Peshwa Dynasty - Ramchandra Pant Amatya (Bawadekar)

Ramchandra Pant Amatya (Bawadekar)

The second Peshwa, Ramchandra Amatya (né Ramachandra Nilkanth Pant), received royal status from Chatrapti Rajaram as "Hukumatpanha" from 1689 to 1699. He was a sound administrator who rose from the level of a local Kulkarni to the ranks of Ashtapradhan due to guidance and support from Shivaji. Amatya is a Sanskrit term denoting counselor, guide, supervisor or overseer of both personal and governmental affairs.

He recaptured many forts from the Mughals between 1690 and 1694, some in person, as well as personally conducting guerilla war techniques. When Chatrapati Rajaram fled to Jinji in 1689, before leaving from Maharastra, he gave "Hukumat panha" (King Status) to Pant. Ramchandra Pant managed the entire state under many challenges such as the Mughal influx, the betrayal of Vatandars, and scarcity of food. With his help, Sachiv kept the Maratha State on a sound economic footing. Pant got tremendous military help from Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav, the great Maratha warriors. Many times he directly participated in war, especially during 1689–1695; he personally re-captured many forts in south Maharastra from the Mughuls and played a role of shadow king in the absence of Chatrapati Rajaram.

In 1698, he happily stepped down from the post of "Hukumatpanha" and Rajaram offered this post to his wife Tarabai. Tarabai gave an important position to Pant in the senior administration of Maratha State. He wrote a book called Adnyapatra मराठी: आज्ञापत्र which explained different techniques of war, maintenance of forts and administration etc.

The concepts in Adnyapatra and the wisdom and leadership of Tararani (Tarabai) greatly helped the Maratha empire in building the foundation of state. As he was more loyal to Tararani than Shahu, he was sidelined after the arrival of Shahu. Later, the Peshwa post was given to Balaji Vishwanath in 1713. Ramchandra Pant died in 1716 on Panhala fort.