Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.

Responsive image


Balaji Vishwanath

Balaji Vishwanath
बाळाजी विश्वनाथ
Portrait of Balaji Vishwanath at the Peshwa Memorial in Parvati Hill, Pune
6th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy
In office
November 16, 1713 – April 12, 1720
MonarchShahu I
Preceded byParshuram Pant Pratinidhi
Succeeded byBaji Rao I
Personal details
Born
Balaji Vishwanath Bhat

(1662-01-01)1 January 1662
Shrivardhan, Bijapur Sultanate
(modern day Maharashtra, India)
Died12 April 1720(1720-04-12) (aged 58)
Saswad, Maratha Empire
(modern day Maharashtra, India)
Spouse(s)Radhabai
ChildrenBajirao I
Chimaji Appa
Bhiubai Joshi
Anubai Ghorpade [1]
Bhikaji
Ranoji
Parents
  • Vishwanath Pant Bhat (Visaji) (father)
  • Unknown (mother)

Balaji Vishwanath Bhat (1 January 1662 – 12 April 1720) was the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas hailing from the Bhat family who gained effective control of the Maratha Confederacy and other Mughal vassals during the early 18th century. Balaji Vishwanath assisted a young Maratha king Shahu to consolidate his grip on a kingdom that had been racked by civil war and persistently intruded on by the Mughals under Aurangzeb. He was called the Second Founder of the Maratha State.[2] He secured a grant from the Mughal court that confirmed Shahu as the legitimate Mughal vassal, at the expense of his rival Sambhaji II. Later, his son Bajirao I became the Peshwa.

  1. ^ G.S.Chhabra (2005). Advance Study in the History of Modern India (Volume-1: 1707-1803). Lotus Press. pp. 19–28. ISBN 978-81-89093-06-8.
  2. ^ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 202–204. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.

Previous Page Next Page