Ancestors

Brahmibhoot Haribhat Baba Patwardhan

c.1655 – c.1750 · Mul-Purush of the Hari Vansh Patwardhans

Born

Kotawade, near Ganpatipule (Ratnagiri)

Sons

Krishnabhat, Balambhat, Trimbak Hari, Govind Hari, Mahadeobhat, Ramchandra Hari, Bhaskar Hari

Samadhi

Near Omkareshwar, Pune

A devotee of Lord Ganesh who performed long penance at Ganpatipule, Haribhat Baba left the Konkan for the Deccan around the age of forty. At Kapshi he became family priest to the Joshis, close associates of the general Santaji Ghorpade and later Chiefs of Ichalkaranji, and received Kurundwad as an inam. There, on the Krishna, he built the Ganesh temple at Ganeshwadi.

When the Peshwas made his sons Govind Hari and Ramchandra Hari Sardars, the family turned from priests to soldiers. The Peshwas invited Haribhat Baba to live with them; he declined, but settled in Pune in his last years and died there aged about ninety-three. His seven sons founded the Patwardhan houses of Miraj, Sangli, Kurundwad, Jamkhandi, Tasgaon, Chinchni, Amba, Mangalvedha and Shelsat.

Shrimant Gopalrao Govind alias Raosaheb Patwardhan

c.1721 – 17 January 1771 · Eldest son of Govind Hari

Commands

Led a battalion from 1749; chief commander of the Patwardhan forces under Peshwa Madhavrao I

Married

Saraswatibai (second wife)

Children

One daughter, Kusha Akka

Trained under Senapati Ghorpade at Bahirewadi, Gopalrao rode with his father from the age of fifteen. He is remembered as one of the Sadetin Raos, the “three and a half” great captains of the Peshwai, alongside Bhavanrao Pratinidhi, Murarrao Ghorpade and, as the half, Peshwa Madhavrao himself.

Key campaigns

• 1751: arrested Damaji Gaikwad during the campaign against the Gaikwads.
• 1757: Srirangapatna campaign against Mysore.
• 1760: took the strong fort of Daulatabad from the Nizam by blockade after the Battle of Udgir; praised by Nanasaheb Peshwa as a “stern soldier”.
• 1762–63: kept the family’s army in the field while Raghunathrao besieged Miraj.
• 1764–1770: chief commander in the campaigns against Hyder Ali.

Such was his name that when a moneylender calling himself “Gopalrao” arrived in Pune, Peshwa Madhavrao had him fined, declaring there was only one Gopalrao, the Patwardhan of Miraj. Gopalrao fell ill on campaign and died at Mhaisal on his way home, before he could see the Darbar Hall he had commissioned at Miraj.

Shrimant Parshuram Bhau Ramchandra Patwardhan

Son of Ramchandra Hari · Tasgaon · Fell at Pattankudi, 1799

Jagir

Tasgaon, granted in 1774

Sons

Ramchandra Appa (Jamkhandi), Ganpatrao (Tasgaon), Madhavrao

Nephew of Govind Hari and the most celebrated general of the family. His father died when he was a boy, and Govind Hari’s son Gopalrao led his troops until he came of age. He first led an army at Srirangapatna in 1757 and became the family’s commander after 1777.

Key campaigns

• 1773–74: during the Barbhai, helped protect the seat of the Peshwas from Raghunathrao.
• 1781: cut off British supplies at Borghat, frustrating their march on Pune.
• 1790–92: commanded the Maratha army with the British and the Nizam against Tipu Sultan, reaching Srirangapatna.
• 1795: led the combined Maratha chiefs (Shinde, Holkar, Bhonsle, Gaikwad and the Patwardhans) to victory over the Nizam at Kharda.

At Tasgaon he built a wada and a Ganesh Panchayatan temple in the southern style, and renovated the Hatkeshwar temple. He fell at the Battle of Pattankudi in 1799; his remains were cremated at Hamidwadi, where a monument stands.

Shrimant Gangadharrao Govind alias Balasaheb (I)

Born 1741 · Head of Miraj after 1801

Father

Govind Hari (fourth son)

Sons

Keshavrao, Narayanrao, Madhavrao, Govindrao, Gopalrao

Succeeded by

Narayanrao Gangadharrao

He managed Miraj for many years during the minority of his nephews and, after the division of 1801, became head of the Miraj house. He fought the Bhonsles of Nagpur, Hyder Naik and Dhondoji Wagh, and kept close relations with Nana Phadnis and Parshuram Bhau. In 1808 the Peshwa recognised his rights over Miraj, and the Treaty of Pandharpur of 1812 settled the Patwardhan domains.

Works at Miraj

• Had copper blocks made of the complete Bhagavad Gita and gave printed copies to Brahmins in Shake 1727 (1805).
• Set up a mint whose coins were known as the Miraj Agyyari.
• Built a ghat on the Krishna and the Madhavji Mandir in the fort.
• Built the Ganesh Mandir in 1799 at a cost of Rs 40,000, with the tank at Ganesh Peth.

Shrimant Narayanrao Gangadharrao alias Tatyasaheb (I)

Died 1815

Father

Gangadharrao I (second son)

Sons

Ganpatrao, Moreshwar

Succeeded by

Ganpatrao Narayanrao

He fought in the Battle of Kharda in 1795 alongside Parshuram Bhau, and succeeded his father on the Gadi of Miraj. He died in 1815, leaving a young son.

Shrimant Ganpatrao Narayanrao alias Tatyasaheb

Ruled 1815 – 1833

Sons

Gangadharrao Balasaheb, Narayanrao Dadasaheb

Succeeded by

Gangadharrao Ganpatrao

He became Jahagirdar of Miraj in the last years of Bajirao II while still a minor, his uncle managing the administration. In 1820, at his uncle’s request and with the approval of the British Government, the Jagir was divided into parts: Miraj remained with Ganpatrao, while Soni, Miraj Mala and Supari went to other branches. Soni and Supari later lapsed to the British for want of heirs.

Shrimant Gangadharrao Ganpatrao alias Balasaheb (II)

Ruled 1833 – 22 December 1861

Regent

His uncle Moreshwar Narayan, until 1 February 1849

Succeeded by

Ganpatrao Tatyasaheb (II), by adoption

He succeeded as a minor and took charge of the State on 1 February 1849. A man of deep faith, he invited Swami Niranjan Raghunath to Miraj in 1845 and became his disciple; in 1855 the Swami installed the Ek Mukhi Datta at the Madhavji temple, and took samadhi in the Krishna that Bhadrapad.

Having no son, he adopted Trimbakrao from the family of Balambhat, the Patwardhans of Miraj Killa, who became Ganpatrao Tatyasaheb.

Shrimant Ganesh Gangadharrao alias Ganpatrao Tatyasaheb (II)

Ruled 1861 – 6 November 1874

Born

Trimbakrao, of the Miraj Killa Patwardhans

Married

Gangabaisaheb

Succeeded by

His Highness Shrimant Sir Gangadharrao Ganesh, by adoption

During his minority the British Government administered the State through Ganesh Narayan Kale. He kept a diary in English of his life at Miraj and his journeys to Bombay and Sangli, and sat on the Privy Council at Bombay.

He opened the State’s Government Hospital in 1864, and was the first Patwardhan to be photographed, encouraging the Chatre Photo Studio at Miraj.

His Highness Shrimant Sir Gangadharrao Ganesh alias Balasaheb (III), K.C.I.E.

6 February 1866 – 21 December 1939 · Ruled 1874–1939

Born

Gopalrao, at Baramati, of the junior Sangli branch

Educated

Rajaram College, Kolhapur

Married

Umabai Saheb (née Durgabai Joag), 1881

Heir

His Highness Narayanrao Tatyasaheb Maharaj

Adopted into the Miraj family, he took charge of the State at a great Darbar on 7 February 1887 and ruled for fifty-three years. His subjects called him “Edje Man Saheb”; he kept harmony between Hindus and Muslims and was a trustee of the Mirasaheb Dargah.

His legacy

• Music: patron of Pt. Balkrishnabuva Ichalkaranjikar and Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar; built the Hansa Prabha Theatre in 1898, where Bal Gandharva first performed in Miraj.
• Wrestling and fitness: founded the Ambabai and Bhanu Talims, wrote two volumes on Malla Vidya and created the Surya Namaskar Jubilee Trust.
• Learning: founded Jubilee Kanya Shala, Miraj High School and the Jubilee Library; Vice-President of the Deccan Education Society; presided over the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Sammelan in 1915; commissioned Khare Shastri’s fifteen volumes of Patwardhan history.
• Public works: the Town Hall (built as famine relief), Tandul Market, Hindu Dharmashala, Namdeo Mandir and land for the Mission Hospital.
• Industry: the Power House that brought electricity to Miraj, the Crystal Ice Factory and the Ganesh Kalagraha workshops.
• Beyond Miraj: founded Uma Vidyalaya at Modnimb in memory of his wife, bought Sindola Park at Mahabaleshwar (1885) and Miraj House in Pune (1907).

His Highness Shrimant Narayanrao Tatyasaheb Maharaj

6 September 1898 – 31 October 1984 · Ruled 1939–1948 · Last Ruler of Miraj State

Married

Her Highness Shrimant Laxmibaisaheb Maharaj, Ranisaheb of Miraj (née Durgatai Apte), 1918

Heir

His Highness Yuvraj Madhavrao Raosaheb Maharaj (b. 1922)

Before succeeding he served with the Maratha Light Infantry at Belgaum and held the King’s Commission. As Yuvaraj he began the Laxmi Market, opened in 1932. As Rajesaheb he sat in the Chamber of Princes from 1941, supported the Miraj State Bank, encouraged new industry, built the Gangadharrao Balasaheb Water Works in 1946, and reformed the State’s schools and police. He led the State until its merger with the Indian Union on 8 March 1948.

Afterwards he withdrew from public life. A follower of Gurudev Ranade of Nimbal and a friend of Das Ganu Maharaj, he wrote a book on the Turks, translated the Gaudapada Karika, kept falcons and birds, trekked to Kailas–Mansarovar and practised Ayurvedic medicine. He was cremated with state honours at the family’s Krishna Ghat. Her Highness Laxmibaisaheb Maharaj wrote short stories, a book on knitting and a kirtan broadcast on All India Radio, and founded the Vanita Samaj club in Miraj Killa.

His Highness Shrimant Madhavrao alias Raosaheb Patwardhan Maharaj

Born 1922 · Yuvarajsaheb of Miraj

Son of His Highness Narayanrao Tatyasaheb Maharaj and Her Highness Laxmibaisaheb Maharaj, heir to the Gadi, and father of the present head of the family, His Highness Balasaheb Maharaj.