Shrimant
Vishwas Rao
Portrait of Vishwasrao Bhat at Peshwa memorial, Pune
MonarchRajaram II
Prime MinisterBalaji Baji Rao
LeaderSadashivrao Bhau
Heir apparent to the throne of the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire
In office
1751 – 14 January 1761
Personal details
Born22 July 1742
Shaniwarwada, Pune, Maratha Empire
Died14 January 1761 (aged 18)
Panipat, Maratha Empire
SpouseLakshmibai (Maiden Name Durgabai Dikshit-Patwardhan)
RelationsMadhavrao I (Brother)
Narayan Rao (Brother)
Sadashivrao Bhau (Uncle)
Raghunathrao (Uncle)
Shamsher Bahadur I (Uncle)

Baji Rao I(Grandfather)

Kashibai(Grandmother)
Parent(s)Balaji Baji Rao (father)
Gopikabai (Mother)
Residence(s)Shaniwar wada, Poona
Military service
AllegianceMaratha Empire
Battles/warsThird Battle of Panipat

Vishwasrao Bhat (22 July 1742 – 14 January 1761) was the eldest son of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao of the Maratha Empire and the heir to the title of Peshwa.

Vishwasrao had received training in administration and warfare from the age of 8 years. He had impressed the Maratha infantry. He was skilled at swordsmanship and archery. Although he looked like the younger version of his grandfather Baji Rao I, Vishwasrao had blue eyes. As per Marathi historian Sardesai, and a few other writers wrote in their respective books, he was good-looking among the Peshwa men. Vishwasrao used to follow a strenuous gym routine and performed Kawaiti (Eng: Exercises). Writer Kaustubh Kasture states in his book, Sakalraj Karya Dhurandar Sadashivrao Bhausaheb that Sadashivrao Bhau, his paternal uncle, made sure that Vishwasrao took military training. According to some sources, Nanasaheb Peshwa introduced regular army training and added the best armour to the Maratha army.[1]

Vishwasrao led the Maratha Empire army during the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. However, his uncle Sadashivrao Bhau was the main leader and Vishwasrao was the nominal leader.[2] Vishwasrao got hit in the head by a bullet fired by a Pashtun officer during the period of the most intense fighting (Approx. between 01:00 PM and 02:30 PM) at this battle.[3] He died fighting on the front lines. Marathas were winning the battle, but some contingents charged ahead of their cue and obstructed the cannon lines, creating a problem for Ibrahim Khan Gardi in aiming for the enemies. As per Grant Duff, upon hearing about Shrimant Vishwasrao's death Malharrao Holkar retreated from the field with at least 10,000 soldiers and sardars. He also took men of significance like Damaji Gaekwad with him. He went to Delhi and asked people of significance like Vinchurkar to vacate Delhi.

Although Vishwas Rao Bhat was first exposed to actual warfare at Sindkheda near Hyderabad, against Nizam in 1756, he was the nominal Commander of Maratha Forces and the Peshwa's representative during the Third Battle of Panipat under the guidance of his uncle Sadashivrao Bhau.

At the time of the battle, the Maratha Empire was in control of about two-thirds of the Indian subcontinent (including areas of the modern Republic of India and Pakistan).

Early life

Maratha Confederacy at its zenith in 1760 (blue area) stretching from the Deccan into present-day Pakistan. The Maratha administration discussed finally abolishing the Mughal Empire and placing Vishwasrao on the Mughal imperial throne in Delhi once and for all.

Vishwasrao was born as the eldest son of Balaji Baji Rao at Supe near Pune (Supe was the Jagir of Shahaji near Pune). He was trained in Administrative matters and was exposed to Military training early in his life. Viswasrao had inherited his grandfather Bajirao's looks. G. S. Sardesai writes that there was none as fine looking in Peshwa lineage than Vishwas Rao. Raghunath Yadav, author of one of the Panipat Bakhar had stated, "पुरुषात देखणा विश्वासराव" ("The one most handsome among all men Vishwasrao.")[4][5]

Marriage

Vishwasrao was married to Lakshmibai on 2 May 1750, the daughter of Hari Balkrushn Dikshit-Patwardhan.[5][6]

Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition defeated the Maratha Confederacy, during the Third Battle of Panipat but restored the Mughal Empire to Shah Alam II.[7]

Death

Shrimant Vishwasrao had sensed that there could be a debacle on the final day of battle, although Abdali was receding. There was no food, and Sadashivrao, Parvatibai, and Vishwasrao were pretending to be on a fast taking the moral responsibility. Meanwhile, they were trying to make food available to the soldiers. Shrimant Jankoji Shinde urged him to write a letter to Nanasaheb Peshwa asking for help. Worrying that he wouldn't let his ever victorious and righteous uncle Sadashivrao lose his streak in front of the gilchas, Vishwasrao wrote a letter to Nanasaheb. In that letter he urged Nanasaheb to bring in more soldiers, money, and food to help Bhausaheb. Shrimant Vishwasrao wrote that his life was unimportant as Nanasaheb had two more sons. However, if he were to lose a brother and the nation a patriotic leader like Bhausaheb, that loss would be irreparable. His fears came true as Najib Khan, Abdali's friend and Malharrao Holkar's foster son used deceitful ways to murder Mehendale while he was returning victorious from a skirmish before the battle. Bhausaheb was at a personal loss and without a commander. During the battle of Udgir, Shrimant Vishwasrao established himself as a valorous Maratha leader. He led the troops and fought alongside Shrimant Jankoji Shinde and they were close friends. Tukoji and Mahadji Shinde had faith in their captain, Bhausaheb and they had vowed to fight till their last breath. Trusting his fiercely loyal and able young team, he made Vishwasrao a commander in the Third Battle of Panipat. On the final day, Shrimant Vishwasrao went to the battlefield with no morsel of food, relying only on sugared water like the other Maratha warriors. While fiercely fighting from the front, he was hit by an arrow which injured his shoulder and another shot hit his head while lying down.[8]

  • In the 1994 Hindi TV series The Great Maratha, Vishwasrao's character was portrayed by Sanjay Sharma.
  • In the 2019 film, Panipat, Vishwasrao's character was portrayed by Abhishek Nigam.[9]
  • In the 2019 Marathi TV series Swamini, Vishwasrao's character was portrayed by Sujit Deshpande.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "विश्वासराव पेशवे". 7 September 2023.
  2. ↑ Chandra, Bipin (2021). History of Mordern India. India.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ↑ See Rawlinson (1926), Account of the last Battle of Panipat, Oxford UP, np. And also D R Lal, 'Third Battle of Panipat- a historical account' Lahore: FC College Press, 1932, p 174. Lal states citing contemporary Afghan sources, that the officer in question was probably one Bahadar Khan Tarin, aa
  4. ↑ Abhas Verma, "Third Battle of Panipat", Bhartiya Kala Prakashan, ISBN 9788180903397
  5. 1 2 Sharma, Priyanka (10 May 2021). "Vishwasrao Peshwa". History Flame. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Kasture, Kaustubha; कस्तुरे, कौस्तुभ. Peśavāī : Mahārāshṭrācyā itihāsātīla eka suvarṇapāna. Mumbaī. ISBN 978-81-922379-8-5. OCLC 948661274.
  7. ↑ S. M. Ikram (1964). "XIX. A Century of Political Decline: 1707–1803". In Ainslie T. Embree. Muslim Civilization in India. New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  8. ↑ Rawlinson above
  9. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8176040/fullcredits
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