In the year 1657 AD, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj laid the foundation for the Maratha Navy at Durgadi fort in Kalyan. Since that time, the odyssey of the Maratha Navy continued for about 150-200 years. During this period, many brave men made significant contributions to the development of the Maratha Navy, such as Maynak Bhandari, Daulat Khan and members of the Angre family – Kanhoji Angre, Sekhoji Angre, Sambhaji Angre, Tulaji Angre etc. Apart from these colossal personalities, another valiant family that played a pivotal role towards the development of the Maratha Navy was the Daryadhurandhar Dhulap family:

Dhulap family is the descendant of the More family from Jawali

The Dhulap family from Vijaydurg is the descendant of Chandrarao More of Jawali. Detailed information about this is given in the book ‘History of Maratha Clans’ authored by Gopal Dajiba Dalvi. According to this book, a descendant of the More clan arrived at the Gavsha Harbour, Dhruvamandal, near Ghivare Harbour in Khed, Konkan. They were given the last name Dhulap from the word Dhruvamandal. Since this book focuses on the contribution made by the Dhulap dynasty to the Maratha Navy, only topics related to it are discussed here. Sardar Rudrajirao Dhulap was the first distinguished personality from the Dhulap family to join the Maratha Navy. When Kanhoji Angre was in-charge of the Maratha Navy, Rudrajirao Dhulap was the governing officer at Suvarnadurg. Later, during the last few years of the reign of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Senior, Satara, the relations between the Peshwas and Tulaji Angre soured. After the death of Shahu Maharaj, Peshwas defeated Tulaji Angre at Vijaydurg in 1756 AD with the help of British Navy and arrested him. After the Treaty of Sangola, the Peshwas held the reign of the Maratha Empire and thus, the Navy also naturally came under their control.

The misconception that Maratha Navy was entirely ruined by the Peshwas

There is a misconception that Nanasaheb Peshwa defeated Tulaji Angre with the help of the British and completely ruined the Maratha Navy. It is true that when Tulaji Angre was defeated by the Peshwas and the British at Vijaydurg, the Navy suffered a huge loss. But the allegation that the Peshwas destroyed the Navy is completely wrong. On the contrary, the Peshwas took control of the Navy and later handed over the charge to Rudrajirao Dhulap. The eminent men of the Dhulap clan maintained the same influence of Maratha Navy on the seas that had existed during Angre's reign. These things can be readily noted when one glances through the papers of Vijaydurg in Peshwa records which are in Modi script.

New system installed by the Peshwa

After assuming control of the Navy, Peshwa appointed Naro Trimbak as In-charge of the Navy at Vijaydurg. Till 1761 AD, Naro Trimbak was In-charge of the Navy. Since there are hardly any documents available on it, we do not have an access to detailed information on the Navy of that time. Possibly because it was the early period after the Peshwas took over the Navy, the effort to revamp it took precedence. In AD 1760-61, the Maratha army invaded the two sea forts of Underi and Kasha (Padmadurg). This time, the Marathas conquered Underi. Rudrajirao Dhulap was at the forefront of this battle. He fought tooth and nail in this battle. It is probably because of his bravery that the Peshwas appointed Rudrajirao Dhulap In-charge of Navy in the year 1761-62 AD. A large number of documents about Navy at Vijaydurg dating back to about 35 years from 1761-62 to 1795-96 AD are available in Pune Archives. They contain ample evidence about the contribution made by Rudrajirao Dhulap and many gallant men from his family to the Maratha Navy. This book makes an honest attempt to examine the Dhulap dynasty’s extraordinary contribution to Maratha Navy and the largely unpublished history.

Daryadhurandhar Dhulap

The dauntless men of the Dhulap dynasty ably shouldered the responsibility of Maratha Navy and retained the dominance of the Maratha Navy from 1761 AD onwards for about five to six decades. From the information obtained from the Peshwas' documents in Modi script available in the Pune Archives, it is quite evident that even during that period, the English, Portuguese, Dutch and French pirates felt intimidated by the Maratha Navy. The documents in Modi script pertaining to Vijaydurg available in Pune Archives cover the span from 1761 to 1795 AD i.e. approximately 35 years. If I succeed in my endeavour to find documents related to the period following this era in the future, I will try to present the details in another book. Out of the total 35 years, from 1761 to 1795 AD, the Dhulap family held the Subhedari of Navy at Vijaydurg for almost 30 years. In the intervening period, i.e. during 1769-1770 AD, Motyajirao Vichare was in-charge and later from 1786-1787 AD to 1791-1792 AD, Gangadhar Govind was the Naval In charge. The documents do not show many campaigns taking place when Gangadhar Govind was in command. There was also a slight decrease in revenue. It was probably because of this that on December 22, 1791, Thursday, Rudrajirao Dhulap's son, Anand Rao Dhulap, was once again given the charge of Navy. On this occasion, Anandrao Dhulap and Harbaji Dhulap were presented with robes of honour.

Valiant men of the Dhulap Dynasty

The four brothers Rudrajirao, Krishnajirao, Janrao and Bhagwantrao, Rudrajirao Dhulap's son Anandrao and Janrao's son Harbajirao made significant contributions to the Maratha Navy. Apart from these names, the documents also mention Baburao Dhulap, Apaji Dhulap and Laxmanrao Dhulap. However, there are no indications about how and to whom they are related. Daulatrao Dhulap was Apajirao's son. Rudrajirao, Janrao, Bhagwantrao, Krishnajirao, Anandrao – all of them were granted the honour of palkhi by the government. The subsequent chapters describe the valour of all these men. Let us now look at the information existing in the documents about these Daryadhurandhars of the Dhulap family.

Rudrajirao Dhulap

Rudrajirao Dhulap, who was the Sardar with the Angres, was entrusted with the responsibility of Navy by the Peshwa in the year 1761-62 AD and was appointed as Subhedar at Vijaydurg. Rudrajirao Dhulap served as Subhedar of Navy for about two years. During these two years, he undertook a number of sea expeditions and embarked on the task of establishing the supremacy of Maratha Navy again. Documents show that during his lifetime, Anandrao Dhulap was given the charge of Navy. A document dated 1765 AD shows the record of Rudrajirao Dhulap's death. According to it, Rudraji Dhulap died on Thursday, February 14, 1765. Their sons and brothers were given mourning garments. Garments worth Rs 40 were given to Anandrao Dhulap, clothes worth Rs 30 were given to Krishnaji Dhulap and clothes worth Rs 30 were given to Bhagwantrao and Janrao each.

Janrao Dhulap

Rudrajirao's brother Janoji alias Janrao Dhulap also served as Sardar in the Maratha Navy for several years. The documents in Modi script have the records of his valour. In the year 1761-62 AD, he was granted the honour of palkhi by Nana Phadnis. He died on Sunday, March 16, 1777 AD.

Appointment of Janrao to tackle Hyder Ali

In the year 1763-64 AD, Hyder Ali established posts in the provinces of Saundhe in Konkan and Bidnur in Karnataka. Madhavrao Peshwa Senior appointed Janrao to deal with him. The Peshwa had instructed the British to help Janrao with everything that he would need to liberate the two posts like ammunition etc. from the warehouse in their Bainavar port.

Krishnajirao Dhulap and Bhagwantrao Dhulap

Krishnaji Rao and Bhagwant Rao also played crucial roles in Maratha Navy. As per the documents, Krishnajirao Dhulap died in the year 1778-79 AD. Bhagwantrao Dhulap died on Thursday, September 1, 1774. Apajirao Dhulap also died the same year. His son Daulatrao Dhulap succeeded him in the Navy.

Harbajirao Dhulap

In 1763-64 AD, Janrao requested Madhavrao Peshwa Senior to induct his son Harbajirao Dhulap into the Navy. So, Peshwa inducted Harbajirao Dhulap in the Navy with his 100 soldiers.

Annual income of the Dhulaps and villages with mokasa (certain part of the total tax)

Anandrao Dhulap was given a village called Village Phanasgaon near Kharepatan as Mokasa. He would receive an amount of Rs. 1200 per annum from this village. Also, in the year 1771-72 AD, Peshwa assigned the village of Village Koparde in Karad province with the revenue of Rs 1000 to Anandrao Dhulap for his household expenditure. Apart from this, according to the record of 1770 AD, Janrao Dhulap received Rs 1800, Anandrao Dhulap received Rs 1200, Bhagwantrao Dhulap received Rs 700, Krishnaji Dhulap received Rs 500 and Apaji Dhulap received Rs 300 per annum from the government. Furthermore, about Rs 1580 worth of 39 khandis of grain, Rs 200 worth of misc. commodities like ghee, betel nuts, tobacco etc. were given by the government, and Rs 30 for lamp oil were paid by the government.

Other provinces that Dhulaps had

In 1763-64 AD, Madhavrao Peshwa Senior had asked the Portuguese to hand over the province of Mardangad region and Panchmahal to Janrao Dhulap. The Portuguese and the Marathas possibly signed a treaty to that effect. But when the Portuguese delayed the handing over of the province, the Peshwas sent them a letter to express their displeasure. The documents also mention that in the year 1772-73 AD, Harbajirao Dhulap governed the Pargana Chikbalapur (Karnataka) province.

An orchard at Ambolgarh

The Dhulap family had an orchard in Peth Ambolgarh. This orchard used to be given on makhta (contract).

The Dhulap Ensigns

According to records dated 1782-83 AD, the Dhulap family had its own special ensigns. These ensigns were carried along during campaigns. These ensigns were probably meant for the easy identification of the Dhulaps and their troops.

Lineage

The lineage of the Dhulap dynasty has been described in the book ‘Genealogies of Historic Families’ (Aitihasik Gharanyanchya Vanshawali) by the historian G. S. Desai. Among them, Sidoji Rao had arrived at Gaonshamartin near Ghivare harbour located near Khed. One of his two sons i.e. Krishnaji had had two sons. Among those sons, Harjirao had four sons namely Krishnajirao, Rudrajirao, Janrao and Bhagwantrao. It is from this generation onwards that the Dhulap clan entered the Maratha Navy. This genealogy is as follows.