Mastani

Mastani (29 August 1699 – 28 April 1740) was the daughter of Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela of Bundelkhand. She was the second wife of the Maratha Peshwa (Prime Minister) Baji Rao I. The marriage was arranged to promote diplomatic ties with the Maratha Empire. Her relationship within the Maratha Brahmin family has been subject of both admiration and controversy

Biography Early life Mastani was born to Chhatrasal, and his Persian concubine Ruhani Begum. Her father was the founder of the Panna State. She and her father were followers of the Pranami Sampradaya, a Hindu sect based on the Bhakti worship of Sri Krishna, but as her mother was Sunni, she was also a follower of Sunni Islam.

In gratitude, Chhatrasal gave Bajirao the hand of his daughter Mastani, dominion over Jhansi, Sagar and Kalpi - amounting to a third of his kingdom. After his marriage to Mastani, he also gifted Bajirao with 33 lakh gold coins and a gold mine. At the time, Bajirao was already married. He, however, accepted out of regard for Chhatrasal.

Back in Pune, the marriage was not generally accepted because of the tradition of monogamy. 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. 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.

Death Mastani died in 1740, shortly after Bajirao's death. Her cause of death is unknown. According to some, she died of a shock after perceiving her husband's death. But, many believe that she committed suicide after she heard of Bajirao's death by consuming poison. Mastani was buried in the village of Pabal. Her grave is called both Mastani's samadhi and Mastani's mazar.

Descendants Shamsher Bahadur's son Ali Bahadur I was given the Rajputana provinces that came in Mastani's dowry - Jhansi, Sagar and Kalpi. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 his son Nawab Ali Bahadur II responded to a rakhi from Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and fought against the British. Ali Bahadur (Krishna Singh) established his authority over large parts of Bundelkhand and became the Nawab of Banda. The descendant of Shamsher Bahadur continued their allegiance to baihi bai fought the English in the Anglo-Maratha War of 1803. His descendants were known as Nawabs of Banda. But after the defeat of Ali Bahadur, the British abolished the Banda state.

In popular culture

Literature 1972 - Rau, the Marathi novel by Nagnath S. Inamdar featuring a fictionalized love story between Baji Rao I and Mastani.

Films 1955 - Mastana directed by Dhirubhai Desai. It starred Nigar Sultana, Manher Desai, Shahu Modak and Agha. 2015 - Bajirao Mastani directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali based on the fictional Marathi novel Rau. Deepika Padukone portrayed the character.

Television 1990 - Rau a Marathi TV series based on the fictional novel Rau. 2015 - Shrimant Peshwa Bajirao Mastani, a Marathi TV serial broadcast on ETV Marathi. 2017 - Peshwa Bajirao, a Hindi TV series premiered and broadcast on Sony TV India. Mastani was played by Megha Chakraborty.