Bhonsle - Origin

Origin

The origins of the Bhonsle are uncertain. Some scholars consider early texts which represent the Bhonsle to be Sisodia whilst others consider their origin to lie with the Bakhars.

Some of the historical accounts stating that Shahaji and Shivaji were of Rajput descent include:

• In 1674, Pandit Ganga Bhatt of Varanasi presented a genealogy tracing Shivaji's ancestry to the Suryavanshi Kshatriya Sisodia of Mewar.
• Shahji in his letter to the Sultan Adilshah states he is a Rajput.

Scholars such as Jadunath Sarkar have contested Shivaji's Rajput origin, saying that it was a fabrication required during his coronation. Others, such as C. V. Vaidya, do not accept this and point to works authored before his rise that refer to the connection. For example. the Radhav Vilas Champu, written by the poet Jayaram, mentions Shahji Bhosle, the father of Shivaji, as being a Sisodia Rajput and Shahji's letter to Sultan Adil Shah in 1641 refers to the Bhosle as Rajputs. The discovery of Persian Farmans in the 1920s also dented the claim of those such as Sarkar. The documents bear seals and tughra of Bahmani and Adil Shahi sultans and establish the direct descent of Shivaji and Ghorpade with that of Sisodia of Chittod.