Jankibai

Who was Jankibai?

Janki Bhosale was Empress consort of the Maratha Empire as the first wife of Rajaram Chhatrapati.

Jankibai was the daughter of Prataprao Gujar, an aristocratic general, who was the commander-in-chief of the Maratha Empire. Her father died in a battle against the Mughals at Nesari on 24 February 1674. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the emperor of the Maratha Empire 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 got 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.