NCERT Solutions for Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 3 The Rise of the Marathas
Updated on 2026-09-05
About this chapter
The Marathas are a people of the Deccan plateau, in present-day Maharashtra, identified with Marathi , a language with a continuous literary history since the 12th century . Their political rise was prepared by the bhakti saints — Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram, Ramdas — who put the Upaniṣhads and the Bhagavad Gītā into Marathi and gave society a common cultural foundation. Chhatrapati Shivaji (born 1630, Bhonsle clan, son of Shahji and Jijabai) began capturing forts at sixteen, ruled from 1646, founded the Maratha navy in 1657 , was crowned at Raigad in 1674 with the title Shri Raja Shiva Chhatrapati , and carried out the dakṣhiṇa-digvijaya in 1677. He died in 1680, aged fifty. His method was forts plus guerrilla warfare — small groups using speed, surprise and knowledge of the terrain. Ram
- Chapter opening
- Who are the Marathas?
- Guerrilla warfare
- The Marathas after Chhatrapati Shivaji
- Maratha Administration
- In focus: Thanjavur
- End-of-chapter exercise
Exercises
- Chapter opening — The Big Questions Page 61
- Who are the Marathas? — LET'S EXPLORE Page 63
- Foundation of Maratha Power and the Rise of Chhatrapati Shivaji — THINK ABOUT IT Page 65
- Guerrilla warfare — LET'S EXPLORE Page 66
- The Marathas after Chhatrapati Shivaji — LET'S EXPLORE Page 69
- Maratha Administration — THINK ABOUT IT Page 72
- In focus: Thanjavur — LET'S EXPLORE Page 79
- End-of-chapter exercise — Questions and activities Page 81