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The Bhonsle dynasty (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) is an Indian Marathi people dynasty of the Bhonsle clan. The Bhonsles claimed descent from the Rajput Sisodia dynasty, but were likely Kunbi Marathas.
They served as the or kings of the Maratha Confederacy from 1674 to 1818, where they gained dominance of the Indian subcontinent. They also ruled several states such as Satara State, Kolhapur State, Thanjavur, Nagpur State, Akkalkot State, Sawantwadi State and Barshi.
The dynasty was founded in 1577 by Maloji Bhosale, a predominant general or sardar of Malik Ambar of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. In 1595 or 1599, Maloji was given the title of Raja by Bahadur Nizam Shah, the ruler of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. He was later granted was given the jagir of Pune, Ellora (Verul), Derhadi, Kannarad and Supe. He was also given control over the first of the Shivneri and Chakan. These positions were inherited by his sons Shahaji and Sharifji, who were named after a Sufism Shah Sharif.
According to R. C. Dhere's interpretation of local oral history and ethnography, Bhonsles descend from the and Yadavas of Devagiri, who were cow-herding Gavli sovereigns. In early thirteenth century, "Baliyeppa Gopati Sirsat", a Hoysala cousin of Simhana migrated from Gadag district to Satara district along with his pastoral herd and kul-devta; the Sambhu Mahadev was thus installed at a hill-top in Singhnapur. Historical records indicate that this shrine received extensive patronage from Maloji onwards. Further, there exists a branch of the Bhosles named "Sirsat Bhosles" and Bhosle (or "Bhosale") is linguistically similar to "Hoysala". M. K. Dhavalikar found the work to convincingly explain the foundation of the Bhosle clan (as well as Sambhu Mahadev cult). Vajpeyi too advocates that Dhere's theory be probed in greater detail — "from pastoralist big men to warlords on horseback, is not an impossible distance to cover in two to three centuries."
The next significant Bhonsle was probably Maloji Bhosale from the Hinganikar branch. He was the great-grandson of one Kheloji (c. 1490).
The dynasty was founded by Maloji Bhosale who initially served as a patil (chief) of the Hingni Berdi and Devalgaon villages around Pune. Later, along with his brother Vithoji, he migrated to Sindkhed Raja and served as a Horseman.
In 1577, they joined the service of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, under Sultan Murtaza Nizam Shah I. Maloji became a trusted General of the Peshwa Malik Ambar fighting against rival powers such as the Mughal Empire and Bijapur Sultanate the (administrative units) of Ellora (Verul), Derhadi and Kannarad. In 1595 or 1599, Maloji was given the title of raja by Bahadur Nizam Shah, officially establishing the dynasty. On the recommendation of Malik Ambar, he was given the jagir of Pune and Supe , along with the control of the Shivneri and Chakan forts. Maloji carried out the restoration of the Grishneshwar temple near Verul, and also constructed a large tank at the Shambhu Mahadev temple in Shingnapur. Maloji and his wife Uma Bai had 2 sons: Shahaji and Sharifji, named Sufism Pir Hadrat Shah Sharif.
According to Shivabharata, composed by Shivaji's court poet Paramananda, Maloji's wife Umabai prayed to the Sufi Pir Shah Sharif of Ahmadnagar to bless her with a son. She gave birth to two sons, who were named Shahaji and Sharifji after the Pir.
On proposing the Brahmins of his court to have him proclaimed as the rightful king, a controversy erupted: the regnal status was reserved for those belonging to the kshatriya varna. Not only was there a fundamental dispute among scholars on whether any true Kshatriya survived in the Kali Yuga, having been all destroyed by Parashurama but also Shivaji's grandfather was a tiller-headman, Shivaji did not wear the sacred thread, and his marriage was not in accordance with the Kshatriya customs. Thus, the Brahmins had him categorised as a shudra.
Compelled to postpone his coronation, Shivaji had his secretary Balaji Avji Chitnis sent to the Sisodiyas of Mewar for inspection of the royal genealogies; Avji returned with a favorable finding — Shahji turned out to be a descendant of Chacho Sisodiya, a half-Rajput uncle of Mokal Singh. Gaga Bhatt, a famed Brahmin of Varanasi, was then hired to ratify Chitnis' find, and the Bhonsles were now permitted to stake a claim to Kshatriya caste. The coronation would be re-executed in June 1674 but only after going through a long list of preludes.
Led by Bhatt, who employed traditional Hindu imagery in an unprecedented scale, the first phase had Shivaji penance for having lived as a Maratha despite being a Kshatriya. Then came the sacred thread ceremony ('maunjibandhanam') followed by remarriage according to Kshatriya customs ('mantra-vivah') and a sequence of Vedic rituals before the eventual coronation ('abhisheka') — a public spectacle of enormous expense that heralded the rebirth of Shivaji as a Kshatriya king. Panegyrics composed by court-poets during these spans (and afterward) reinforced onto the public memory that Shivaji (and the Bhonsles) indeed belonged from the Sisodiyas.
However, the Kshatriyization was not unanimous; a section of Brahmins continued to deny the Kshatriya status. Brahmins of the Peshwa period rejected Bhatt's acceptance of Shivaji's claims and blamed the non-dharmic coronation for all ills that plagued Shivaji and his heirs—in tune with the general Brahminical sentiment to categorize all Marathas as Shudras, carte-blanche; there have been even claims that Bhatt was excommunicated by Maratha Brahmins for his role in the coronation of Shivaji! Interestingly, all claims to Rajput ancestry had largely vanished from the family's subsequent projections of identity.
Shivaji wanted to establish his government based on his Philosophy of Hindavi Swarajya. ( The Rule of the People) This advocated for more representation of the people and less power of the elites. He later established the Ashta Pradhan, ( Modern council of ministers) an institution of a council of eight ministers to guide the administration of his nascent state. Each of the ministers was placed in charge of an administrative department; thus, the council heralded the birth of a bureaucracy. Shivaji appointed Moropant Trimbak Pingle as the Peshwa, the leader of the council. Shivaji, the great Maratha, Volume 2, H. S. Sardesai, Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd, 2002, ,
Shivaji was succeeded by his son Sambhaji. In early 1689, Sambhaji and his commanders met at Sangameshwar. Mughal forces, under Emperor Aurangzeb attacked Sangameshwar when Sambhaji was accompanied by just a few men. Sambhaji captured by the Mughal troops on 1 February 1689. Aurangzeb had charged Sambhaji with attacks by Maratha forces on Burhanpur. He and his advisor, Kavi Kalash, were taken to Bahadurgad by the imperial army, where they were executed by the Mughals on 21 March 1689.
After the execution of Sambhaji, Rajaram I was crowned at Raigad on 12 March 1689. During the Mughal started siege on Raigad fort on 25 March 1689, the widow of Sambhaji (Maharani Yesubai) and Peshwa Ramchandra Pant Amatya sent young Rajaram to the stronghold of Pratapgad through Kavlya ghat. Rajaram to escape through Kavlya ghat to the fort of Gingee through the Pratapgad and Vishalgad forts, Rajaram reached Keladi in disguise and pursued assistance from Keladi Chennamma - who kept the Mughal attack in check to ensure safe passage and escape of Rajaram to Jinji where he reached after a month and a half on 1 November 1689.
The Peshwas later became de facto rulers of the Maratha Empire. Under the Peshwas, Chhatrapati was limited to simply a monarchial figurehead. Maratha Empire dominated most of the Indian subcontinent.
Under the Peshwas the Marathas expanded to their greatest extent. 1737, Under Bajirao I invaded Delhi in a blitzkrieg manner at the Battle of Delhi (1737). The Nizam set out from the Deccan to rescue the Mughals from the invasion of the Marathas, but was defeated decisively in the Battle of Bhopal. An Advanced History of Modern India The Marathas extracted a large tribute from the Mughals and signed a treaty which ceded Malwa to the Marathas. The Battle of Vasai was fought between the Marathas and the Portugal in Vasai, a village lying on the northern shore of Vasai creek (Part of modern-day Mumbai).
After Shahu's death, he was succeeded by Rajaram II When Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao left for the Mughal frontier, Tarabai urged Rajaram II to remove him from the post of Peshwa. When Rajaram refused, she imprisoned him in a dungeon at Satara, on 24 November 1750. She claimed that he was an imposter from Gondhali caste and she had falsely presented him as her grandson to Shahu. His health deteriorated considerably during this imprisonment. On 14 September 1752, Tarabai and Balaji Rao took an oath at Khandoba temple in Jejuri, promising mutual peace.
During Shahu's reign, Raghoji Bhosale of Nagpur expanded the empire Eastwards, invading Bengal in 1740, which was a major confrontation with the Nawab of the Carnatic, Dost Ali Khan . Raghoji was victorious and increased Maratha Influence in the Carnatic.
after the successful campaign in Carnatic region at the Battle of Trichinopolly. Raghoji invaded Bengal Subah. Raghoji was able to annex Orissa permanently as he successfully exploited the chaotic conditions prevailing in the region after the death of their Governor Murshid Quli Khan in 1727. Nawab of Bengal ceded territory up to the river Suvarnarekha to the Marathas, and agreeing to pay Rs. 20 lacs as chauth for Bengal (includes both West Bengal and Bangladesh) and 12 lacs for Bihar (including Jharkhand), thus Bengal becoming a tributary to the Marathas.Fall Of The Mughal Empire- Volume 1 (4Th Edn.), J.N.Sarka On 17 December 1803, after the Second Anglo-Maratha War, Raghoji II signed the Treaty of Deogaon which resulted in Nagpur becoming a Protectorate of the East India Company.
On 11 December 1853, the last Raja of Nagpur Raghuji III died without a male heir. Nagpur was annexed by the British under the doctrine of lapse. The former kingdom was administered as Nagpur Province, under a commissioner appointed by then Governor-General of India, James Broun-Ramsay.
Shivaji Maharaj also invaded Gingee and Thanjavur in 1676–1677 and made his brother Santaji the ruler of all lands to the north of the Kollidam.
| Shivaji I | 19 February 1630 | 1674–1680 | 3 April 1680 | ||
| Sambhaji | 14 May 1657 | 16 January 1681 – 11 March 1689 | 11 March 1689 | ||
| Rajaram I | 24 February 1670 | 11 March 1689 – 3 March 1700 | 3 March 1700 | ||
| Shivaji II | 9 June 1696 | 1700 – 1707, 1710 – 1714 (Kolhapur State) | 14 March 1726 | ||
| Shahu I | 18 May 1682 | 12 January 1707 – November 16, 1713 | 15 December 1749 | ||
| Rajaram II | June 1726 | 15 December 1749 – 11 December 1777 | 11 December 1777 | Became a Puppet ruler under Balaji Bajirao in 1749 | |
| Shahu II | 1763 | 11 December 1777 – 3 May 1808 | 3 May 1808 | A ceremonial ruler with the actual power resting with the leaders of Maratha confederacy around India. | |
| Pratapsingh | 18 January 1793 | 3 May 1808 – 3 June 1818 | 14 October 1847 | Last Chhatrapati of the Maratha Confederacy |
| Pratapsingh | 18 January 1793 | 3 June 1818 – 5 September 1839 | 14 October 1847 | Became Raja of the Satara state. He was deposed by the East India company in 1839. | |
| Shahaji | 1802 | 5 September 1839 – 5 April 1848 | 5 April 1848 | Satara state abolished after the death of Appasaheb by the East India Company under the policy of Doctrine of lapse |
| Tarabai | 1675 | 1709 – 1710 (Unofficial) | 1761 | Established the Branch of Kolhapur. | |
| Shivaji II | 9 June 1696 | 1710 – 1714 | 14 March 1726 | First Official Raja of kolhapur.Deposed by his stepmother, Rajasbai in favour of her own son, Sambhaji II | |
| Sambhaji II | 1698 | 1714–1760 | 18 December 1760
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| Shivaji III | 1756 | 22 September 1762 – 24 April 1813 | 24 April 1813 | ||
| Sambhaji III | 1801 | 24 April 1813 – 2 July 1821 | 2 July 1821 | ||
| Shivaji IV | 1816 | July 2, 1821 – Jan 03 1822 | January 3, 1822 | ||
| Shahaji I | 22 January 1802 | 3 January 1822 – 29 November 1838 | 29 November 1838 | ||
| Shivaji V | 26 December 1830 | 1838–1866 | 4 August 1866 | ||
| Rajaram II | April 13, 1850 | August 18, 1866 – November 30, 1870 | November 30, 1870 | ||
| Shivaji VI | April 5, 1863 | 1871–1883 | December 25, 1883 | ||
| Shahu IV (overall)Shahu I of Kolhapur | 26 June 1874 | 2 April 1894 – 6 May 1922 | 6 May 1922 | ||
| Rajaram III | 31 July 1897 | 1922–1940 | 26 November 1940 | ||
| Shivaji VII | 22 November 1941 | 31 December 1941 – 28 September 1946 | 28 September 1946 | ||
| Shahaji II | 4 April 1910 | 1947–1971 | 9 May 1983 |
| Raghoji I | 1695 | 1739 – 14 February 1755 | 14 February 1755 | First Bhonsle ruler of Nagpur kingdom. | |
| Janoji | 14 February 1755 – 21 May 1772 | 21 May 1772 | |||
| Mudhoji Bhonsle | 21 May 1772 – 19 May 1788 | 19 May 1788 | |||
| Raghoji II | 19 May 1788 – 22 March 1816 | 22 March 1816 | |||
| Parsoji | 1788 | 22 March 1816 – 2 Feb 1817 | 2 Feb 1817 | ||
| Mudhoji II | 1796 | 2 Feb 1817 – 15 Mar 1818 | 15 Mar 1818 | ||
| Raghuji III | 1808 | 15 Mar 1818 – 11 Dec 1853 | 11 Dec 1853 | Last Bhonsle ruler of Nagpur kingdom. |
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