Examine the factors that led to the rise of Maratha power in India
Answers
1. Inspirational influence of religious and social leaders:
Several prominent leaders in the religious and social fields of Maharashtra inspired the people to unite by preaching faith and Bhakti in one God and by condemning the caste system which had divided the society. The most famous of these reformers were: Tuka Ram, Ram Das, Vaman Pandit and Eknath. Guru Ram Das exercised a tremendous influence by underlying the philosophy of ‘Karma’ (action) in his famous book ‘Das Bodh.
2. Love for the motherland:
Swami Ram Das’s message to the Marathas was, “Mother and mother country are dearer than heaven itself. Gods and cows, Brahmans and the faith, these are to be protected. Therefore, God has raised you up; when faith is dead, death is better than life: why live when religion has vanished? Gather ye, therefore, the Marathas together; make the dharma live again! For otherwise our forefathers will laugh at us from heaven.”
3. Character of the Marathas:
Elphinstone has observed in this regard. “They (Marathas) are all active, laboriousy hardy and preserving. If they have none of the pride and dignity of the Rajput’s, they have none of their indolence or want of worldly wisdom too. And all these traits were due to the peculiar physical features of their country.” Shivaji made the best use of these characteristics of the Marathas.
4. Ready-made and easily defensible rock forts:
The broken ranges of the hills provided natural forts and the people were inspired to regard these forts as their mother-the seats of their protection.
5. Influence of language and literature:
Eknath taught the Marathas to take pride in their mother tongue which helped in bringing about a sense of commonness and unity among the Marathas. As remarked by J.N. Sarkar, “A remarkable community of language, creed and life was attained in Maharashtra in the 17th century even before political unity was conferred by Shivaji”.
6. The geographical conditions:
The location of Maharashtra and its physical features helped in the rise of Maratha power. The large part of Maratha land is a plateau where the Marathas had to struggle hard for their existence. This made the Marathas courageous and hard working.
7. Economic equality:
The Marathas did not suffer much from economic inequality, as there were not many people to be accepted as rich. There was no class of economic exploiters. This gave the Marathas a spirit of self-respect and unity.