https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Rajaram_IRajaram I - Revision history2026-08-19T00:27:20ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rajaram_I&diff=446732&oldid=prevSaurabh jain at 15:54, 8 March 20262026-03-08T15:54:19Z<p></p>
<a href="//en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rajaram_I&diff=446732&oldid=112173">Show changes</a>Saurabh jainhttps://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rajaram_I&diff=112173&oldid=prev>Alivardi at 11:37, 8 April 20212021-04-08T11:37:33Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{For|other Maratha rulers of the same name|Rajaram (disambiguation){{!}}Rajaram}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2014}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}<br />
{{Infobox royalty<br />
| name = Rajaram I<br />
| image = Chhatrapati Rajaram.jpg<br />
| succession = [[File:Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|33x30px]] 3rd [[Chhatrapati]] of the [[Maratha Empire]]<br />
| reign = 11 March 1689– 3 March 1700<br />
| coronation = 12 February 1689<br />
| predecessor = [[Sambhaji]]<br />
| successor = [[Shivaji II]]<br />
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1670|2|14}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Rajgad fort]]<br />
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1700|3|3|1670|2|24}}<br />
| death_place = [[Sinhagad]] fort, [[Maharashtra]]<br />
| spouse = {{ubl|[[Jankibai]]|[[Tarabai]]|[[Rajasbai]]}}<br />
| issue = {{ubl|[[Shivaji II]]|[[Sambhaji II]]}}<br />
| father = [[Shivaji I]]<br />
| mother = [[Soyarabai]]<br />
| religion = [[Hinduism]]<br />
| royal house = [[Bhonsle]] <br />
| title = [[Chhatrapati]] of the [[Maratha Empire]]<br />
}}<br />
'''Rajaram Bhosle I''' (14 February 1670 – 3 March 1700, in [[Sinhagad]]<ref>Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{Listed Invalid ISBN|81-7276-407-1}}, p.296</ref>) was the second son of Maratha ruler [[Shivaji]], and younger half-brother of [[Sambhaji]]. He took over the [[Maratha Empire]] as its third ''[[Chhatrapati]]'' after his brother's death at the hands of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Mughal Emperor|emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]] in 1689. His eleven-year reign was marked with a constant struggle against the Mughals.<br />
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==Early life and family==<br />
Rajaram was born in a family of [[Bhonsle]] clan, to [[Shivaji]] and his younger wife, [[Soyarabai]] on 14 February 1670. He was thirteen years younger than his brother, [[Sambhaji]]. Given the ambitious nature of Soyarabai, Rajaram was installed on the Maratha throne upon the death of his father in 1680. However, the Maratha generals wanted Sambhaji as the king and thus, he claimed the throne. Upon Sambhaji's death, Rajaram was crowned as Chhatrapati of the Maratha state.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=J. L.|title=Advanced study in the history of modern India, 1707-1813|date=2005|publisher=New Dawn Press, Inc.|location=Slough|isbn=9781932705546|pages=45–52|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC}}</ref><br />
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Rajaram married three times. His first marriage was at the age of ten to [[Jankibai]], the five-year-old daughter of Shivaji's army chief, [[Prataprao Gujar]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=J. L.|title=Advanced study in the history of modern India, 1707-1813|date=2005|publisher=New Dawn Press, Inc.|location=Slough|isbn=9781932705546|page=51|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC}}</ref> His other wives were [[Tarabai]], the daughter of [[Hambirrao Mohite]], the army chief who succeeded Prataprao, and Rajasbai from the influential Ghatge family of [[Kagal]]. Rajaram had two sons, [[Shivaji II]] with Tarabai, and [[Sambhaji II]] with Rajasbai.<ref name="sarkar">{{cite book|last1=Pati|first1=Biswamoy (editor)|last2=Guha|first2=Sumit|last3=Chatterjee|first3=Indrani|title=Issues in modern Indian history : for Sumit Sarkar|date=2000|publisher=Popular Prakashan|location=Mumbai|isbn=9788171546589|pages=29, 30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S2Yn4LlujqsC}}</ref><br />
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==Coronation and attack by the Mughals==<br />
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After the death of Sambhaji, Rajaram was crowned at Raigad on 12 March 1689. As the Mughals started laying siege to the region around [[Raigad fort|Raigad]] on 25 March 1689, the widow of Sambhaji (Maharani Yesubai) and her minister [[Ramchandra Pant Amatya]] sent young Rajaram to the stronghold of [[Pratapgad]] through Kavlya ghat.{{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=March 2019}} The Maratha army fought with the Mughals and led the new Maratha king, Rajaram to escape through Kavlya ghat to the fort of [[Gingee|Jinji]] in present-day state of [[Tamil Nadu]] via Pratapgad and Vishalgad forts, Rajaram reached Keladi (Near present-day Sagar in Karnataka) in disguise and sought refuge from [[Keladi Chennamma]] - The brave Kannada queen fought the Mughals and ensured safe passage and escape of Rajaram to Jinji where he reached after a month and a half on 1 November 1689, Keladi Chennamma fought the jungle warfare which frustrated the Mughals and the Mughals proposed peace accord for the first time with an Indian ruler, [[Keladi Chennamma]].<ref>Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{Listed Invalid ISBN|81-7276-407-1}}, pp.289,365-70</ref> Details of this escape are known from the incomplete poetical biography of Rajaram, the ''Rajaramacharita'' written by his [[Rajpurohit]], [[Keshav Pandit]], in [[Sanskrit]].<ref>Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{Listed Invalid ISBN|81-7276-407-1}}, p.609</ref><br />
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==Siege of Jinji==<br />
[[Aurangzeb]] deputed [[Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I|Ghazi-ud-din Firoze Jung]] against the Marathas in the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], and specially sent [[Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung]] to capture the [[Gingee Fort|Jingi Fort]]. He laid siege to it in September, 1690. After three failed attempts, it was finally captured after seven years on 8 January 1698. Rajaram, however, escaped and fled first to [[Vellore]] and later to Vishalgad.<ref>Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{Listed Invalid ISBN|81-7276-407-1}}, pp.294-5</ref><br />
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==Santaji and Dhanaji==<br />
Rajaram occupied the fort at Jinji from 11 November 1689, but left before it fell in 1698, setting up his court at fort [[Satara (city)|Satara]]. During that period when Jinji remained unconquered, "the intrepid Maratha commanders, [[Santaji Ghorpade]] and [[Dhanaji Jadhav]], wrought havoc in the Karnataka and Maharashtra by defeating the Mughal generals and cutting off their lines of communication."<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=200–201}}</ref><br />
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== Death ==<br />
[[File:Chhatrapati Rajaram Memorial.JPG|thumb|right|250px|A memorial atop [[Sinhgad|Sinhgad Fort]] marking the place of death of Rajaram.]]<br />
Rajaram died of lung disease in 1700 at [[Sinhagad]] near [[Pune]] in [[Maharashtra]] leaving behind widows and infants. Janakibai,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gokhale|first1=Kamal|title=Rajaram Chhatrapati in Marathi Vishwakosh|publisher=Marathi Vishwakosh|location=Wai, Maharashtra India|url=https://marathivishwakosh.maharashtra.gov.in/khandas/khand14/index.php/component/content/article?id=10358}}</ref> one of his widows, committed [[Sati (practice)|Sati]] upon Rajaram's death.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Feldhaus|first1=ed. by Anne|title=Images of women in Maharashtrian literature and religion|date=1996|publisher=State University of New York Press|location=Albany|isbn=978-0791428375|page=183|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ooV3Rz9zQvQC&q=rajaram&pg=PA171}}</ref> Another of Rajaram's widows, [[Tarabai]] proclaimed her young son, Shivaji II as the Chhatrapati and ruled as his regent. However, the release of [[Shahu I|Shahu]], by the successors of Aurangzeb led to an internecine conflict between Tarabai and Shahu with the latter becoming the winner and occupant of the throne.<ref>{{cite book|last1=mehta|first1=JL|title=Advanced study in the history of medieval India.|date=1981|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.|isbn=978-81-207-1015-3|page=562|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-TsMl0vSc0gC&pg=PR7 }}</ref><ref>Cox, Edmund Charles. A short history of the Bombay Presidency. Thacker, 1887, pages 126-129.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Thompson|first1=Edward|last2=Garratt|first2=G.T.|title=History of British rule in India|date=1999|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-7156-803-3|page=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93fnssiWvjoC&pg=PR2 }}</ref> Tarabai established a separate seat at Kolhapur and installed her son as the rival Chhatrapati. She was shortly deposed by Rajasbai, the other surviving widow of Rajaram. Rajasbai installed the other son of Rajaram called [[Sambhaji II]] on the Kolhapur throne. The [[Kolhapur State|Kolhapur line]] has continued to this day through natural succession and adoptions per Hindu custom.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Khando Ballal]]<br />
* [[List of people involved in the Maratha Empire]]<br />
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{{S-start}}<br />
{{succession box |<br />
before=[[Sambhaji]] |<br />
title=[[Chhatrapati]] of the<br /> [[Maratha Empire]] |<br />
years=1689&ndash;1700 |<br />
after=[[Shivaji II]]<br />
}}<br />
{{S-end}}<br />
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==Notes==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==References==<br />
* [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V02_475.gif Imperial Gazetteer of India], v. 2, p.&nbsp;440.<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{commons category|Rajaram}}<br />
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{{MarathaEmpire}}{{Shivaji}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chhatrapati, Rajaram}}<br />
[[Category:1670 births]]<br />
[[Category:1700 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:17th-century Indian monarchs]]<br />
[[Category:People of the Maratha Empire]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu monarchs]]<br />
[[Category:People from Maharashtra]]</div>>Alivardi