Jankibai

Janki Bai
Maharani of the Maratha Empire Rani Shrimant Akhand Soubhagyavati Jankibai Raje Sahib Bhonsle
Queen consort of the Maratha Empire
Tenure	12 March 1689 - 2 March 1700
Predecessor	Yesubai Bhonsale
Successor	Tarabai
Born	1675
Spouse	Rajaram I
House	Bhosale
Father	Prataprao Gujar
Religion	Hinduism

Janki Bhosale (née Gujar) (1675 - 2 March 1700 CE) was queen consort of the Maratha Empire as the first wife of Rajaram I. She was the daughter of Prataprao Gujar, the 3rd Senapati of the Maratha Empire.^[1]

Jankibai was the daughter of Prataprao Gujar, an aristocratic general, who was the commander-in-chief of the Maratha Army.^{[2][page needed]} Her father died in a battle against the Adil Shahi at Nesari on 24 February 1674. Shivaji, the king of the Marathas upon hearing the solemn news, grieved his general's death. As a result, he married his second son, the ten-year-old Rajaram to the five-year-old Jankibai. They were married in a grand ceremony that took place in Raigad Fort on 7 March 1680. Her father-in-law Shivaji died on 3 April 1680, twenty five days after her marriage.^{[3][page needed]}

Death

On 2 March 1700, the thirty-year-old Rajaram died following a brief illness. Sources differ on Queen Janakibai's death.^{[citation needed]} Some records say that she committed Sati with her husband at Sinhagad. However Marathi bakhars and letters reveal that Jankibai was one of the captives taken during the Battle of Raigad along with Maharani Yesubai Bhonsale and Shahuji. She was released in 1719 from the Mughal captivity by Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath along with Yesubai and other Maratha women.

References

1. Mangolkar, Manohar (1971). Chhatrapatis of Kolhapur. Popular Prakashan. p. 37.
2. Ranade, Mahadeo Govind. Rise of the Maratha power. Hesperides Press.
3. Mehta, Jashwant Lal. Advanced study in the history of modern India 1707-1813.