Amar Singh of Thanjavur

Who is Amar Singh of Thanjavur?

Amar Singh or Ramaswami Amarasimha Bhonsle was the younger son of the Maratha Raja of Thanjavur Pratap Singh and served as the regent soon after the death of his brother Thuljaji II and ruled Thanjavur in the name of Thuljaji's minor son Serfoji II from 1787 to 1793.

In 1793, he usurped the throne after deposing the boy-King Serfoji and ruled as the absolute ruler of Thanjavur from 1793 to 1798.

He is said to have been very generous and to have given vast amounts of land to learned men. He resisted attempts by the British to seize the kingdom right until the time of his deposition in favour of his adoptive nephew, 29th June 1798.

He showed interest in Telugu and Sanskrit dramas. Mathru Boothana was a famous poet in his court and he composed parijatapahavanam, which bears similarity to Kuchupudi Dance.