Selections from the Peshwa Daftar 29.intro

Language: Marathi

29.intro.1

Rs. 6-11-0

Date of Publication —

Bombay, 1933

Govind Sakharam Sardesai

Publication Date : 1933, Bombay

Govind Sakharam Sardesai

AFFAIRS OF NORTHERN INDIA : PESHWA MADHAVRAO I (1761-1772)

This selection deals mainly with the efforts made by Madhavrao I to retrieve the situation created by the catastrophe at Panipat. The first few letters give an illuminating picture of the actual state of the country when the Marathas, after their crushing defeat at the hands of the Abdali, had evacuated Hindustan and retired to safer positions beyond the Chambal. One remarkable fact which stands out prominently in these papers is, that the victory of 14th January 1761 availed the Abdali king comparatively little. For three years he negotiated for the friendship of the Marathas from beyond the Indus and ultimately ratified a formal peace with them in 1764. The Maratha chiefs in Bundelkhand lost no time in regaining their original position and once more pushed their conquests beyond the Jumna as soon as the Afghan army had evacuated the Punjab. The Peshwa's conflict with his uncle, and the various phases through which it subsequently passed, seriously hampered Maratha interests in the North, whence repeated but fruitless requests for military help and financial support appear to be pouring into the Deccan almost from day to day.

The correspondence here printed is so eloquent that it hardly needs any introduction. Its fascination is enhanced by the variety both of style and detail, coming as it does from the pens of more than a dozen different writers with some of whom the reader is not already familiar. The Jats, the Rajputs, the Rohillas, and ultimately the Imperial Court of Delhi, contribute their share to these papers, which make essential additions of incident and detail to the scanty knowledge we have so far possessed of the subject. The rise of Mahadaji Sindia, his flight from the wrath of Raghoba, the contemporary movements of the English, always on the look-out for an opportunity to checkmate Maratha efforts for supremacy and conquests, and the development of events in various quarters of India,—these and other points are graphically described, and culminate in the instalment of the Emperor by the Marathas on his ancestral throne at Delhi towards the end of 1771. In the midst of these glorious achievements came the premature death of the brilliant young ruler whose unremitting labours had so greatly contributed to secure them. A few papers for the years 1773-74 are included in order to show how that tragic event quickly ended almost all the good work that had been accomplished.

At the end are given some letters and some important entries extracted from the Peshwas' Diaries, giving various useful details of an expedition against Delhi despatched by the Peshwa Madhavrao I under the joint command of Ramchandra Ganesh and Visaji Krishna supported by Tukoji Holkar and Mahadji Sindia. The expedition started from Poona in October 1768 and the Maratha armies after humbling the Bhonsles of Nagpur in the early months of 1769 proceeded to the North in the summer. They defeated the Jats, captured Delhi, overcame the Rohillas and having brought the Emperor Shah Alum from Allahabad,

[MO-III Bk Ca 73—a]

29.intro.3

placed him on the Imperial throne. This was the crowning triumph of Madhavrao's regime, which came to an end by his death in November 1772 and which necessitated the return of the Maratha forces to the Deccan in 1773 after the murder of Peshwa Narayanrao became known to them.

Many useful details of this five years' period are discernible from the Peshwas' Diaries which the student of Maratha history will love to learn. How money was raised and spent, how diplomacy was carried on, who were the principal agents that were employed on various missions, how mutual jealousies often frustrated the main object of the expedition—these and similar topics will be found well illustrated in these extracts. Presents of animals, dresses and other articles will be found scrupulously credited to the Government; many letters and dispatches are now and then quoted and many fresh names are come across, thereby throwing new light on individual exploits. This paper is thus intended to serve as a sample of what a Maratha expedition was like.

The following itinerary of Ramchandra Ganesh will be found helpful in studying the campaign conducted by him. The Peshwas' Diaries give his daily movements with dates and halts; but if they were to be printed *in extenso*, they will occupy many printed pages and are hence omitted:—

8th May 1769 .. Ramchandra Ganesh reached Burhanpur.

25th May 1769 .. Nerbudda south bank.

16th July 1769 .. At Arun in Malwa.

22nd August 1769 .. At Raghavgad, Malwa: halt for two months.

12th December 1769 .. At Lakheri in Bundi.

26th December 1770 .. At Lalsot in Jaipur.

28th March 1770 .. At Kumbher in Jatvada.

12th May 1770 .. Crossed the Jumna near Muttra.

24th June 1770 .. On the Ganges in the Doab.

22nd July 1770 .. At Kol near Aligad.

17th December 1770 .. At Itawa in the Doab.

5th February 1771 .. At Patpatganj.

18th March 1771 .. Crossed the Jumna into Delhi and halted there upto January 1772.

24th January 1772 .. Crossed the Jumna back into the Doab.

12th February 1772 .. At Ghosgad against the Rohillas.

4th March 1772 .. At Pathargad against the Rohillas.

17th June 1772 .. Near Moradabad.

5th December 1772 .. Back to the south of the Jumna.

21st December 1772 .. Halt at Delhi.

18th February 1773 .. Back into the Doab at Ramghat.

23rd March 1773 .. Back to the south of the Jumna at Agra.

4th April 1773 .. On the Chambal.

21st July 1773 .. At Sironj.

13th August 1773 .. On the north bank of the Nerbudda.

1st September 1773 .. Near Burhanpur.

20th September 1773 .. Reached Poona.

29.intro.4

All. No. 4376 ........

Date. 21. 2. 56

No. 150

Call No. 954.042/Sar.

श्रीपट्टिका

[seal: INAM COMMISSION A]

श्रीमंत राजश्री दादासाहेब

छत्रपती सेवेसी

सेवक त्रिंबक आपाजी चरणावरी मस्तक

ठेऊन विज्ञापना ऐसी जे येथील वर्तमान

यथास्थित असे

29.intro.5

191

[seal: A]

नावश्रीआपपरितनितसकलनन

श्रीपतिचरणानीत्यलिनिविछी

पो॥ छं १० रबिलहवलरानेनमस्क

रज्ञांतीविज्ञांयेथिलकुशल

जाणोनस्वकीयकुशलली

हीतअसावेया उपरांत

होणीघरपोचलेघरीयेउन

नयेतसलयायेविसराद्याचे/घ्या

इकुनघेउअसिसासगाही

त्यापक्ष्याघरीतघेउनयेनात

येरीतीहेतुयेथील कळलापाहि

Facsimile of the handwriting of Chinto Vithal Rairikar. *(Died in June 1783)*

29.intro.6

265

[seal: [Seal]]

श्री

पोष्य