Arrange the following in chronological order of their rule and select the correct answer from the code given below.

Question

Arrange the following in chronological order of their rule and select the correct answer from the code given below.

1. Bajirao I

2. Balaji Bajirao

3. Balaji Vishwanath

4. Madhav Rao I

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. 1, 3, 2, 4
2. B. 3, 1, 4, 2
3. C. 3, 1, 2, 4 (Correct answer)
4. D. 1, 3, 4, 2

Correct Answer

Option C — 3, 1, 2, 4

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is 3, 1, 2, 4.

Key Points

• 3. Balaji Vishwanath — 1713 to 1720. The first Peshwa of the Bhat family, appointed by Shahu.
• 1. Bajirao I — 1720 to 1740. The greatest of the Peshwas, who carried Maratha power into north India.
• 2. Balaji Bajirao (Nana Saheb) — 1740 to 1761. His tenure ended with the disaster of the Third Battle of Panipat.
• 4. Madhav Rao I — 1761 to 1772. Restored Maratha power after Panipat.
• Order: 3 → 1 → 2 → 4, option (c).

Additional Information

• Balaji Vishwanath secured from the Mughal emperor the right to collect chauth and sardeshmukhi in the Deccan, and made the office of Peshwa hereditary in practice.
• Bajirao I is credited with the strategy of striking at the "trunk of the withering tree" of Mughal power; he defeated the Nizam at Palkhed (1728) and raided Delhi (1737). He is remembered as an undefeated commander.
• Balaji Bajirao presided over the greatest territorial extent of Maratha power but also over its defeat at the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) by Ahmad Shah Abdali.
• After Madhav Rao I, the confederacy fragmented among the Gaekwad of Baroda, Holkar of Indore, Scindia of Gwalior, Bhonsle of Nagpur and the Peshwa at Pune — a weakness the British exploited in the three Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775-82, 1803-05, 1817-19).
• The Treaty of Bassein (1802) with Peshwa Baji Rao II brought the Marathas under subsidiary alliance and precipitated the second war.