Tarabai Bhonsale
Did you know there’s one underrated name that actually saved our Maratha Empire, but never gets the same respect as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or Peshwa Bajirao?
That’s Tarabai Bhosale - and here’s the tea.
Tarabai was born in 1675, just a year after Shivraya’s coronation. She was the daughter of his commander-in-chief Hambirrao Mohite, and married Shivaji’s younger son, Rajaram.
When Shivaji’s elder son, Sambhaji Maharaj, was captured and executed by the Mughals, Rajaram took the throne. But in 1700, Rajaram too passed away - and Emperor Aurangzeb thought the Marathas were finished.
Instead, in a bold move, 25-year-old Tarabai declared herself Regent Ruler until her infant son could grow up & be fit to rule.
She wasn’t just a queen behind palace walls - Tarabai took full command of the military and administration, and guided our Swarajya resistance movement through its darkest hour.
While the Mughals expected the Marathas to retreat, she went on the attack - leading brilliant guerrilla raids, cavalry strikes, psychological warfare, and diplomacy.
Under her command, Marathas raided trade centres, recaptured forts, and harassed the Mughal war machine so fiercely that even Aurangzeb, despite years of trying, died in 1707 with the Maratha Empire still standing strong.
But then, the Mughals released Sambhaji’s son, Shahu, triggering a civil war. Shahu’s claim split the Marathas, and though Tarabai bravely fought on, she was defeated and retreated to Kolhapur, where she ruled her own branch of the Maratha state.
Decades later, she reconciled with Shahu. But in any case, by then, real power had shifted to the Prime Ministers - the Peshwas.
She lived long enough to see both the rise and the great setback of the Maratha Empire, passing away in 1761 - the same year the Marathas suffered their massive loss at the Third Battle of Panipat.
Without Tarabai’s leadership in that crucial middle stretch of Maratha history, the Mughals could’ve wiped out the only Hindu force bold enough to resist their domination.
So yes - Tarabai Bhosale played a vital role in keeping the dream of Hindavi Swarajya alive. And her name absolutely deserves to be honoured.