Maratha Dynasty
(17th–19th c.) Central Indian dynasty in
the region of the western state of
Maharashtra, particularly along the
Konkan coast of the Arabian Sea. The
dynasty was founded by the Maratha
chieftain Shivaji, who spent most of his
life locked in a bitter struggle with the
Moghul empire. At Shivaji’s death in
1680, the Marathas controlled only a
small strip of land in western
Maharashtra. After the death of the
Moghul emperorAurangzebin 1707,
the Moghul empire began to disinte-
grate; the Marathas filled the political
vacuum. At its peak in the mid-1700s,
the Maratha Confederacy controlled
northern and central India from coast to
coast, stretching as far north as Delhi
and the Ganges River basin.
Expansionism was halted in 1761, when
the Maratha army was defeated by the
Afghans at Panipat in the state of
Haryana, a short distance north of
Delhi. Both groups of combatants sus-
tained major losses in the battle, render-
ing them unable to contest the arrival of
the British. A little more than a decade
later, the Maratha Confederacy had frag-
mented into constituent states, each
with its own capital. Of these, the
Bhonsle dynasty had its capital in the
city of Nagpur, the Holkar dynasty had
its capital in the city of Indore, the
Gaikwad dynasty had its capital in the
city of Baroda. The Scindia dynasty had
capitals in Gwalior and Ujjain, while the
Peshwadynasty had its capital in Pune.
All except for the last survived as princely
states until Indian independence in
- See also Moghul dynasty.
Margali
Ninth month in the Tamil solar year,
corresponding to the northern Indian
solar month of Dhanush (the zodiacal
sign of Sagittarius), usually falling with-
in December and January. The existence
of several different calendars is one clear
sign of the continuing importance of
regional cultural patterns. One way that
the Tamils retain their culture is by
preserving their traditional calendar.
Tamil is one of the few regional
languages in India with an ancient,
well-established literary tradition. See
also Tamil months, Tamil Nadu, and
Tamil language.Margashirsha
According to the lunar calendar, by
which most Hindu religious festivals are
determined, Margashirsha is the ninth
month in the lunar year, usually falling
within November and December.
Margashirsha is generally considered an
inauspicious month; the only major fes-
tivals in Margashirsha are Bhairava
Jayanti, Utpanna Ekadashi, and
Mokshada Ekadashi.Maricha
In the Ramayana, the earlier of the two
great Indian epics, Maricha is the uncle
of Ravana, the demon-king of Lanka
who is the epic’s antagonist. After
Ravana’s sister Shurpanakhahas been
insulted and mutilated by Rama and
Lakshmana, the epic’s protagonists,
Ravana decides to take revenge by
abducting Rama’s wife, Sita. He enlists
Maricha’s help to kidnap Sita. Maricha
takes the form of a golden deer. When
Sita sees the deer, she asks Rama to kill it
for her. Rama pursues the deer into the
forest, giving Lakshmanastrict instruc-
tions to stay with Sita no matter what
happens. Rama pursues the deer some
distance from their home and finally
gets close enough to shoot it.
With his dying breath, Maricha cries
out Lakshmana’s name in a voice that
sounds like Rama’s, intending to draw
Lakshmana away and leave Sita unpro-
tected. Given his orders, Lakshmana is
at first unwilling to leave. He finally
leaves when Sita, in an uncharacteristic
display of suspicion and anger, accuses
Lakshmana of withholding help to
Rama because he wants to have her to
himself. At this unjust allegation,
Lakshmana is spurred into action.
Before he leaves he draws a magicalMaricha