Hinduism: Details about 'Balaji Vishwanath'
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home
|
Balaji Vishwanath Bhatt (1660 - April 2, 1719 AD), also known as Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath or Diwan Balaji Vishwanath, was a Chittpawan Brahmin, who eventually became the first Peshwa (Marathi for Prime Minister) under the reign of the fourth Maratha Chattrapati Shahuji. He is famous for assisting a young Shahuji in consolidating his grip on a Maratha Empire that was fragmented as a result of persistent attacks by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb between 1685 and 1707.
Chitpavan BrahminsChitpavan Brahmins' origins are unknown, since they are distinctly physically different from other Hindu castes. They are easily recognised by the certain characteristics such as fair skin, light-coloured eyes (blue, green or grey), sharp nose, distinct jawline, and sometimes have light or blonde hair. Humble beginningsThe name Balaji Vishwanath is another name for the deity Tirupati, an avatar of the Hindu god, Vishnu. Balaji initially began work as an accountant for the Maratha general, Dhanaji Jadhav at Chiplun. From 1699 to 1703, he was the Sar-subhedar at Pune. On Dhanaji's passing away, Shahuji appointed him as his assistant around 1708. Ascent to PeshwaIn the next few years, Balaji transitioned to an able commander. Balaji is recorded as having participated in the 1708 invasion of the then Mughal city of Ahmedabad . During the Maratha civil war (1707-1713), Maratha Senapati (Marathi for general) Chandrasen Jadhav, who led the Tarabai faction (his predecessor Rajaram's widow who opposed Shahuji), ravaged the Southern provinces but was defeated by Balaji after a prolonged war. In 1713, Shahuji was attacked at Khed by forces loyal to Tarabai. To face this attack, Shahuji appointed Balaji as Senakarta (Marathi for Army Commander). This increased the confidence Shahu had in him, and he appointed Balaji as his representative to negotiate with Kanhoji Angre, the Admiral of the Maratha Navy, who was allied with Tarabai. Before Balaji could take up this assignment, he requested Shahuji to appoint him as a Peshwa. Shahu conceded this request, and Balaji became the Chattrapati's first Peshwa on November 16, 1713. Kanhoji agreed to become the Sarkhel (Marathi for Admiral) of Shahuji's navy. ArrestIn 1716, Shahuji's army chief Dabhaji Thorat perfidously arrested Balaji. The reason for this two-year imprisonment is unknown. Attack on the Mughal EmpireAfter his release, Balaji embarked on a remarkable expedition. There existed a power vacumn in the Mughal empire caused by the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707 and the subsequent ascent of three Emperors within five years. Before he died on March 3, 1707, Aurangzeb wrote a will that his Mughal empire was to be divided between his three sons: Mu'azzam governing in Kabul in the North, A'zam in Gujarat in the center, and Muhammad Kam Baksh in Bijapur to the South. But instead they followed his own example and fought amongst each other. A'zam was supported by Imperial vizier Asad Khan and immediately proclaimed himself and marched toward Agra. Mu'azzam was 1400 miles away; but he declared himself Bahadur Shah and in June arrived with his army at Agra, meeting his son Muhammad Azim, who had come from Bengal and secured the imperial treasure of 240,000,000 rupees. At Jajau, where Aurangzeb had defeated Dara Shukoh 49 years before, each side lost 10,000 men. Bahadur Shah won because A'zam Shah's army scattered; he and his two sons were killed. Bahadur Shah died in 1712. His son Jahandar Shah colluded with his brother, Zulfikar Khan killed all his remaining brothers and assumed the throne. In January 1713 things came to a head when Emperor Jahandar Shah tried unsuccesfully to attack the Sayyid brothers, Husain Ali and Abdullah Khan of the Baraha clan. They were impeding the collection of revenue from Bengal, which was the most profitable possession of the empire at that time. Emperor Farrukh Siyar then claimed the throne in 1713 with the help of the Sayyid brothers. Over time differences arose between the Sayyid brothers, and the Emperor. Husain Ali who was sent to the Deccan to control the Maratha power, found instead that the Emperor was encouraging the Marathas to kill him. So during 1718 Balaji negotiated a treaty with the Sayyid brothers, which the Emperor refused to ratify. So Husain Ali marched on Delhi and managed successfully to dethrone the Emperor Farrukh Siyar, with the help of Balaji's troops, and substituted Bahadur Shah's grandson, Rafi-Ud-Darjat as a new Emperor in February 1719. In return, Balaji extracted a revenue of Chauth (a fourth of that generated by the six Deccan provinces), and the promise of self-determination or Swaraj (Marathi for freedom) for the Maratha empire, in exchange for Rupees 10 million and the 15,000 strong army made available to Husain Ali. FamilyBalaji married Radhabai (1700-1752 AD) and had two sons, his successor Bajirao Bhatt and Chimaji Appa. DeathBalaji's health had suffered considerably as a result of this campaign, and he died on April 2, 1719. He was succeeded by his son, Balaji Bajirao I, who was anointed as Peshwa by Chattrapati Shahuji in April, 1719, thus making the post hereditary. Bajirao I is acknowledged as the most famous Peshwa due to his conquests and campaigns. A statue of Balaji Vishwanath stands at his ancestral village of Shri Vardhan, near Raigad. References
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||