Tarabai Bhosale
Most of us would have heard of the Queen Lakshmibai of Jhansi. Today, let’s hear the story okay read the story :P of a fearless warrior queen Tarabai Bhosale who is not very familiar to most of us.
Tarabai Bhosale was the daughter of the Maratha Empire’s commander-in-chief Hambirao Mohite. She was married at the age of 8 years old to the younger son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Rajaram Bhosale.
When Shivaji Maharaj died in 1680, the Maratha Empire was attacked by Aurangzeb. However, he faced strong resistance from Shivaji Maharaj’s elder son Sambhaji until he eventually died after being held captive in 1689. After his death, the Marathas continued wars against the Mughal Empire under the leadership of Rajaram Bhosale. Unfortunately, he also died in 1700.
As there was no legal heir to the throne, Maharani Tarabai proclaimed her son Shivaji 2 as Rajaram’s successor and declared herself the Queen Regent. She took charge of the administrative, judiciary, and military powers of the empire.
Khafi Khan (court historian of Aurangzeb) wrote about the continuous raids waged by Tarabai Bhosale.
“They penetrated deep into the old territories of the Imperial throne, plundering and destroying wherever they went.
As Tarabai was relentless in her attacks on Aurangzeb’s army, he had to shift his focus to south India and the western Ghats. This made areas around Gujarat vulnerable. Tarabai took advantage of this and captured the regions of Mewar.
In the 1700s, she led the Maratha army to attack the Khandesh, Berar and Telangana regions.
In a move to wage a civil war against the Marathas even after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughals released Sambhaji Maharaj’s son Shahuji. Shahuji received support from the Maratha leaders and became their leader after defeating Tarabia Bhosale at the Battle of Khed.
Later on, Tarabai and her son Shivaji 2 were imprisoned till 1730.
She died at the age of 86 in 1761 after the third battle of Panipat. But, even after her death, her legacy lives on.
Sources : Dharmayudha
