How did Rani Tarabai Bhonsle saved the Maratha dynasty ?

Hello readers, how are you all ? I hope everyone is having fun and staying healthy. Today we are going to talk about a warrior woman freedom fighter, Rani Tarabai Bhonsle

• who saved the Maratha Empire from the Mughals in India.
• who buried Aurangzeb's intention to conquer the south in a dream.
• who belonged to the family of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
• who revealed his lineage at the right time.

So let us discuss the life and achievements of such a heroic queen Tarabai Bhonsle.

Rani Tarabai Bhonsle

Who was Rani Tarabai Bhonsle ?

Rani Tarabai Bhonsale was born on 14 April 1675 to Hambirrao Mohite, a general of the Maratha Empire. Tarabai had been watching the Mughals since childhood. Her father gave all the knowledge she should have as a general's daughter like horse riding, swordsmanship, archery, etc. Also she was very skilled in economics. Along with diplomacy, soldiers were also adept in the art of determining tactics. She was married to Rajaram when she was eight years old.

How was Rani Tarabai included in the family of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?

Hambirao Mohite was the general of the Maratha Empire. At that time the ruler of the Maratha Empire was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. So Shivaji Maharaj married his younger son Rajaram (who was also known as Rajaram Bhonsle II) to Hambirao Mohite's daughter Tarabai. Rajaram was the son of Shivaji Maharaj's second wife Soyrabai. So Tarabai became the daughter-in-law of Shivaji Maharaj.

How did Tarabai escaped with Rajaram from Raigarh fort?

escaping from fort

After the death of Shivaji Maharaj, the throne was managed by Shivaji Maharaj's elder son Sambhaji. But the Mughals attacked the fort of Raigarh and killed Sambhaji treacherously. Sambhaji's wife Yasubain and son Shahu were captured and imprisoned. At that time Tarabai and Rajaram escaped from the fort of Raigarh by changing their disguises to escape from the Mughals.

How did Tarabai rule Satara?

Since the forts of Raigarh were under the possession of the Mughals, Rajaram came to Satara and took over the Maratha Empire. Satara was established as the capital by Rajaram. He died of a sudden heart attack while taking over the Maratha Empire. The throne of Satara could not be kept vacant so Tarabai declared her son Shivaji II as the king. But Shivaji II was too young to assume the throne so she declared her son as king and ruled as queen herself.

How did Rani Tarabai drive Aurangzeb out of Maratha Empire?

Aurangzeb came to know that the Maratha Empire in the south was not ruled by a male king but was ruled by a widow. So Aurangzeb was trying to expand his empire towards the south. Aurangzeb considered Rani Tarabai as a weak woman. He was moving south to invade. At that time, Rani Tarabai used to get information from Aurangzeb's soldiers by trickery and got information about Aurangzeb's strategy. So she was easily able to defeat Aurangzeb in battle. Thus Rani Tarabai regained her lost fort. Rani Tarabai managed to rule the Maratha Empire for 25 years.

Queen Tarabai Bhonsle

When was Rani Tarabai's rule of the Maratha Empire threatened ?

Aurangzeb made occasional incursions towards the south but met with failure. He died of old age and his dream of conquering the south remained unfulfilled. He could not rule the Marathas. Aurangzeb's son had released Sambhaji's son Shahu from imprisonment to create strife in Queen Tarabai's family. So Shahu sought his right from Rani Tarabai and it was the same. After being released from prison, Shahu told Queen Tarabai that he was the de facto heir to the throne. But Rani Tarabai refused to hand over the throne to Shahu.

How did Rani Tarabai saved the Maratha dynasty ?

Over time, Shahu Maharaj's health was deteriorating day by day. Rani Tarabai was getting worried. Because Shahu Maharaj had no children of his own if he died, the end of Maratha swaraj was certain, so the throne of Satara needed an heir. Now seeing the time, Rani Tarabai revealed to Shahu Maharaj that Shivaji II's son Ramaraja who is alive.

Rani Tarabai kept Ramaraja hidden to protect him from enemies. A soldier's family was entrusted to Ramaraja for his upbringing. Shahu Maharaj accepted Shivaji II's son Ramaraja as his heir. Before his death, Shahu Maharaj proclaimed Ramaraja as the king of the Maratha Empire in India.

Conclusion:

In this article we get to know how Rani Tarabai Bhonsal saved the Maratha Empire by keeping Ramaraja hidden. If Shivaji II's son Ramaraja would have being killed, the Maratha empire would have ended. Rani Tarabai already had the enthusiasm to learn something new. She used to learn tactics from enemies too. If necessary, she used to attack the enemies through diplomacy as well.

So Rani Tarabai Bhonsale died in Satara on 9 December 1761 at the age of 86. Such was the heroic queen Tarabai Bhonsle who sustained the Maratha Empire in Indian History.

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We will come back very soon in another article with such women freedom fighter of Indian History, till then take care.