By 1758, the Maratha Empire had reached its peak under the leadership of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao aka Nana Saheb. Maratha commanders Raghunath Rao, the Peshwa’s brother, Shamsher Bahadur, the Peshwa’s half-brother, and Sadashiv Rao Bhau, the Peshwa’s cousin, defeat the Nizam of Hyderabad and capture their commander of artillery Ibrahim Khan Gardi, with Sadashiv inducting him into the Maratha Army as their commander of artillery. They return home to the Empire’s capital at Pune and are welcomed. Due to pressure by his wife Gopika Bai, the Peshwa appoints Sadashiv as the Empire’s finance minister in favour of the Peshwa’s son Vishwas Rao, which he reluctantly accepts.Panipat 2019 Full Movie Download
Sadashiv lists the defaulters who failed to pay taxes to the Maratha Empire on time, and notes that the Rohilla’s Head Najib ad-Dawlah has the largest amount of tax due. Najib, determined to teach the Marathas a lesson, allies himself with Ahmad Shah Abdali, inviting him to Delhi. News of this formidable alliance reaches Pune, along with the news of Dattaji Shinde’s death in battle against Najib. The Peshwa appoints Raghunath Rao as the commander of the Maratha forces which will be dispatched to fight Abdali and defend Delhi. However, Raghunath asks for a large amount of money, which Sadashiv denies, citing the treasury’s condition after consecutive battles. Raghunath, therefore, refuses to march north, which leads the Peshwa to appoint Sadashiv as the commander-in-chief of the Maratha army, under the overlordship of Vishwas Rao, the Peshwa’s son and heir. The army, along with a large number of non-combatants (women, children and pilgrims), begin their long and arduous journey north.
They arrive at Dholpur, where they’re welcomed by their fellow Maratha generals— Govind Pant Bundela, Balwant Rao Mehendale, Jankoji Shinde, and the veteran Malhar Rao Holkar. They start making alliances with other kingdoms, including Maharaja Suraj Mal and Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah, and are successful, with their army size growing to 50000 men. Abdali is also making alliances, taking advantage of the Rajput kings’ hatred for the Marathas.