At the peak of their power during the Maratha Empire (1674–1818 CE), the Ghorpades were a prominent dynasty that produced several kings who ruled sovereign states across swathes of South Asia alongside their kinfolk, the Bhonsles. House Ghorpade and the subsequent dynasty it produced originated as a warrior clan and cadet house of House Bhonsle (later the Bhonsle Dynasty). The founders of House Ghorpade were Rana Karansinh Bhonsle (Ghorpade) (d. 1471) and his son Bhimsinh Bhonsle (Ghorpade). Karansinh Bhonsle was the grandson of Rana Bhairav Singh Bhosaji (d. 1398 CE), the first Bhonsle and ancestor of Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhonsle, "The Great Shivaji", First Emperor of the Maratha Confederacy, the 58th greatest empire in history by land area.

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Ancestry Before House Ghorpade

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The Ghorpades and Bhonsles are both descendants of the Marathas and Rajput Sisodia Dynasty, themselves descended from the Guhila Dynasty (728–1303 CE), which claims descent from the Maurya Dynasty (322 BCE – 184 BCE), and before them, the Solar Dynasty (362 BCE) who consider Surya (the Sun god) to be their progenitor. A literature analysis conducted by the Archive of several texts that date the Solar Dynasty and its lineage would make today's Ghorpade descendants born in the Baby Boomer Generation, Generation X, and Generation Y the 216th, 217th, and 218th grand-children of the Sun god.

 

Putting textual and bardic obscurity aside, genetic testing of 34 Ghorpade descendants undertaken individually, supported by the Archive, and from other sources has produced results mostly in line with published studies on the different genetic origins of the Marathas and Rajputs, but showing higher haplogroup diversity than expected. Results show expected co-ancestry/co-descent with other South Asians, but higher than expected concentrations of various haplogroup sublineages less common in other South Asians and more concentrated in modern-day Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Mongolia, Greece, Italy, Scandinavia, East Asia, and the Caucuses.

 

These results reflect both ancient migrations as well as more recent events such as trade, intermittent war and peace with the Arabs, Persians, Ottomans, Mughals, and other empires, and various historical events such as the establishment of the Kingdom of Yavana in India by the Greek King Eucratides of Bactria, who invaded India in 200 BCE, and before that in 325 BCE, the revolt of the armies of Alexander the Great which ended his Indian campaign after their encounter with the Indian King Porus, whose outnumbered forces devastated the Greek ranks with their war elephants at the Battle of the Hydaspes and forced Alexander to sue for peace. During the battle, Porus' son slew Alexander's horse with a single blow and nearly killed Alexander himself. Plutarch's Lives (written around 100 CE) records that:

 

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 "Their (Greeks) struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horses, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges...For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand fighting elephants."

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The revolt of Alexander's armies prevented any further incursions into India and forced Alexander to leave and discontinue the campaign. On his journey out of the subcontinent, he founded several Greek city-states (Satrapies) that he garrisoned with his forces, leaving thousands of Greek soldiers in India. Between 316-305 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya (known as Sandrakottos in Greek literature), founder of the Maurya Dynasty, the ancestors of the Ghorpades, led a series of campaigns and defeated the Greek forces stationed by Alexander and captured these city-states. The defeated Greeks were offered terms, Maurya wed Queen Helena, daughter of Alexander's successor, Greek Emperor Seleucus I Nicator, and the now allied Greeks formed entire contingents of the armies of Chandragupta Maurya, assisting him in overthrowing the ruling Nanda Dynasty and placing himself and his Queen Helena as the Emperor and Empress of the new Mauryan Empire.

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The now-allied Greeks stayed in India, integrated into the Mauryan Empire, married, and started families that still exist today. 

 

These events are referenced by historians and genealogists as potentially explaining the presence of concentrations of various haplogroup sublineages in the genetic ancestry of Marathas and Rajputs that are common to Greeks but uncommon to other South Asian groups. However, due to the nature of these genetic markers and other possible origins, a definitive statement cannot be made either way.

 

Origin & Ascension of the House Ghorpade (1471 CE)

 

The Dynasty's roots are found in the valiant deeds of Rana Karansinh Bhonsle, known as the first Ghorpade, during the 1471 Battle of Khelna and the capture of Vishalgad Citadal. In the oft-told legendary origin story of House Ghorpade, Karansinh Bhonsle, a Maratha military commander, secured a rope to his ghorpad (lizard beast) and beloved companion, Yaswanthi, to scale the walls of Vishalgad Citadel during the Battle of Khelna.

 

Once Yaswanthi clambered over the citadel's wall and the grappling hooks of the rope were securely snagged between the stones, Karansinh climbed behind Yaswanthi to lead the tactical assault, along with his son Bhimsinh and their forward section who simultaneously fought and secured additional ropes for the waiting company of siege specialists as the citadel's main defensive force was engaged in trying to repel the ground assaults of their infantry battalions. In the bloody melee atop the wall, after slaying eight guards with his back against the armaments he had just scaled, Karansinh was finally cut down by the sentries. As they turned their attention to Bhimsinh and the forward section's remaining survivors and began to advance on them, Yaswanthi, in rage and devastation at the body of Karansinh, tore the sentries limb from limb as they slashed and stabbed him. The great lizard dragged itself to the body of its master and died in his arms, still trying to shield Rana Karansinh Bhonsle, who would become known as the first Ghorpade. The section finished securing the ropes atop the wall and the rest of the company were able to join the assault. These actions led to the Maratha victory and the ascension of House Ghorpade who took the ghorpad as their name and sigil for their valour and in tribute to Yaswanthi.

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There are several variations of the story with slightly different details including the size of Yaswanth, whether he or Karansinh died first, the whereabouts of Bimsinh, etc. While the legend that explains the ascension of House Ghorpade is evocative, historical investigation suggests that it is partially accurate. While much of its origin story is well-documented, historians suggest that Yaswanth is a fictional addition to the origin tale and that the true story of the royal house's name comes from one of the companies Karansinh Bhonsle commanded at the Battle of Khelna.

 

The company consisted of 100-200 special forces soldiers who were specifically trained for complex assaults on fortified defensive positions such as castles and forts. One of the essential skill-sets for these specialists was high-angle approaches which required the ability to scale armaments and penetrate structures before tactically dismantling defensive functionality, both by using stealth and by causing mayhem. The climbing abilities of these distinct troops led them to be referred to as Ghorapadas, referring to the climbing prowess of the Bengal monitor lizard, indigenous to that region.

 

The lizardless version, by the principle of parsimony (Occam's razor), is suggested by most historians to be the true origin of the house's name.

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The consensus by proponents of both versions of events is that Karansinh Bhosale and his son Bhimsinh led a forward section that scaled the walls of the Vishalgad Citadel and facilitated the penetration of the structure by securing more lines and creating an entry point for the company to rapidly place assaulters inside the perimeter. Karansinh would be killed in action, but the strategy would turn the siege and lead to a Maratha victory.

 

As a result, Bhimsinh Bhosale became Meherban Shrimant Bhimsinh Raje Ghorpade Bahadur, Chief of Mudhol, and Karansinh received posthumous awards for their gallantry by Sultan Shams-ud-din Muhammad Shah III on 22nd October, 1471. 

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Bardic embellishments include tales of Ghorpade warriors riding war lizards into battle, and these can be roundly dismissed by a review of the maximum size of the species of monitor lizards listed under the Varanus genus. The origin story of the Ghorpades has also mistakenly been attributed to both Tanaji Malusare, a general of The Great Shivaji, at Sinhagad Fort and to Shivaji Bhonsle himself. These attributions can be dismissed because a) Neither Tanaji Malusare nor Shivaji were Ghorpades (though the Ghorpades and Shivaji share a common ancestry as previously noted), b) Tanaji Malusare died almost exactly two hundred years after Karansinh's actions at Vishalgad Fort and the ascension of House Ghorpade, and c) Shivaji and Tanaji were contemporaries with several Ghorpades, the house having existed for over 150 years before either was born.

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Maratha Empire

Late 17th to Early 19th century

 

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The swords of Ghorpades were like the jaws of death,

They are like a snake chasing you everywhere,

They won’t return to the scabbard

Unless they annihilate you, O Mughals, Beware.

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The Ghorpades came to be known as the Sword of Swarajya (self-governance). The dynasty was forged in the Deccan and Carnatic wars as a feared warrior clan whose kings rode into battle at the head of the armies they commanded. The Ghorpades and their Maratha allies would decimate the Mughal Empire during the Deccan Wars, and defeat France during the Carnatic Wars, ending their colonial aspirations in India.

 

The Deccan Wars

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The Maratha Confederacy was founded by the Great Shivaji of House Bhonsle, the sister house of the Ghorpades. The Ghorpades played a vital role in the Maratha Confederacy's efforts to dismantle the Mughal Empire. The Deccan Wars saw the Maratha Empire rise to prominence and establish control over the Deccan and much of India.

 

Two of the most notable figures of the Deccan Wars were Malhoji and his son Santaji Ghorpade, 6th and 7th Senapati of the Maratha Empire. Santaji served as apprentice to both his father Malhoji Ghorpade, as well as Hambirrao Mohite (5th Senapati of the Maratha Empire). Hambirro was killed at the Battle of Wai, and Malhoji was killed in action at Sangameshwar. When Santaji was proclaimed the 7th Senapati, he was already a seasoned veteran, having won several battles as a commander. Now the supreme commander of the Maratha armies, his brilliance in tactics and strategy, valiance in leadership, and skill as a warrior would lead to his proclamation by the Marathas as Mamlakat-Madar (Pillar of the Realm). He arguably provide the greatest individual contributions to the Deccan Wars and future security of the Maratha Empire.

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Santaji Ghorpade was known as "The Terror of the Mughals", or simply, "The Terror". Recognising that the greater numbers of the Mughal armies were an obvious impediment to success during symmetrical battles, he reorganised the Maratha forces and pioneered a novel brand of asymmetrical warfare and blitzkrieg attacks that destroyed supply lines and dispersed and isolated Mughal forces from one another. As a strategist, his name is still familiar to students of military history today. Niccolao Manucci, the Italian writer and explorer, was a guest of the Mughal court at the time and wrote in his seminal work Storia do Mogor about the devastating "lightening attacks" attacks of Santaji Ghorpade against the Mughals. The prominent historian Jadunath Sarkar wrote about Santaji in his book Military History of India:

 

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He was a perfect master of this art, which can be more correctly described as Parthian warfare than as guerrilla tactics, because he could not only make night marches and surprises, but also cover long distances quickly and combine the movements of large bodies over wide areas with an accuracy and punctuality which were incredible in any Asiatic army other than those of Chengiz Khan and Tamerlane. Santaji had an inborn genius of handling large bodies of troops spread through long distances changing his tactics so as to take prompt advantage of every change in enemy's plans and conditions, and organising combined movements without the risk of failure.

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During the Deccan Wars, Santaji scored a number of victories over the Mughal Empire which lead to Maratha dominance:

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• Battle against Sheikh Nizam (1689): Attacked Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s General Sheikh Nizam who was besieging Panhala Fort, defeating his forces and capturing valuable resources.​

• Defeat of Sarzakhan (1690): Defeated the Mughal commander Sarzakhan, a significant setback for Aurangzeb

• Capture of Dharwad (1692): Captured the fort of Dharwad with a force of 7,000

• Defeat of Ali Mardan Khan (1692): Defeated and captured Mughal General Ali Mardan Khan and brought him to Jinji.

• Battle against Zulfikhar Ali Khan (1692): Defeated the Mughal army around Fort Jinji, forcing Zulfikhar Ali Khan to sue for peace​, attacked and looted the Mughal camp at Desur, capturing treasure, weapons, and livestock.

• Attacked Emperor Aurangzeb’s Royal Camp: Led a successful attack on Emperor Aurangzeb’s camp, sacking it completely. The Mughal emperor narrowly escaped by disguising himself as a woman and hiding in a tent.

• Victory over Himmat Khan (1693): Defeated Himmat Khan near Vikramhalli in Karnataka.

• Defeat of Kasim Khan (1695): Defeated and killed Kasim Khan in single combat, Emperor Aurangzeb’s powerful general in Karnataka, at Doderi near Chitradurga​.

• Victory over Himmat Khan (1696): Defeated and killed Mughal General Himmat Khan in single combat near Baswapattan.

• Defeated the combined Mughal army at the Battle of Dodderi.

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Khafi Khan writes in his book Muntakhabu L Lubab about Santaji Ghorpade:

 

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Everyone who encountered him was either killed or wounded, or made prisoner; or if any one did escape it was with his mere life with loss of his army and baggage...Nothing could be done for wherever the accursed dog Santaji went and threatened an attack. There was no imperial Amir bold enough to resist him. Every loss he inflicted on Mughals made the boldest warriors quake.

When the news came that Santaji Ghorpade had come within 16 or 18 miles of him, General Firuz Jung (Aurangzeb's highest General) lost colour in terror, and making a false announcement that he would ride out to oppose him, appointed officers to clear the path sent his advanced tent onwards, but then himself fled towards Bijapur by a roundabout path.

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The historian Sarkar writes:

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Ghorpade's greatest monument is the abject fear he inspired in all ranks of the Mughal army which is faithfully reflected in the curses and abuses invariably used as epithets to his name in the Persian Sources.

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Santaji Ghorpade was murdered while bathing alone in a forest by assassins, sent either by Emperor Aurangzeb or betrayed by his own lieutenant Dhanaji Jadhav. Emperor Aurangzeb was so elated by the news of Santaji's death that he awarded the messenger bearing the news with the title of Khushkhabar Khan, a good indication of how much damage Santaji did to the Mughal armies. Despite his tragic end, his military genius and bravery left a lasting legacy as a master of war and a pivotal figure that secured the future of an empire.

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The Carnatic Wars

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The Carnatic Wars were a series of conflicts between Maratha-British and Mughal-French forces in the Carnatic region. These wars, which spanned from 1746 to 1763, significantly influenced the balance of power on the subcontinent. The House of Ghorpade, particularly through King Murari Rao Ghorpade, played a notable role in these conflicts.

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Raja Murari Rao Ghorpade, the grandnephew of Santaji Ghorpade, commanded the Maratha armies during the Carnatic Wars as well as other conflicts, such as the Maratha-Nizam Wars. His strategic alliances and military actions and leadership in several key battles showcased his prowess as a formidable warrior​-king of the Marathas.

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The Carnatic Wars comprised three distinct conflicts:

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1. First Carnatic War (1746–1748): This conflict stemmed from European tensions during the War of the Austrian Succession. The war saw clashes between Mughal-French and Maratha-British forces, with both sides seeking to establish their influence in Southern India.

2. Second Carnatic War (1749–1754): The second conflict emerged from a struggle for power in the Deccan between two claimants to the throne of Hyderabad and rival Nawabs of the Carnatic. The British and the French supported opposing factions, leading to a series of battles. Murari Rao Ghorpade was active during this time, commanding the combined Maratha forces at the most prominent battles of the war.

3. Third Carnatic War (1757–1763): The final war was a theatre of the global Seven Years' War. This conflict saw decisive Maratha-British victories over the Mughal-French, culminating in the Treaty of Paris.

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Murari Rao Ghorpade was instrumental in several key turning points during the Carnatic Wars:

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1. Siege of Arcot (1751): Murari Rao allied with Muhammad Ali and Robert Clive to defend Arcot against the forces of Chanda Sahib. The battle was a turning point in the Carnatic Wars, showcasing British and Maratha collaboration.

2. Battle of Arnee (1751): Following the successful defence of Arcot, Murari Rao participated in the Battle of Arnee, further asserting his military skill.

3. Siege of Trichinopoly (1743 and 1751-1752): Murari Rao commanded the Maratha forces and during the three Sieges of Trichinipoly, and ultimately defeated France and the Mughals.

4. Battle of Pondicherry (1760): Murari Rao participated in this significant battle where the British forces defeated the French, solidifying British control over the region.

5. Battle of Tiruvati: In another notable engagement during the Third Carnatic War, Murari Rao's military involvement secured victory for the Marathas and the British.

6. Battle of Oscoota (1768): Murari Rao's strategic command of the Maratha forces defeated Sultan Hyder Ali's forces including his feared cavalry of war elephants.

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Murari Rao Ghorpade's influence extended beyond the Second Carnatic War. During the Third Carnatic War (1757–1763), he played a role in the Battle of Pondicherry and the Battle of Tiruvati. Later in his career, he also participated in the First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–1769), which was fought between the Kingdom of Mysore and Maratha-British. During this conflict, he notably took part in the Battle of Ooscota during which he commanded the Maratha forces against Sultan Hyder Ali of Mysore and defeated Ali's infamous elephant cavalry. 

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House Ghorpade's involvement in the Carnatic Wars showcased the dynasty's influence and strategic importance during a critical period in Indian history. Their actions during these wars contributed significantly to the Maratha consolidation of power and further dismantling of the Mughal Empire after the Deccan Wars, and ended French dreams of colonial domination in India. However, their successes in the war had other far-reaching consequences that allowed Britain to cement itself as a colonial power in India. This would eventually lead to the establishment of the British Raj.

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The Ghorpades commanded forces and were belligerents in the most significant battles of the Deccan and Carnatic Wars. Some of these are listed below, and the full number is over 200.