Mastani

Mastani
A painting said to be of Mastani
Born	Mau Sahaniya, Bundelkhand
Died	1740 Pabal
Spouse(s)	Baji Rao I
Children	Shamsher Bahadur I (Krishna Rao)
Parent(s)	Chhatrasal, Ruhanibai

Mastani was the second wife of the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I. She is said to have been a beautiful and brave woman, skilled in arts, literature, and warfare. She had been dearly loved by Peshwa Bajirao but always neglected by his mother and his brother.

Early life

Mastani was born to Bundelkhand's Maharaja Chhatrasal of the Rajput clan. She was born in MauSahaniya, now a village in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. There is a Mastani Mahal in Dhubela where Mastani lived.

Biography

Peshwa Bajirao I

There are many legends associated with Mastani. One of the most well-known is that Mastani was the daughter of Bundela Rajput leader Maharaja Chhatrasal (1649–1731), the founder of Panna State in Bundelkhand province. When a Mughal officer from Allahabad, the Pathan Mohammad Khan Bangash, invaded Chhattrasal's kingdom during 1727-28, Chhattrasal sent a secret message, seeking help, from Bajirao I, who happened to be on a military campaign in the vicinity of Bundelkhand. Bajirao came to the rescue of Chhatrasal. In gratitude, Chattrasal gave Bajirao his daughter Mastani, and a third of his kingdom, including Jhansi, Sagar and Kalpi as well as 33 lakh gold coins to Bajirao. He also gifted a Diamond mine to Bajirao in marriage to Mastani along with handful of villages.

However, sources vary on this context. According to the second view of Chhatrasal, she was the daughter of Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam, defeated by Chhatrasal in 1698, was advised by his wife to marry his daughter to Chhatrasal to foster friendly relations with the Bundelas who had become the most dominant power in Central India.

However, the most accepted and conclusive version is that she was the daughter of Chhatrasal with his Persian Muslim wife Ruhaani Bai. Mastani is often referred to as Bajirao's concubine or mistress. However, she was his lawfully wedded wife.

Mastani was skilled in horse-riding, spear-throwing and swordsmanship and a talented dancer and singer. She accompanied Bajirao on his military campaigns. Bajirao's first wife, Kashibai, and Mastani bore sons to Bajirao within a few months of each other. Kashibai's child was named Raghunathrao and Mastani's child was named Shamsher Bahadur.

Bajirao bestowed the Jagir of Banda on Shamsher (Peshwa). The son fought on the side of the Marathas in the third Battle of Panipat in 1761 against Ahmed Shah Abdali and is said to have been killed in the battle.

Bajirao's love for his half-Muslim wife Mastani, and neglect of Kashibai angered his mother, Radhabai. In deference to Radhabai, Bajirao's brother, Chimnaji Appa, tried to send Mastani into exile. Bajirao's son, Balaji, also tried to coerce Mastani into leaving his father, but she refused. Enraged by her growing influence on Bajirao, and Bajirao's neglect of Kashibai, Balaji had Mastani placed under house arrest for a time, while Bajirao was on military campaign.

Mastani lived for some time with Bajirao at his palace of Shaniwar Wada in the city of Pune. The palace's north-east corner held Mastani Mahal and had its own external doorway called Mastani Darwaza. Because of his family's intolerance of Mastani, Bajirao later built a separate residence for Mastani at Kothrud in 1734, some distance away from Shaniwar Wada. The site still exists at the Mrutyunjay temple on Karve road. The palace at Kothrud was dismantled and parts of this are displayed at a special section of Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum. Court records (Bakhars) during Bajirao's regime specifically never included any reference to her. Historians have determined that the paintings of Mastani in both Raja Kelkar Museum and Wai museum are not authentic.

Mastani is believed to be a skilled horse-rider and a warrior. She also assisted Bajirao Peshwa in running the day to day course of courts.

According to a local folklore, the lake near Dive Village, on Pune-Saswad Road, was funded by Mastani to fulfill water requirements of nearby villages.

Death

In April 1740, while Bajirao was inspecting his lands at Khargon, he suddenly became ill from fever (possibly heat stroke) and died. Kashibai, Chimnaji Appa and Balaji (Nanasaheb) came to Khargon. Bajirao's mortal remains were consigned to flames on 28 April 1740, at Raver Khed on the banks of the Narmada River. Mastani died at Pabal Village near Pune, soon afterwards.

It is not known if she committed suicide or died of shock after hearing the news of her husband's death. One folk tradition claims that she committed suicide by sati.

Mastani's grave is in Pabal and is called Mastani's samadhi or mazaar.

Descendants

Kashibai took Mastani's six-year-old son Shamsher Bahadur (also named as Krishnarao) into her household and raised him as one of her own. He was given the jagir of Banda and Kalpi. The Nawabs of Banda are his descendants. In 1857, the Nawab of Banda had sided with the Rani of Jhansi during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The descendants now live in Bhopal, Indore and Sehore.

A painting depicting Mastani - at display in Aina Mahal in Bhuj.

Mastani in popular culture

• The story of Baji Rao and Mastani was made into a motion picture, Mastani, directed by Dhirubhai Desai, and released in 1955.
• A Marathi serial, "Rau", was produced in the 1990s, based on a Marathi book of the same name by historical novelist N. S. Inamdar about the life of Baji Rao and Mastani.
• A serial was broadcast on ETV Marathi by the name, Shrimant Peshwa Bajirao Mastani.
• In the 2015 drama film Bajirao Mastani directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mastani was portrayed by Deepika Padukone.

Further reading

• Godse, D. G. Mastānī, Pôpyulara Prakāśana, 1989 (Marathi)
• Anne Feldhaus. Images of women in Maharashtrian society. SUNY Press (1998), p. 70.
• Stewart Gordon. The New Cambridge History of India vol. 2 part 4: The Marathas 1600-1818. Cambridge University Press (1993),p. 130.