Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes: Shivaji, Maratha Administration, Peshwas and Timeline

Rise of the Marathas Class 8 is Chapter 3 of Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Part 1, the NCERT Social Science book for Class 8 (the theme is Tapestry of the Past). The chapter opens with a line from Ramachandrapant Amatya’s Adnyapatra (1715), which shows how important forts and sea power were for the Marathas. These Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes follow the chapter in order, and add a timeline and exam questions. You can download the book from eSaral’s NCERT Books for Class 8 page.

Timeline of the Marathas in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Key Terms in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Who Were the Marathas? in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

The Marathas are a people native to the Deccan plateau, mainly present-day Maharashtra. They are known by their language, Marathi, which has a rich written tradition from the 12th century.

Maharashtra Before Shivaji

In the 13th century, most of Maharashtra was ruled by the Yadava dynasty from Devagiri (present-day Daulatabad). In the early 14th century, the Yadavas were defeated by the Khalji Sultanate of Delhi. Later, the region came under the Deccan sultanates.

The Bhakti Movement and the Cultural Foundation

Over several centuries up to the 17th century, saints across India followed the path of Bhakti (devotion) rather than empty ritual. In Maharashtra, saints such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram and Ramdas became very popular. They wrote and taught in Marathi, so that texts such as the Bhagavad Gita could reach ordinary people. In this way, Marathi society got a strong cultural foundation, which later helped the Marathas to organise themselves as a political power.

Shivaji and the Rise of the Marathas in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Birth and Early Life

Shivaji was born in 1630 in the Bhosale family to Shahji and Jijabai. Shahji served the Deccan sultanates and was often away from home. When Shivaji was about 16, he began to take over neglected forts near Pune and to strengthen them. His aim was Swarajya, self-rule, in political, economic and cultural life.

Forts, the Navy and Guerrilla Warfare in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Forts were the base of Maratha defence. As the kingdom grew to the west coast, Shivaji built a navy to protect the coast and its trade. Against much bigger armies, he used guerrilla warfare: small, fast groups that used surprise and the hills and forests that they knew well.

Clashes with Bijapur and the Mughals in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

1. Afzal Khan (1659). The Bijapur Sultanate sent its experienced general Afzal Khan against Shivaji. They met alone at the foot of Pratapgad fort. Shivaji killed Afzal Khan, and the Marathas, who were hidden in the hills and forest, routed his army with a guerrilla attack.
2. Shaista Khan (1663). Shivaji made a night raid on the camp of the Mughal general Shaista Khan in Pune. The Khan barely escaped, and lost some fingers. The NCERT chapter compares this raid with a modern surgical strike.
3. Surat (1664 and 1670). Shivaji sacked Surat, a rich Mughal port in present-day Gujarat, and got treasure that the chapter puts at almost one crore of rupees, a very large sum at that time. He attacked it again after a few years. The raid was a great blow to the prestige of the Mughals.

The Treaty of Purandar and the Escape from Agra in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Aurangzeb sent Jai Singh, a famous Rajput general, against Shivaji. Shivaji lost at Purandar (near Pune), and in the treaty (1665) he gave up a large part of his kingdom, and his son Sambhaji joined the Mughal service. Jai Singh then persuaded Shivaji to visit the Mughal court at Agra. There Shivaji was made to stand among lesser nobles, and he walked out in anger. Aurangzeb placed him under house arrest, but Shivaji and Sambhaji escaped by hiding in baskets.

Coronation and the Dakshin Digvijay in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

In 1674, Shivaji was crowned with Vedic rites at Raigad, with the title Chhatrapati, and he began his own era. He then led a campaign in the south, the Dakshin Digvijay, which brought parts of present-day northern Tamil Nadu and a large part of Karnataka under Maratha influence.

The Marathas After Shivaji in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

• Sambhaji became Chhatrapati after Shivaji (1680). The Marathas were the main obstacle to Mughal control of the Deccan. Aurangzeb invaded the Deccan, conquered Bijapur and Golconda, and then captured and executed Sambhaji and took Raigad (1689).
• Rajaram became Chhatrapati and moved to Gingee in present-day Tamil Nadu, and the war spread to the south.
• Tarabai, the wife of Rajaram, led the Marathas after his death (1700) and sent armies into Mughal territory.
• The Peshwas. After 1707, the Peshwa (the prime minister) became the real power. Baji Rao I (Peshwa from 1720) and Balaji Baji Rao (Nana Saheb) took Maratha influence far into the north. For a time, the Marathas controlled Lahore, Attock and even Peshawar.
• Panipat (1761). The Marathas lost badly to the Afghans at the Third Battle of Panipat, but they recovered under Peshwa Madhavrao I.
• Delhi (1771). Mahadji Shinde (Sindhia) recaptured Delhi, which stayed under Maratha control until the British took it about three decades later.
• Decline. Three Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775 to 1818) ended Maratha power. Disunity among the Marathas, and the stronger organisation and technology of the British, were the main reasons. In effect, the British took more territory from the Marathas than from the Mughals or any other power.

Maratha Administration in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Shivaji set up a fairly centralised administration. He did not give hereditary posts, as the sultans and the Mughals often did. Officials were given land assignments and a salary from the state treasury.

Ashta Pradhan: The Council of Eight Ministers in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Taxes: Chauth and Sardeshmukhi in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

The Marathas collected Chauth, one-fourth (25%) of the revenue, and Sardeshmukhi, an additional one-tenth (10%), from areas that were not under their direct rule, in the Deccan and in the north. In return, they promised not to attack those areas.

Army, Navy and Forts in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

• Three parts: infantry, cavalry and navy. The cavalry had Bargirs (horse and equipment from the state) and Shiledars (their own horse and equipment).
• Forts protected the kingdom and were the base of guerrilla warfare.
• Navy: Shivaji founded the navy in the 17th century. In the 18th century, Kanhoji Angre led it to many victories. The Maratha ships were less advanced than European ships, but the Marathas used the coast and their tactics well.
• Weapons: swords, lances, guns and rockets, and later European-style troops and artillery.

Judicial System and Cultural Revival in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

The Marathas had an efficient judicial system that used the death penalty with restraint. In big towns such as Pune and Indore, the Kotwal kept law and order.

Shivaji’s seal described him as the son of Shahji, growing like the new moon and respected by the world for the welfare of the people. He had the Rajya Vyavahar Kosh (a dictionary of official terms) made to promote Marathi and Sanskrit words in place of Persian ones. He was a devout Hindu who respected other religions, rebuilt temples that had been damaged, and supported Sanskrit and Marathi literature, religious institutions and traditional arts. A saffron flag was the symbol of the Marathas.

Tarabai and Ahilyabai Holkar in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Tarabai led the Marathas after the death of her husband Rajaram, in the early 18th century. While Aurangzeb and the Mughal army were busy in the Deccan, she sent a large Maratha army to attack Mughal lands in the north.

Ahilyabai Holkar (1725 to 1795) ruled Indore, in Malwa, from 1767. She built and repaired hundreds of temples, ghats, wells and roads from Kedarnath to Rameshwaram. Her best-known works are the rebuilding of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi, which had been destroyed under Aurangzeb, and a temple at Somnath in Gujarat, which had been destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni.

Maratha Rule in the South: Thanjavur in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Ekoji, a half-brother of Shivaji, took the Thanjavur region (present-day Tamil Nadu) in the late 17th century. The Thanjavur Marathas built a rich, mixed (syncretic) culture. They were great patrons of arts, and many of the rulers were poets and playwrights. Later rulers such as Serfoji II supported the arts, medicine and printing.

Legacy of the Marathas in Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

The Marathas challenged the Mughal Empire and became the leading Indian power of the 18th century. They set up an efficient administration, and they revived local traditions without discrimination on the ground of religion. Their fight against oppressive and foreign rule, in the name of Swaraj, later inspired Indians to believe that they could govern themselves.

Revision Summary of Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

These ten points sum up Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes for the last-day revision.

1. The Marathas are a people of the Deccan (mainly Maharashtra), and their language is Marathi.
2. The Bhakti saints (Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram, Ramdas) gave Marathi society a cultural base.
3. Shivaji was born in 1630 in the Bhosale family, and his aim was Swarajya.
4. He used forts, a navy and guerrilla warfare, and he killed Afzal Khan (1659) and raided Shaista Khan (1663).
5. He sacked Surat (1664, 1670), signed the Treaty of Purandar (1665) and escaped from Agra (1666).
6. He was crowned Chhatrapati at Raigad in 1674 and led the Dakshin Digvijay.
7. After him came Sambhaji, Rajaram and Tarabai, and then the Peshwas who took Maratha power far into the north.
8. The Ashta Pradhan council, salaried officials, Chauth (25%) and Sardeshmukhi (10%) were the pillars of the administration.
9. The Marathas lost at Panipat (1761), recovered, took Delhi (1771), and were ended by the Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775–1818).
10. Tarabai, Ahilyabai Holkar and the Thanjavur Marathas show the role of women and the culture of the Marathas.

Important Questions and Answers from Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

These questions are the most likely ones from Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes in school tests.

1. Who were the Marathas?

A people native to the Deccan plateau, mainly present-day Maharashtra, known by their language Marathi.

2. How did the Bhakti movement help the Marathas?

Saints such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram and Ramdas taught in Marathi, so ordinary people could follow religious texts. This gave Marathi society a strong cultural base, which later helped it to organise as a political power.

3. What is guerrilla warfare? How did Shivaji use it?

It is fighting with small groups that use speed, surprise and knowledge of the land to defeat a larger army. Shivaji hid his forces in the hills and forests, and defeated much bigger armies, such as that of Afzal Khan.

4. What happened at Pratapgad in 1659?

Shivaji met the Bijapur general Afzal Khan alone at the foot of the fort, killed him, and the hidden Maratha troops routed his army.

5. Why was the raid on Surat important?

Surat was a rich Mughal port. Shivaji got treasure worth almost one crore of rupees, which made the Marathas stronger and hurt the prestige of the Mughals.

6. What was the Treaty of Purandar?

The treaty of 1665 with the Mughal general Jai Singh. Shivaji gave up a large part of his kingdom, and his son Sambhaji joined the Mughal service.

7. How did Shivaji escape from Agra?

After he was put under house arrest, Shivaji and Sambhaji hid in baskets and escaped.

8. When and where was Shivaji crowned?

In 1674, at Raigad, with Vedic rites. He took the title Chhatrapati and began his own era.

9. What was the Ashta Pradhan?

The council of eight ministers who helped Shivaji: Pradhan, Amatya, Sachiv, Mantri, Sumant, Senapati, Panditrao and Nyayadhish.

10. What were Chauth and Sardeshmukhi?

Chauth was a tax of 25% and Sardeshmukhi an additional tax of 10% of the revenue, collected from areas that were not directly under Maratha rule.

11. Who were the Bargirs and the Shiledars?

Both were cavalry soldiers. The state gave the horses and equipment of the Bargirs, and the Shiledars supplied their own.

12. Why did Maratha power end?

Because of disunity among the Marathas, and the stronger organisation and technology of the British, who defeated them in the three Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775–1818).

MCQs on Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

Common Mistakes in Answers on Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

How to Study Rise of the Marathas Class 8 Notes

1. Read the chapter in the NCERT book first, and download it from eSaral’s NCERT Books for Class 8 page (it is Part 1 of Exploring Society: India and Beyond).
2. Learn the timeline table, then the Ashta Pradhan table, and then the two taxes.
3. Write the answers to the chapter’s questions in your own words, and then check them with eSaral’s NCERT Solutions for Class 8 page.
4. Draw a simple map of the Maratha places (Pune, Pratapgad, Raigad, Surat, Agra, Thanjavur, Panipat, Delhi) to remember them.
5. Use the revision summary and the questions above for the last-day revision.