Balaji Vishwanath

Topic: The Marathas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Balaji Vishwanath was the Peshwa (Persian for 'prime minister') of the Maratha king Shahu from 1713 to 1720. He was the first of the Bhat family of Peshwas. In 1719, working with the Sayyid brothers at the Mughal court, he won Mughal approval for the Marathas to collect chauth and sardeshmukhi in the six Mughal provinces of the Deccan.

He matters because he made the Peshwa the real centre of Maratha power. His son Bajirao I and his grandson Balaji Bajirao built on that base and turned the Marathas into a pan-Indian power [2].

Explanation

Background: a divided Maratha house

• After Sambhaji was executed in 1689, Aurangzeb also captured Sambhaji's son Shahu. Shahu grew up in Mughal custody [1].
• Rajaram and then his queen Tarabai kept up the war against the Mughals. Aurangzeb died in 1707 without defeating the Marathas [1].
• After Aurangzeb's death the Mughals released Shahu. They hoped he would split the Marathas, and he did.
• Tarabai refused to accept Shahu's rule in 1708. She dealt with Mughal court groups to weaken him [1].

• Shahu became Chhatrapati (1708–49), but many chiefs did not obey him [2].

• Shahu needed a capable, loyal minister. Balaji Vishwanath, a Brahmin official from the Konkan, was that man.

His work as Peshwa (1713–1720)

• Shahu made him Peshwa in 1713.
• He won chiefs over to Shahu's side.
• Shahu was weak at first, so Balaji used talks and offers of land and revenue rather than only war.
• He is known for bringing the powerful naval chief Kanhoji Angre over to Shahu.

• This weakened Tarabai's camp. Her line later became the separate Kolhapur branch [1].

• He joined in Mughal court politics.

• In Delhi the Sayyid brothers (Hussain Ali Khan and Abdullah Khan) were "kingmakers". They made and unmade emperors.
• They needed Maratha troops. Balaji led a Maratha army to Delhi in 1719 to help them.

The 1719 agreement with the Mughals

In return for this help, Mughal orders (farmans) gave the Marathas:

• Recognition of Shivaji's home lands (swarajya) as Shahu's own.
• Chauth (one-fourth of the land revenue of an area). Rulers paid it so that the Marathas would not raid them.
• Sardeshmukhi (a further one-tenth of the revenue, claimed by Shahu as the "head deshmukh", or hereditary chief revenue officer) in the six Deccan provinces (subas).
• The release of Shahu's mother, Yesubai, and other family members held by the Mughals.

The British historian Richard Temple later called this agreement the "Magna Carta of the Maratha empire".

Results

• Legal cover for Maratha rule in the Deccan. Collecting revenue across the Deccan was now a Mughal-approved right and not just raiding.
• Mughal weakness laid bare. The emperor now depended on Maratha soldiers.
• The Peshwa rose above the king.
• Balaji died in 1720. His son Bajirao I became Peshwa (1720–1740) [2][3].

• The post stayed in the Bhat family. Over time the Peshwa held great influence, even over the Chhatrapati.

• A decentralised system. Revenue rights were shared out among chiefs who collected them. This later helped the Marathas expand fast, but it also caused indiscipline among the chiefs.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: early 18th century. Peshwa from 1713 to 1720, under Chhatrapati Shahu (1708–49) [2].
• Places: Satara (Shahu's capital), the Konkan coast, the six Mughal provinces of the Deccan, and Delhi, where he went in 1719.
• Key people: Shahu; Tarabai (his rival); Kanhoji Angre; the Sayyid brothers; his son Bajirao I.
• Sources: we know about him mainly from:
• the Mughal farmans of 1719
• Maratha state papers, especially the Peshwa records (Peshwa Daftar) kept at Pune
• Marathi chronicles called bakhars
• Persian court histories

Don't confuse with

• Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb Peshwa) was Balaji Vishwanath's grandson, the son of Bajirao I. He became Peshwa in 1740 [2]. Balaji Vishwanath was the first Bhat Peshwa (1713–20).
• Bajirao I was Balaji Vishwanath's son and Peshwa from 1720 to 1740 [2]. He led the big push north into Malwa and Gujarat. Balaji Vishwanath secured the Deccan rights.
• Chauth vs sardeshmukhi. Chauth was one-fourth of the revenue. Sardeshmukhi was an extra one-tenth. The 1719 grant covered both.
• Nana Saheb of 1857 was the adopted son of the last Peshwa, Bajirao II. He has no link to the 1719 grant. Do not mix him up with Nanasaheb Peshwa (Balaji Bajirao).

Prelims Hooks

• First Peshwa of the Bhat family = Balaji Vishwanath (1713–1720), appointed by Shahu.
• 1719: the Mughals granted chauth and sardeshmukhi of the six Deccan subas, through the Sayyid brothers. This is often called the "Magna Carta of the Maratha empire".
• Father–son–grandson order: Balaji Vishwanath → Bajirao I (1720–40) → Balaji Bajirao / Nanasaheb (from 1740) [2].
• Peshwa is a Persian word meaning 'prime minister'.
• Trap: Balaji Vishwanath was Peshwa under Shahu, not under Rajaram or Tarabai. Tarabai refused to accept Shahu in 1708 [1].

Mains Points

• From minister to real ruler. Balaji Vishwanath turned the Peshwa's post from one of several ministries into the real centre of power. He did this by settling Shahu's civil war and winning revenue rights from the Mughals. This is the root of the later structure, where the Chhatrapati was head only in name and the Peshwa ruled in practice.
• Mughal decline seen from the Deccan. The 1719 deal shows a Mughal throne that depended on outside soldiers and had to sign away Deccan revenue. It connects Aurangzeb's long and draining Deccan war [1] to the break-up of Mughal power after 1707.
• Growth through revenue-sharing, at a cost. Rights to chauth and sardeshmukhi were shared out among chiefs. This let the Marathas expand quickly, but chiefs on the ground grew powerful and sometimes undisciplined. The Maratha state gained reach but lost control.

Related concepts

• Sambhaji
• Rajaram
• Tarabai
• Shahu
• Bajirao I
• Balaji Bajirao
• Third battle of Panipat
• Madhavrao I
• Mahadji Shinde

Read more

• After Shivaji: from survival to pan-Indian empire