Narayan Rao

Narayan Rao
Peshwa of Maratha Empire
In office 1772–1773
Monarch	Rajaram II
Preceded by	Madhavrao I
Succeeded by	Raghunathrao
Personal details
Born	August 10, 1755
Died	August 30, 1773(1773-08-30) (aged 18) Shaniwar Wada
Religion	Hinduism

Maratha Emperors (1674–1818) Shivaji 1674–1680 Sambhaji 1680–1689 Rajaram Chhatrapati 1689–1700 Queen Tarabai 1700–1707 Chhatrapati Shahu 1707–1749 Rajaram II of Satara 1749–1777 Peshwas Prime Ministers (1674–1818) Moropant Pingle 1674–1689 Ramchandra Pant Amatya 1689–1708 Bahiroji Pingale 1708–1711 Parshuram Trimbak Kulkarni 1711–1713 Balaji Vishwanath 1712–1719 Bajirao I 1719–1740 Balaji Baji Rao (Nanasaheb) 1740–1761 Madhavrao Ballal 1761–1772 Narayan Rao 1772–1773 Raghunathrao 1773–1774 Sawai Madhavrao 1774–1795 Baji Rao II 1795–1818

Narayan Rao (10 August 1755 – 30 August 1773) was the fifth Peshwa or ruler of the Maratha Empire from November 1772 until his murder in August 1773. He married Gangabai Sathe who later gave birth to Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa.

Early life and ascendancy to Peshwa

Narayanrao was the third son of Peshwa Balaji Bajirao (or Nanasaheb) and Gopikabai. Narayanrao was born on 11 August 1755. His elder brother Vishwasrao had died in the Third Battle of Panipat and the second brother Madhavrao succeeded Balaji Bajirao, their father after the latter's death. Narayanrao was made Diwan of Peshwa from 1770. Madhavrao knew that it would be difficult for Narayanrao to work as Peshwa in presence of Raghunath

Madhavrao I died in 1772 and was succeeded by seventeen-year-old Narayanrao with his uncle Raghunathrao acting as regent. It was decided between Narayanrao & Raghunathrao to work together but differences arose soon. Narayanrao was very immature & angry. His uncle Raghunathrao & aunt Anandibai were very upset because Narayanrao became Peshwa. Narayanrao & Raghunathrao were surrounded by ill-intentioned advisors, who poisoned their minds against each other. Due to these reasons Narayanrao confined Raghunathrao to his house.^[1]

Murder of Narayanrao

During the Ganesh Festival of 1773 (the actual date was 30 August 1773, the last day of Ganesh Festival i.e. Anant Chaturdashi), several Gardi guards, led by their captain, Sumer Singh Gardi, entered the palace and started creating a commotion. They then charged towards the sleeping Peshwa's chambers, killing a clerk on the way. They intended to release Raghunathrao. Raghunathrao and his wife Anandibai, who were opposed to Narayanrao, had promised the Gardis that they would mediate in their dispute with Narayanrao. The Gardis followed Narayanrao to his uncle's chamber and a menial pulled him while Sumer Singh Gardi cut him down. His corpse was cremated secretly by the river at midnight.^[2] N^[3]

According to popular legend, Raghunathrao had sent a message to Sumer Singh Gardi to fetch Narayanrao using the Marathi word dharaa (धरा) or 'hold' (actual phrase in Marathi - " नारायणरावांना धरा"/"Narayanrao-ana dhara"). This message was intercepted by his wife Anandibai who changed a single letter to make it read as maaraa (मारा) or 'kill' . The miscommunication led the Gardis to chase Narayanrao, who, upon hearing them coming, started running towards his uncles' residence screaming, "Kaka! Mala Vachva!!" or "Uncle! Save me!". But nobody came to help him and he was killed in the presence of his uncle. Rumour has it that Narayanrao's body was hacked into so many pieces that they had to carry the pieces in a pot, henceforth it was taken near the river and cremated at midnight.

This act brought ill fame to the Peshwa administration, which was being looked after by the minister Nana Phadnavis. The Chief Justice of the administration, Ram Shastri Prabhune was asked to conduct an investigation into the incident, and Raghunathrao, Anandibai and Sumer Singh Gardi were all prosecuted in absentia. Although Raghunathrao was acquitted, Anandibai was declared an offender and Sumer Singh Gardi the culprit. Sumer Singh Gardi died mysteriously at Patna in Bihar in 1775, and Anandibai performed Hindu rituals for the washing of sins.

Legacy

Narayanrao's widow, Gangabai (Nee, Sathe) was pregnant at the time of his murder. After Narayanrao's murder, Raghunathrao became Peshwa but was soon was deposed by the courtiers and knights of the Empire. They instead installed Gangabai's new born son, Sawai Madhavrao as the Peshwa with the courtiers themselves, led by Nana Fadnavis, as the Regents. A popular rumour says that Narayanrao's ghost still hovers about Shanivar wada and calls out for help just like the way he did on the fateful night of his murder.^[4][5][6]

The Narayan Peth area in Pune is named after Peshwa Narayanrao.

References

1. ↑ Unknown (1796). Narayanrao Peshwe yaanchi bakhar. 
2. ↑ Gense, Banaji (1934). Third English Embassy to the Marathas: Mostyn's diary. Jal Taraporewalla. 
3. ↑ C. A. KINCAID; Rao Bahadur D. B. PARASNIS (1925). A History of Maratha people. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 April 2012.  Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
4. ↑ Preeti Panwar. "Top 10 most haunted places in India". Zee News. Retrieved 21 July 2015. 
5. ↑ Huned Contractor (31 October 2011). "Going ghost hunting". Sakal. Retrieved 21 July 2015. 
6. ↑ "Pune and its ghosts". Rediff. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.