Raghoji I of Nagpur

Raghoji I (Raghoji Bhonsle; ; 1695 – February 1755) was a Maratha general of the Bhonsle clan who established the Nagpur Kingdom in much of east-central India during the reign of Chhatrapati Shahu I. His successors ruled the kingdom until 1853.

Origin
The Bhonsale family branch of Raghoji were known as Hinganikar as they were originally chiefs from Berdi near Hingani in Pune District established by Bimbaji Bhonsle. Raghoji's great granduncle Rupaji I, great grandfather Mudhoji and grandfather Bapuji with two brothers Sabaji and Parsoji had fought in the armies of Shivaji. Mudhoji resided in Pandavgad, ruling over a Mauza near Wai in Maharashtra, which Shivaji had granted to him as Jagir for his spectacular exploits, while his brother Rupaji I resided at Bham in the district of Yavatmal.

Rupaji I was childless therefore his property also passed over to Raghoji's great grandfather Mudhoji which gave Hinganikar Bhonsles a foothold in east Maharashtra for future conquests. Chhatrapati Shivaji entrusted high military command and the collection of chauth (tribute) in Berar to the most distinguished of them. Mudhoji's son Sabaji was given villages of Rakhswari and Poorkikotar however it was Parsoji who attained highest position in the family.

During Mughal-Maratha Wars the title of Senasahibsubha (meaning Master of provinces and armies) was bestowed on Parsoji Bhonsle by Chhatrapati Rajaram Bhonsle along with rights to regions of Devgad, Gondwana, Chanda and Varhad from where he could exact tribute. Bapuji only had one son Bimbaji who was the father of Raghuji I. Parsoji had three sons; Santaji, Kanhoji and Ranoji each with a distinguished career. Santaji was part of various campaigns of Chhatrapati Shivaji and the other commanders, till his murder in Delhi during the 1719 campaign to depose Farrukhsiyar led by Senapati Khanderao Dabhade. Ranoji was given title of Sawai Santaji (meaning Superior Santaji) along with other compensations for the loss of his brother's life.

In 1722, Shahu I presented Badnera and Amravati to Ranoji Bhonsle, further extending presence of Hinganikar Bhonsles in east. Kanhoji went on to secure the family title of Senasahibsubha and paved the way for future conquests by ruling for 20 years. The lesser prominent Bimbaji Bhonsle was without a son until one was finally born, who Bimbaji believed to be a result of prayers of a pious Vaishnava saint Ramajipant. On those grounds Bimbaji named his son Raghuji (Raghava) after the avatar of Vishnu Rama.

Early life
Bimbaji died shortly after his son was born, and Raghuji grew up with his mother Kashibai and grandmother Baijabai at the same Pandavavadi near Wai. On attaining maturity Raghuji served under his uncle Ranoji as a Shiledar (cavalryman) at Amravati, participating in various military operations. His uncle Senasahibsubha Kanhoji Bhonsle based at Bham, sixteen miles south of Yavatmal, invited him to his fief as he was heirless up to that point.

City of Bham or Bhambraja, was located on a small plateau near the Adan river, raised 300 ft. above the level of the valley. It is a vast but completely abandoned site of immense stone ruins and traces of planted trees. The expanse of the original settlement could be imagined by the traditions of 5,000 houses owned by Bairagis (ascetics) alone under the protection of Marathas.

Senasahibsubha Kanhoji looked after and mentored Raghuji, who was the son of his cousin Bimbaji, with hopes of gradually passing his duties to him. But after the birth of his son Rayaji Bhonsle, his plans for adopting Raghuji ended and their relations were disrupted.

Rise to power
Raghuji then left his uncle and travelled with 100 horsemen to offer his services to Gond Kingdom of Devgad, then under rule of Chand Sultan, where he fought for many years and familiarised himself with local politics. Eventually Raghuji returned to Satara to directly serve the Chhatrapati Shahu Bhonsle. Raghuji's status dramatically escalated when he bravely slew a maneater tiger which threatened Shahu's life during a hunting expedition. Following this Shahu bestowed many rewards on Raghuji, most importantly arranging the marriage of his own Shirke clan wife Rani Sagunabai's sister Salubai to Raghuji. This further bound the Chhatrapati Bhonsle and the Senasahibsubha Bhonsle families.

This was simultaneously followed with the Senasahibsubha Kanhoji Bhonsle's downfall who had entered into talks with the Nizam. For further examination he was invited by Chhatrapati Shahu to Satara. On 23 August 1725 Kanhoji left Satara without permission, fleeing the officers sent after him. After 3 years of distant correspondence, Chhatrapati Shahu finally appointed Raghuji Bhonsle as the new Senasahibsubha in 1728.

Following Raghuji's appointment to the post of Senasahibsubha, Chhatrapati Shahu granted him the sanads for Berar and Gondwana and the right to extend the levy of chauthai to Chhatisgarh, Patna in Bihar, Allahabad in Awadh Subah and Maksudabad in Bengal Subah serving as directives for his conquests.

Raghuji's first campaign as Senasahibsubha was to bring his uncle Kanhoji to justice and restore centralization in the eastern provinces for which he was deployed with an army of 30,000 cavalry. Raghuji's armies roved in all directions exacting the pending Chauth and Sardeshmukhi, which served as return of central authority over the lands. In 1731 Raghuji Bhonsle killed Isa Khan and seized all the villages in Kherla as well as the Fort of Salbardi.

Raghuji followed this by defeating Shujayat Khan of Akola, the deputy of the Nawab of Ellichpur and subjugated his territory. In this duration Kanhoji and prepared countermeasures by fortification of his base at Bham. Raghuji received the aid of his uncle Sawai Santaji Ranoji Bhonsle of Amravati. The two armies jointly besieged the fort of Bham and killed Kanhoji's general Tukoji Gujjar. The death of Kanhoji's general Tukoji Gujjar broke Kanhoji's patience and he fled from the fort, closely pursued by cavalry of Senasahibsubha and Sawai Santaji. Raghuji and Ranoji overtook Kanhoji at Mandar near Yavatmal and defeated him in the fight. Kanhoji was imprisoned in the fort of Satara while his son Rayaji continued at Bham.

The tensions regarding Rayaji and Raghuji's rights over Senasahibsubha post ended only by 1748 when Rayaji died childless ensuring the supremacy of Raghuji Bhonsle's line. Shahu Chhatrapati then bestowed the authority to impose chauthai and mokasa of prominent Mughal cities and regions like Lucknow, Allahabad in Awadh, Murshidabad in Bengal Subah, Berar (claimed by Nizam), Bitia in Malwa Subah, Hajipur and Patna in Bihar Subah (under Nawab of Bengal Subah) and of the Gond Kingdoms of Devagad, Gadha, Bhavargad and Chanda. This ensured the direction of Raghuji's future expansions.

Reign and military campaigns
Bold and decisive in action, Raghuji was the archetype of a Maratha leader; he saw in the troubles of other states an opening for his own ambition, and did not even require a pretext for invasion. Twice his armies occupied Bengal, and it was he who attained the conquest of Cuttack. Chanda, Chhattisgarh, and Sambalpur were added to his dominions between 1745 and 1755, the year of his death. He was succeeded by his son Janoji Bhonsle.

Campaigns in South India
The Nawab of Carnatic Dost Ali Khan, sent his son, Safdar Ali and Husayn Dost Khan better known as Chanda Sahib to extort tribute from the Hindu states of Deccan. Through treachery Chanda brought about the abdication of queen of Tiruchirappalli. After entering the fort by swearing the most solemn sacred oaths on the Quran of peace and behaving like a brother to the widowed queen, Husayn facilitated the storming of the fort by having his men enter through the palace known as Dilwar Mandap adjoining the fort of Tiruchirappalli. Heartbroken on such betrayal the widowed queen burnt herself in disgrace.

The extension of the Muslim power in the far south had set in motion a Hindu reaction led by Vangaru Tirumala, a member of the Madurai Nayak dynasty and a former rival of queen Minakṣhi and Sayaji Bhonsle, the deposed Maratha ruler of Tanjore who appealed to Chhatrapati Shahu, the most powerful Hindu ruler of the times, for aid. Hindu Kingdoms such as Ramnad, Sivaganga and Pudukkottai and Kingdom of Mysore called upon the Marathas for intervention, and offered co-operation against the Arcot Nawab. They demanded the expulsion of the Navayet Nawabs. Even the Nizam supported Maratha intervention against them.

Pratapsingh Bhonsle of Tanjore was neither regular in the payment of tribute nor obedient to the Subehdar, causing the Nawab to remove him from Tanjore by force and install a Muslim deputy. Finally incensed by the atrocities of the Nawab, Chhatrapati Shahu deployed Raghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur and Fatehsingh Bhonsle of Akkalkot with army of 40,000 to wreak vengeance on the wrongdoers. Raghuji defeated the Nawab of Cuddappah, exacted tribute from the Nawab of Karnool before advancing southwards into the subah of Arcot.

The rapid advance of the Marathas filled the Nawab Dost Ali Khan with dismay. Soon afterwards took place the Battle of Damalcherry in May 20, 1740, which was a major confrontation between the Nawab of the Carnatic, Dost Ali Khan of Arcot and the Maratha Senasahibsubha Raghuji I Bhonsle of Nagpur. The battle was a victory for the Marathas in which Arcot Nawab Dost Ali Khan, his son and nearly all his officers were killed. Dost Ali Khan's Diwan Mir Assud was taken captive. The Nawab's capital city of Arcot was plundered and the rich treasures were taken as booty by the triumphant Marathas. The news of this defeat spread dismay and consternation in the country. Safdar had by then only reached Arcot. He started negotiations for a truce with the Marathas through Mir Assud who was in captivity in the Maratha camp. The Marathas were disappointed by the desolate condition of the country and many in the circles were ready to come to terms. Raghuji however demanded a high fees for sparing Chanda Sahib who offered only 7 lakhs with a statement threatening to continue the conflict if the terms were rejected.

Raghuji discarded the meagre offer and deployed his men against Tiruchirappalli. The main body of the Maratha cavalry took positions before the city and cut off its communications. In this while, a large body of the Nevayet troops under Chanda Sahib's brother Zaynut Abdul Khan, known as Bada Sahib, marched to the northern borders of their territory to prevent a total encirclement. The Maratha contingents attempted to intercept the march of Bada Sahib, but the flank of his brother Sadak Sahib, defeated their stretched lines at Dindigul. The two then merged their forces and rushed to Tiruchirappalli for aiding their brother but were intercepted by Senasahebsubh Raghuji Bhonsle at Manapparai. In the fierce battle which lasted for nine hours the Marathas emerged victorious. Raghuji killed Bada Sahib and Sadak Sahib with more than 3,000 men in each of their contingents slain. This decisive victory of the Marathas considerably helped their siege of Tiruchirappalli. Despite the formidable odds, Chanda Sahib resisted the onslaught for more than a month.

On the 16th of March 1741, the Marathas finally scaled the walls of the ramparts of Tiruchirappalli fort, surprised the garrison and conquered the Nevayet stronghold. The fort was surrendered to Raghuji on the day of Ram Navami, but it was the banner of Fatehsingh Bhonsle which was raised on the fort. Chanda Sahib negotiated for peace by offering to pay twelve lakhs of rupees for his safe departure, but the Marathas demanded one crore. Eventually the talks broke down and the Marathas carried away the Husayn Dost Khan together with his son Abid Ali as prisoner to Berar and then to Satara. Raghuji Bhonsle appointed Murari Rao Ghorpade as the new ruler at Tiruchirappalli which marked the end of the Nevayets and the culmination of the Maratha campaign.

According to Ramesan, it must have been at this time of his invasion in 1740 when Raghuji was in the Chittoor district and very near to Tirupati that Raghuji Bhonsle took the opportunity to visit the Venkateswara temple and offer his obeisance to the deity with offerings of many valuable jewels. These jewels are still preserved in the temple in a chest known "Raghojivari Pette".

Conquest of Chhattisgarh
Raghoji Bhonsle's Diwan Pandit Bhaskar Ram invaded and placed Mohansingh, an illegitimate son of Raghuji, in charge of the States of Raipur, Ratanpur, Bilaspur and Sambalpur in Chhattisgarh before advancing on to Orissa.

Expeditions in Orissa and Bengal
The Expeditions in Bengal was taken by the Maratha Empire after the successful campaign in Carnatic at the Battle of Trichinopolly. The leader of the expedition was Raghoji of Nagpur. Raghoji was able to annex Orissa permanently as he successfully exploited the chaotic conditions prevailing in the region after the death of their Governor Murshid Quli Khan in 1727. Nawab of Bengal ceded territory up to the river Suvarnarekha to the Marathas, and agreeing to pay Rs. 20 lacs as chauth for Bengal (includes both West Bengal and Bangladesh) and 12 lacs for Bihar (including Jharkhand), thus Bengal becoming a tributary to the Marathas.

Final takeover of Devagad
Dissensions continued between the Devgad Gond brothers and once again, the elder brother Burhan Shah requested the aid of Raghoji Bhonsle. Akbar Shah was driven into exile and finally poisoned at Hyderabad. However this time, Raghoji Bhonsle did not pass the opportunity of conquering such a plentiful and rich country, with it being within his grasp.

He declared himself 'protector' of the Gond king. Thus in 1743, Burhan Shah was practically made a state pensionary, with real power being in the hands of the Maratha ruler. After this event the role of the Gonds in politics of Deogarh region fades out of history.

Death and legacy
King of Nagpur Raghuji Bhonsle died on February 14, 1755. Six wives and seven concubines of Raghuji Bhonsle are said to have immolated themselves on his funeral pyre. Other chronicles record 8 of his 13 wives and innumerable concubines conducted Sati. He left behind four legitimate sons Janoji, Mudhoji, Sabaji and Bimbaji and one known natural son Mohansingh.