A History of the Mahrattas v1.c29.17

v1.c29.17

¹ [Merich, i.e. Mirāj, originally formed part of the Sāngli State, which was granted as a jāgīr by Mādhav Rāo the Pēshwā to Govind Rāo Patvardhan, a Konkanasth Brahman, who was the son of the family priest of the Chief of Ichalkaranjī. In 1772 the jāgīr descended to the minor Chintāman Rāo, grandson of Govind Rāo, who on coming of age quarrelled with his uncle. Eventually the jāgīr was divided between them, the uncle, Gangādhar Rāo, retaining Mirāj, and Chintāman Rāo taking Sāngli. The modern Mirāj State is divided into parts, held by a senior and junior branch of the Patvardhan family. The senior branch holds a group of villages in the Kistna valley, a second group in the south of Dhārwār District, and a third in the midst of Sholāpur District; while the junior branch holds other villages in the Dhārwār, Sātāra and Sholāpur Districts. The chiefs of both branches pay tribute to the British Government and rank as first-class Sardārs of the Deccan. (I.G. Bom., 1909, ii. 529, 530.)]