Who was the first Peshwa of the hereditary line under the Maratha state?
- A.Baji Rao I
- B.Balaji Vishwanath
- C.Madhav Rao I
- D.Nana Fadnavis
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Balaji Vishwanath. Appointed Peshwa by Shahu in 1713, he secured from the Mughal court the right to collect chauth and sardeshmukhi in the Deccan, and the office became hereditary in his family, so that later Peshwas ruled from Poona while the Chhatrapati at Satara became a figurehead. Option A is wrong because Baji Rao I, the great expander of Maratha power into Malwa and Gujarat, was his son and the second of the line. Option C is wrong because Madhav Rao I, who restored Maratha strength after Panipat, came much later and died in 1772. Option D is wrong because Nana Fadnavis was never a Peshwa at all; he was the minister who managed the Poona court during the minority of Madhav Rao II and was the leading statesman of the confederacy.
Read the full article: Marathas and Sikhs: Shivaji, Peshwas, Gurus and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allWhich treaty was signed as a result of the Third Anglo-Maratha War between the British and the Holkar chief in 1818?
- A.Treaty of Purandar
- B.Treaty of Gwalior
- C.Treaty of Surat
- D.Treaty of Mandeshwar
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The Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1817 to 1818 was settled by a set of separate treaties with the Maratha houses, and the one with the Holkar chief of Indore was signed at Mandsaur, or Mandeshwar, in January 1818.
Read the full explanation →Which Maratha warrior died in the successful defence of the Sinhagad fort fighting against the Mughal army?
- A.Chimaji Appa
- B.Baji Prabhu Deshpande
- C.Tanaji Malusare
- D.Baji Pasalkar
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Tanaji led the night assault that recovered the fort of Kondana from the Mughal garrison in 1670 and was killed in the fighting.
Read the full explanation →In the Ashta Pradhan of Chhatrapati Shivaji's cabinet, the finance minister was called
- A.Peshwa
- B.Shuru Nawis
- C.Summant
- D.Amatya
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The Amatya, also called the Majumdar, kept the accounts of the kingdom and checked the income and expenditure of every district, which makes him the finance member of the eight.
Read the full explanation →The Third Battle of Panipat between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Durrani, the ruler of Afghanistan, was fought in the year
- A.1781
- B.1851
- C.1761
- D.1831
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The Third Battle of Panipat was fought on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha army led by Sadashivrao Bhau, with Vishwasrao the Peshwa's son, and Ahmad Shah Abdali, also called Durrani, supported by the Rohillas and the Nawab of Awadh.
Read the full explanation →What was the function of Pandit Rao in Chhatrapati Shivaji's administration?
- A.Foreign Affairs
- B.Charities and Religious Affairs
- C.Accountant General
- D.Justice
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The Panditrao was the ecclesiastical head in the Ashta Pradhan, fixing the dates of religious ceremonies, supervising grants to temples and learned men, and punishing offences against religious custom.
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