Maratha Empire History

The Third Battle of Panipat was fought in 1761 between the forces of the Maratha Empire on one side and a coalition of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani with two Indian Muslim allies—the Rohilla Afghans of the Doab, and Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh on the other.
The Marathas fought under the command of Sadashivrao Bhau.
The Jats and Rajputs did not support the Marathas. Their withdrawal from the ensuing battle played a crucial role in its result.

Favouring the cause of Raghunath Rao for Peshwaship after the third battle of Panipat, the English (under Lord Warren Hastings) came in conflict with the Marathas. On being defeated, the British had to sign the humiliating 'Convemtion of Wadgaon'.

Battle of Palkhed was a land battle that took place on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam. The battle is considered an example of brilliant execution of military strategy.

Statement 1 is wrong: Raghunath Rao was the younger brother, not the son, of Nana Saheb.
Statement 2 is correct: Raghunath Rao (b. 18 Aug.1734 - d. 11 Dec.1783) was Peshwa of the Maratha Empire from 1773 to 1774.
Statement 3 is correct: He was instrumental in the downfall of the Peshwa clan.
Statement 4 is wrong: After the defeat of the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat and his brother's death in 1761, Raghunath Rao had decided to seize the Peshwa throne for himself, but instead the throne was passed on to Madhavrao Peshwa, Son of Nanasaheb.
He was appointed as a regent to the young Peshwa, but tried to interfere with the administration. He soon fell out of favour with the Peshwa, and even tried to conspire against him by joining the Nizam of Hyderabad against the Peshwa.

The Battle of Vasai was fought between the Marathas and the Portuguese rulers of Vasai, a village lying near Mumbai in the present-day state of Maharashtra, India. The Marathas were led by Chimaji Appa, a brother of Peshwa Baji Rao I. Maratha victory in this war was a major achievement of Baji Rao I reign.

The Battle of Gajendragad was fought between the Marathas under the command of Tukojirao Holkar (the adopted son of Malharrao Holkar) and Tipu Sultan from March 1786 to March 1787 in which Tipu Sultan was defeated by the Marathas. By the victory in this battle, the border of the Maratha territory extended till Tungabhadra river.

Mahadaji Sindhia was the Maratha ruler of the state of Gwalior in central India. Mahadaji was instrumental in resurrecting Maratha power after the debacle of the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. In early 1771, Mahadji recaptured Delhi and installed Shah Alam II as the puppet ruler on the Mughal throne, receiving in return the title of deputy Vakil-ul-Mutlak or vice-regent of the Empire and that of Vakil-ul-Mutlak being at his request conferred on the Peshwa. The Mughals also gave him the title of Amir-ul-Amara (head of the amirs).

Both the statements given are perfectly correct.

Gaekwads - Baroda
Holkars - Indore and Malwa
Scindias - Gwalior and Ujjain
Bhonsles - Nagpur

The famous 'baghnakh' episode in the history of the Maratha Empire is related to the death of Afzal Khan. In 1659-60, Afzal Khan was deputed by Adil Shah of Bijapur to punish Shivaji. But, Afzal Khan was killed by Shivaji in 1659.

Statement 1 is correct.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Shivaji was born at the fort of Shivner. Raigad was his capital.
Statement 3 is correct.
Statement 4 is incorrect: Though Shivji inherited the Jagir of Poona from his father in 1637, but at that time it was looked after by his guardian, Dadaji Kondadev. It was after the death of Dadaji in 1647 when Shivaji assumed full charge of the Jagir of Poona.

Statement 3 is wrong: It was not 'chauth', but 'sardeshmukhi' that was imposed on those lands of Maharashtra over which the Maratha claimed hereditary rights, but which formed the part of Mughal Empire.

Mughtai' were those regions from which 'chauth' and 'sardeshmikhi' were collected.

The Treaty of Purandar was signed on June 11, 1665, between the Rajput ruler Jai Singh I, who was commander of the Mughal Empire, and Maratha Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji was forced to sign the agreement after Jai Singh besieged Purandar fort. When Shivaji realised that war with the Mughal Empire would only cause damage to the empire and that his men would suffer heavy losses, he chose to make a treaty instead of leaving his men under the Mughals.

Statement 1 is correct. The Ashtapradhan (also termed Asta Pradhad or the Council of  was a council of eight ministers that administered the Maratha Empire. The council was formed in 1674 by founding Emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Unlike the present day Council of Ministers of Indian Parliament, these 'asthapradhanas' were individually responsible to Shivaji. There was no collective responsibility.