Soyarabai

For 14th century Varkari saint, see Sant Soyarabai.

Soyarabai (died 1680) was the second wife of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom in western India. She was mother of Shivaji's second son, Raja Ram. She was the younger sister of Maratha army chief Hambirrao Mohite.

Early life

Born Soyarabai Mohite, she was married to Shivaji at a very young age. The marriage took place when Shivaji visited his father Shahaji at Bangalore, with his first wife Saibai and his mother Jijabai. Tukabai, the stepmother of Shivaji and aunt of Soyarabai insisted on the marriage. Jijabai was reluctant, yet the marriage took place.

After the deaths of Saibai (1659) and Jijabai (1674), Soyarabai gained prominence in the royal house of Shivaji, and as an extension, in the Maratha court politics.[1]

After Shivaji's death

After Shivaji's death in 1680, Soyarabai did want her own son Rajaram, and not Sambhaji, to have an upper hand in the political structure of the Maratha empire. Her only other child was a daughter, Balibai, who was older than Rajaram. Soyarabai was highly misled by a spy of the enemy, the Amin of Shival, Mia Rahim about Shivaiji's first wife. This created envy and led to severe problems.

When Sambhaji became king, Soyarabai tried every means to dethrone him, but he overcame these attempts with the help of her brother Hambirrao Mohite, leader of their forces. He put Soyarabai and her son Raja Ram into prison, and formally became the king on 20 July 1680.[2] Soyarabai's henchmen tried to poison Sambhaji to death in August 1681, but he survived. When he learned about the plot, he had Soyarabai poisoned to death. Around two dozen suspects including Soyarabai's relatives of the Mohite family were also slaughtered or trampled by the elephants.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Sushila Vaidya (1 January 2000). Role of women in Maratha politics, 1620-1752 A.D. Sharada Pub. House. ISBN 978-81-85616-67-4. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jaswant Lal Mehta (1 January 2005). Advanced study in the history of modern India 1707-1813. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-932705-54-6. Retrieved 6 March 2012.

See also