
* V imdha-Dnana- Vislar, Feb. 1915 to August 1920.
M A HA R A« f HA city of Pooiifi
,
V K KMA
1?
was executed by IVslnva lUji
temples and
Tiio
I)
min,^
at
client
speeimeus o£ the works which
executed.
images
and proportion
skill
TIi o
on the Bhimaat Pimpalner,
tomb
indeed extin*
tlie
1
.stone
The
gluts
small but beautiiul
Bomcswur
of Mastani at Pabal. tlie temple of
at Clias,
Peshwas
of tin
indeed beggar description.
will
Theur,
Pmidlurpur.
Chinch wad, Ahmdi and traugapur au* i
Liao II.
temple and tank at Kuianjgnum and
tlie
Veiul, the temple o! Lakshmi-Nrisinha at Narsuig-
pur
by
limit
veliers’
Uran,
Vitlial
houses' at
Khivdev, the temple and Ca-
Moigamn, the Vishnu Mandn at by the
constructed
various others ot this type,
and
Ihvalkar.s.- -those will,
if
jnopeily In ought
to public notice, certainly prove that the Mautthus
were not entirely devoid of beauty;
as
many
in
of artistic skill, or a sense,
nor was their rule so barren of Jesuits
iguoram
e
have supposed.
But mere grandeur, waste and lavislmess. were not
in their grain
;
com euieuces
temples, rivers,
water and residence, hill-paths and
and convenient
dwellings, designed
of
ghats, spacious
more
for use
and
protection than show, have received every attention
from the Maratha
rulers,
charged with the neglect utility.
also
who cannot of
of real public
This tendency of Maratha constructions
amply
visible in
and study.
is
northern India, wherever the
Maratha influence penetrated. tion
works
therefore be
The fact
is,
It requires
examina-
that under the general
impression that the Marathas were merely vandals
and
freebooters, few
have cared to investigate and
bring to light those unpretentious, but impressive
LECTURE
IS
l
and often exquisite relics executed during Maratha times. The cursory exploration of only two districts mentioned
be extended to the
ought to
above,
other districts and distant corners
and
papers,
available
all
students and scholars.
of
light for the use of
can say from personal
I
that heaps of papers and material of
experience,
great utility are
to be found in
still
Maratha
centres of
activity,
and sympathetic handling
who
well-to-do publishers,
The Eastes
past.
and traces
objects
brought to
historical interest
Maharastra,
of
of
all
awaiting
important the search
of earnest workers and
care for our
historical
Wai, the Patwardhans of Miraj
and Sangli, the Pratinidhis of Aundh and Karad* the S urves of Shringarpur, the Shirkes, the Jadhavs*
the Moreys, the Jedhes, the Nimbalkars and Ghor-
pades have
all
had
their centres of
work and
influ-
ence, small capitals, so to say, of these historical families, tion,
wherein they concentrated
money and the
numerous
their atten-
labours for over 200 years.
The grand and rivers,
all
rich valley,? of the two sacred
Godavari and the Krishna, with their
tributaries offer a
most
fruit-fid field,
not
only for search and collection, but for the publication of useful illustrated guides or albums, based
tional historical conception
.
on a na-
The Godavari starts from
Trimbak, a place in mountain fastnesses to which the Peshwas and the leading families paid frequent vistis of pilgrimage
places hallowed
female
;
by the
a few miles below are
two
residence of the two historical
figures, Anandvalli, the residence of
Bai, wife of the famous Raghoba,
Anandi-
and Gangapur
MAHARASTRA DHARMA
19
the residence of Gropika-Bai, wife ofPeskwa Balajirao
and mother
of three brilliant
of historical
fame
life
at Panipat, his
but unfortunate sons
Viswas llao the eldest
:
younger brother Madhav Bao died
a premature death from consumption 28 after a splendid rule of ,
achievements
;
J
1
at the
Their mother Gopika-Bai
left
grand
and the third and youngest, Bar ay an
been so overcome by that she
age of
full of
years,
Bao, was murdered at the instigation of
Baghoba.
Ms
lost
said to
is
grief at this last
his uncle-
have
bereavement^
her palatial residence at Gangapur in
and lived in a hut at Panclravati opposite
agony,
Nasik, living on the alms which she begged from
door to door.
Down
the river stand Nasilc and Pan-
known to need special Kopergaum and Kacheswar, still
chavati, already too well
mention.
Sangvi,
lower down, are
all
places abounding in relics of the
day Peshwas. Puntambe, Nawase, Kaygaum. and Tonke, Slievgaum, Paithan, Rakshasbhuvam Shah gad, Pathri, Banded, Brahmeshvar and verylatter
many I
am
other
places
down
sure,
repay
a
this
which
is
river
will,
inspection
and
historical relics.
As.
thorough
publication of illustrated old
a race wc lack that
great
spirit of travel
and observation,
to he found in the west, and which has-
yielded there such abundant results and topics of
national interest.
The river Krishna, rising at Mahabaleswar, offers a still
more fruitful field for research and
Dhom,
active interests
Menavali, 'Wai, Mahuli, Karad, Sangli, Miraj,.
Kurundwad, Wadi and other deserve to be investigated
places lower down, all
by means
of
an active
20
LrCTUIlE
campaign.
I
I
have not the time here to
refer to smaller
streams like the Bhima, the Nira and others, nor to the larger and more extensive valleys of the Tapti, the Ner-
budda and the Cliambal. The genius of the Maratha race has worked along river streams and among mountain fastnesses, which deserve to be thoroughly ransacked,
if
we wish
on authentic data.
to build
up our
historical past
A similar research is also required
outside Maharastra in no 'diem and southern India, part cularly where the Maratha influence penetrated.
Dhar, Devas, Indore, Ujjain, Jhansi, Saugor, Gwalior,
Banda, Mathura, Bithur, Benares and various
other places, not to mention the south,
all
many
similar ones in
bear plentiful signs of the influence
and culture imparted by the Marathas, which repay the labours of a special study.
on
this point, specially to
I
will
have dilated
draw the attention of
students to the various directions in which research
can and has to be carried on.* In Maharastra such a campaign of research was started first by Raj wade and continued by a band of poor but devoted workers, whose tours and experiences have been printed in the annals of the B. I. S.
Mandal
of
Poona, containing detailed descriptions
of historical places, old monuments, folklore, village songs, obscure
other
relics of
poems of old bygone days.
writers
and bards, and
In the midst of our
*An
c Sort in this direction is being made during recent by various organizations whose object is to foster the fellow-feeling of the Maratha communities residing in
years
outlying places styled Greater Maharastra, and thereby to increase the output of useful information bearing on various topics of our literature and history.
MAHARASTRA DHARMA every day busy
life,
21
command
our students hardly
the leisure and the patience which, such a careful
study
Signs,
requires.
however,
hopeful for historical research,
moment
present
the
several
India
distant parts of
busily
are
decidedly
when one
notices at
earnest workers in
engaged
in
.sifting
available sources and constructing a true story out of them. 7
Influence of this 2)olitiml ideal on Marathi
.
literature
and
Bo far at any rate as in Maharastra
society.
present research goes
Marathas can rightly boast of
the.
possessing in a printed form, Bakhars or chronicles,
personal and public letters, accounts, Government
documents, sanads and decisions, gies,
diaries
no other people tion or of the in nature
Of
all
and various material, which probably
and chronological
other forms of historical
treaties, genealo-
entries,
of India lias, in the
same
variety.
They
same propor-
are also different
from those of the other parts
these papers, the letters are
by
of India _
far the
most
important in a historical sense, since, plentiful as they are,
we can prepare with their help a connected account
of all
important events occurring in Maratlia history
and, nearly always, from different points of view. Since language actual
life
is
and
only the outward expression of the
occupation
of
a people,
Marathi
literature increased with the spread of their activities,,
from the time when Shivaji raised
it to
the status
of the language of the court, in the place of Persian.
Important
affairs of
the army, navy, forts, justice*
22
LECTURE
revenue accounts and
I
oilier subjects,
came
all
to
be 'written in Maratlii since Shivaji’s clays and this
change
in
a short time enriched that language to an
With
enormous extent.
many the way
the increase of work
individuals and families coming from out of
and encouragement.
places, received fresh inspiration
There was hardly any prose worth the name in
Marathi before the
days of
the best literature used
when
Shivaji,
all
and that
to be in poetry
too of a devotional and religious character.
But when Shivaji and his father started their new work, battles, campaign,s, treaties, engagements and orders became the order of the day, and these The adventures
required to be committed to writing.
and achievements victory over Afzal
and
of Shivaji
Khan,
his followers, his
for instance, or
his visit
to the court of Aurangzeb, or the thrilling capture
by Tanaji Malusre, soon
of Sinhagad
the .
peoplets
imagination,
captivated
and Shivaj i’s
Jijabai herself took the lead in getting
mother
them im-
mortalized in bardic poetry for popular recitation all
over the country.
Samples
of
such
songs, or
jpowadas as they are popularly known, have been translated into English verse give to non-Marathi readers vities
of
those
days.
pandits to coin an
by Acwortk, and some idea
Shivaji
official
will
of the acti-
employed
learned
vocabulary by translating
technical terms from Persian into Sanskrit and pre-
pared what
is
called the
•dictionary of technical
court.
Raj-Vyavahar-Kosh,
names
for the use
The Persian element soon began
jplace to Sanskrit,
i.e.,
a
of the to
give
which came to be drawn upon
MAHAB ASTRA DHARMA lor
kinds of high-flown writing,
all
hundred
23 so
that in
a
time the character of the language
year,-s'
was entirely changed.
While Ekuath, the greatest
75%
Marathi writer of the Kith century, uses nearly
Persian words and expressions in his works, Moropant’s Marathi of
the 18th century
Sanskrit with hardly a
There prose
is
5%
mixture
is
nearly
of
Persian.
all
a prevalent notion that modern Indian
a creation of the 19th centuiy of the post-
is
British days, started in imitation of the great probe
So far as Marathi
writers of the west.
notion
kind
of prose writing of a
is
Language,
150 years of
like
concerns, needs
national
official
as
we can
it
see for ourselves
shone
other
patronage
for its
Marathi received the brighter,
all
from the published papers.
It is necessary for all of us to realize, in
how many
ways Swaraj ya improves the status
different
and why
nation,
Maratlia
and
industries
growth and prosperity, and when the required patronage,
particular
very high order did come
into existence during the activity.
concerned
is
A
not quite accurate.
this
a nation’s soul
all
is
the world
is
striving for
reflected in its literature,
of
it.
a If
we can
clearly read it in the prose chronicles of the Marathas,
some
which
of
will
take a high rank
writings.
Sabhasad’s
Bakhar
Bhau
of
account
of the Peshwas, are all
positions of a high class of the
their joys
comings.
the
Shivaji,
Sahel), the KaijiyaLol the Ilolkars,
and the two Balkars doings
of
among prose
and correctly
com-
reflect
the
Marathas, their hopes and aspirations,
and sorrows, their capacities and short-
But
it is
the letters which would appeal
LECTURE
24
They
I
are written
by
with the particular object of impressing
tyhe
to tlio loader most.
men
views upon
in power,
the executive government. print ei l
volumes of such
who were
export,-**,
writer’s
charge of
in
More than a hundred
letters
exist
at present*
which show how the writoi a (Chilnitse.s) and translators (/Viru.sn/.v'.s), fame to be in great demand all oven flu-
\
dm
luuamiath
objects in Ht.tr and emphatic
authentk
presume
it.y
it ers
es
ins
has
to -hiysinh
He-,
m
\uu