Ramabai

Ramabai (1750-1772), was wife of Madhavrao Peshwa I. Her father's name was Shivaji Ballal Joshi from Solapur.

Biography

Ramabai was married to Madhavrao I on 9 December 1758 in Pune. She accompanied Madhavrao I during Karnataka expedition in 1766–67. She was religious lady and would go on pilgrimages, like that of Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar.

She had gone to Harihareshwar in 1772 when Madhavrao's health was very serious. She always kept fasts for Madhavrao. the couple had no children.

She was a very spiritual and religious woman. She never intervened in social or political matters. On 18 November 1772, Madhavrao died in the temple premises of Chintamani, Theur. Thousands of citizens visited the site and paid their last respects to their beloved departed leader. After Madhavrao's death, Ramabai wished to perform sati. The peshwa family including Anandi Bai, Ragho Ba, Parvatibai and Narayan Rao tried to stop her but she didn't budge. Some sources believe that she had asked Madhavrao for his permission to perform sati before he died. on his funeral pyre on the same date. Madhavrao was cremated on the banks of the Bhima river which was about half a mile from the temple. A small memorial carved out of stone rests today at this place as a reminder of this great leader and his loving wife.

In literature and other media

• Ramabai Peshwa's character was essayed in a novel called Swami written by Ranjit Desai
• In the late 1980s, actress Mrinal Dev-Kulkarni played the role of Ramabai in a television series called Swami on the TV channel Doordarshan
• In the 2014 movie Rama Madhav, actress Parna Pethe played the role of Ramabai