RANI TARABAI

WPC PRESENTATION

Name: Abhinandan Shetty

Roll No: PA28 TY
PRN: 103291127
INTRODUCTION
 Tarabai Bhosale was the regent of the Maratha Empire of India from 1700 until 1708.
 She was the queen of Chhatrapati Rajaram Bhonsale, and daughter-in-law of the empire's
founder Shivaji.
 She is acclaimed for her role in keeping alive the resistance against Mughal occupation of
Maratha territories after the death of her husband, and acting as the regent during the minority
of her son.
 She not only oversaw the resistance against enemy occupation, but also planned and
supervised many of her army’s raids and military operations.
 Rarely has there been a female personality like her in Indian history who saved a kingdom
from collapse through her sheer courage and willpower. A woman whose indomitable spirit
was unarguably at par with that of the legendary Rani of Jhansi, she deserves more than a
passing mention.
 In the pantheon of great Maratha warrior heroes, Tarabai has reserved for herself a special
place.
CHILDHOOD & EARLY LIFE

 Tarabai was born on April 14, 1675, into the

Mohite household of the Maratha Empire.
 Her father, Hambirao Mohite was a famed
commander-in-chief of the Maratha army. As
a result, she was trained in the arts of archery,
sword-fighting, military strategy and statecraft
from an early age.
 At the age of eight, she was married to
Chhatrapati Shivaji’s younger son, Rajaram.
This was at a time when the Mughals and the
Marathas battled each other constantly to gain
control over the Deccan.
MAJOR WORKS
 During her eight-year reign as regent of the Maratha Empire, Tarabai was
personally responsible for leading the Maratha rebellion against
Aurangzeb, who at the time was perhaps the most powerful ruler in the
world. That the Marathas were able to gain inroads into the Mughal
strongholds of Gujarat and Malwa is a testimony to her military strategy
and leadership.
 A Mughal chronicler described how Tarabai’s greatest strength was in
gaining the confidence of her officers, as a result of which the Maratha
power increased by the day despite the best attempts of the Mughal king
Aurangzeb.
 The Portuguese in their chronicles referred to her as ‘Rainha dos
Marathas’ (Queen of the Marathas).
 FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
 Tarabai came from the Mohite clan and was
daughter of Maratha empire Commander-in-
Chief Hambirao Mohite.
 Tarabai was one of the three wives of
Chhatrapati Rajaram I. She got married to him
when she was only eight years old.
 She had one son, Shivaji II, who was born in
1696 in Gingee Fort at a time when the Mughal
army had laid siege on the fort. He served as
the Raja of Kolhapur between 1710 and 1714.
 She passed away on 9th December 1761, aged
86, in Satara, having had outlived her family as
well as her political adversaries.
 CONFLICT WITH MUGHALS

 The Maratha kingdom needed stable leadership after the death of Shivaji and Rani Tarabai was the answer to that.
 A widowed 25-year old Tarabai channelled all her energies into strategic military planning, to put up a front to
Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.
 A skilled cavalry warrior herself, she had already started learning about civil and political affairs during her
husband’s reign.
 The idea of a woman leader irked some senior Maratha officials, but even they couldn’t deny her obvious
capability. According to the chronicles of Khafi Khan, Aurangzeb and his officers “ordered the drums of rejoicings
to be beaten” after the death of Rajaram. They never believed that the “weak, contemptible and helpless” queen
could pose a threat to the powerful Mughal Empire.
 LEGACY
 Tarabai was a brave, ambitious and level-headed ruler, who put her
kingdom above everything else. She concentrated on fighting the
Mughals and was an earnest politician who never went against her own
family to attain power. Even after her leadership was snatched away,
she continued working in the government.
 She refused to stand still and continued to influence politics until her
death. Had she not stepped up after her husband’s death and taken over
the reins, the Maratha Empire would have disintegrated long before.
Had she been able to remain in power, her kingdom may have
remained united.
 Rani Tarabai was ahead of her times and was forced to kill her
ambition despite being capable. The fact that Shahu and Peshwa Balaji
had to reach treaties with her time and again is proof of how much
influence she had on state politics. The only reason for this was that
men in power did not have the sense and strength to accept an able
ruler: just because she was a woman.
THANK YOU