CLASS 8 SOCIAL SCIENCE · CHAPTER 3 · STUDY NOTES
The Rise of the Marathas
Understand the rise of the marathas through short explanations, labelled models and original practice. Read one topic, explain it in your own words, then check.
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Language and shared traditions helped people connect
The Marathas emerged as a major political power in the Deccan, especially present-day Maharashtra.Ideas can travel through familiar language
- Bhakti
- Devotion to the divine, expressed in different traditions through prayer, songs and other practices.
Marathi literature and bhakti teachers such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram and Ramdas helped spread ideas in languages people understood.
Cultural connections helped political organisation, but the rise of a state also needed leadership, resources and military strength.
Take a moment. What do you think?
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Question
Why could teaching in Marathi reach people beyond a small scholarly group?
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Shivaji built a kingdom of his own
Born in 1630, Shivaji grew up under Jijabai’s care and began consolidating forts as a young leader.Selected milestones
- Swarajya
- Self-rule or a kingdom under one’s own authority; Shivaji’s vision included political, economic and cultural aims.
In the Pune region, warfare among larger powers brought hardship. Shivaji strengthened forts and developed a growing kingdom.
After conflicts and the Treaty of Purandar, he went to Agra, was detained and escaped in 1666. His coronation at Raigad in 1674 formally established his sovereign kingship.
Let’s look a little closer.
Go deeper: A dramatic account and its evidence
The book describes an escape using baskets. When explaining a vivid historical episode, distinguish the account in the source from details invented for a story or performance.
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Question
Why did a coronation matter beyond a celebration?
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Forts made landscape part of defence
A fort could protect supplies, shelter troops and control a route.Strongholds and connecting routes
- Guerrilla warfare
- Small-group operations using surprise, speed and local knowledge.
Shivaji used hill forts, quick movements and surprise attacks to challenge larger armies. Campaigns against Afzal Khan and Shaista Khan show the importance of planning and terrain.
He also raided Surat and faced a setback at Purandar. The southern expansion in 1677 later gave successors additional strongholds and room to manoeuvre.
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Question
Why was a chain of forts more useful than one isolated fort?
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Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14.
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A coastal kingdom needed a navy
Sea power helped protect the west coast and trading routes.Protect a coastal connection
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- Cartaz
- A naval permit demanded by Portuguese authorities for shipping.
- Maritime trade
- Trade carried by sea.
Shivaji established a navy and coastal fortifications. Later, Kanhoji Angre used local geography and tactics to challenge European naval power.
European permits restricted shipping. Maratha challenges to that control were labelled differently by opponents; a historical description can reflect its author’s interests.
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Why should we question an opponent’s label of “pirate”?
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Resistance continued after the founder’s death
Shivaji died in 1680, but the state survived prolonged Mughal attacks.Resistance across generations
- Strategic depth
- Space and strongholds that allow a state or army to regroup rather than depend on one location.
Sambhaji succeeded Shivaji and was captured and executed by Aurangzeb. Rajaram continued resistance from Gingee in the South.
After Rajaram’s death, Tarabai led resistance and northward campaigns. The Marathas were not subdued before Aurangzeb died in 1707.
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Question
How did a southern stronghold help when Raigad was captured?
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A wider power became more decentralised
The Peshwa and powerful regional chiefs became increasingly important.Setback, recovery, final defeat
- Peshwa
- The prime minister in the Maratha system.
- Decentralisation
- The sharing or dispersal of power among several centres.
Bajirao I and Nanasaheb helped expand Maratha power far beyond Maharashtra. Regional chiefs gained greater autonomy; some campaigns, including in Bengal, caused civilian suffering.
The defeat at Panipat in 1761 was severe, but Maratha power recovered under Madhavrao I; Mahadji Shinde regained Delhi in 1771. Three Anglo-Maratha wars later ended their major political power in 1818.
Go deeper: Why outcomes changed
Internal rivalries and British organisational and technological advantages contributed to defeat. Outcomes also depended on alliances, resources and decisions; they were not automatic.
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Question
Did the defeat at Panipat immediately end Maratha power?
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A state needed more than battlefield success
Shivaji used salaried officials and a council of eight ministers to assist government.Functions of government
- Ashta Pradhan
- The council of eight ministers associated with Shivaji’s administration.
| Selected minister | Responsibility in the book |
|---|---|
| Amatya | Finance |
| Senapati | Commander-in-chief |
| Nyayadhish | Chief justice |
| Sumant | Foreign affairs |
Salaries and transfers helped limit officials’ independent power. The council included roles for finance, military matters, justice, foreign affairs and other responsibilities.
The book’s instructions about trees show concern for people’s property and long-term livelihood. Pensions supported soldiers’ widows. These are examples of stated policies, not proof that every official always complied.
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Question
Why could a salary and transfer system reduce an official’s local dominance?
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Different institutions did different jobs
Revenue, military organisation and local justice supported the state.Three branches of the forces
- Chauth
- A levy described as 25% of assessed revenue in territories subject to the arrangement.
- Sardeshmukhi
- An additional levy described as 10% of assessed revenue.
Chauth and sardeshmukhi were collected through particular political arrangements; they were not modern personal income-tax rates for everyone.
The military included infantry, cavalry and navy. Bargirs received state-supported horses and equipment; shiledars provided their own. Local justice could involve panchayats and appeals to chiefs.
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How were bargirs and shiledars different?
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Self-rule also had a cultural meaning
The Marathas maintained trade routes and supported language, crafts and institutions.Public works and livelihoods
- Cultural patronage
- Support for cultural work such as literature, architecture, music or crafts.
Shivaji used a Sanskrit seal and promoted Marathi administrative vocabulary through the Rajya-Vyavahara-Kosha. Modi script was widely used in correspondence.
Ahilyabai Holkar supported roads, wells, temples and weaving at Maheshwar. Such public works and crafts affected daily life as well as royal prestige.
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How can a well and a weaving industry both matter to governance?
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Cultures can grow through interaction
Maratha rule in Thanjavur brought Marathi traditions into contact with Tamil and Telugu cultures.Traditions in interaction
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- Syncretic culture
- A culture shaped by interaction and combination of different traditions.
Ekoji established Maratha rule in Thanjavur in the late 17th century. Later Serfoji II supported music, medicine, printing and learning.
Thanjavur painting’s detailed gold work is one visible example of cultural patronage. The Maratha legacy also includes forts, naval resistance, administration and the ideal of Swarajya.
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Question
Why is Thanjavur’s culture better described as an interaction than a simple replacement?
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Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.