Balaji Vishwanath | |
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बाळाजी विश्वनाथ | |
![]() Portrait of Balaji Vishwanath at the Peshwa Memorial in Parvati Hill, Pune | |
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In office November 16, 1713 – April 12, 1720 | |
Monarch | Shahu I |
Preceded by | Parshuram Pant Pratinidhi |
Succeeded by | Baji Rao I |
Personal details | |
Born | Balaji Vishwanath Bhat 1 January 1662 Shrivardhan, Bijapur Sultanate (modern day Maharashtra, India) |
Died | 12 April 1720 Saswad, Maratha Empire (modern day Maharashtra, India) | (aged 58)
Spouse(s) | Radhabai |
Children | Bajirao I Chimaji Appa Bhiubai Joshi Anubai Ghorpade [1] Bhikaji Ranoji |
Parents |
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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.
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