Nana Fadnavis

Not to be confused with Nana Sahib.

Nana Phadnavis (also Fadanvis and Furnuwees and
abbreviated as Phadnis) (February 12, 1742 March 13,
1800), born Balaji Janardan Bhanu, was an inuential
minister and statesman of the Maratha Empire during the
Peshwa administration in Pune, India. James Grant Du
states that he was called the Marattha Machiavelli" by
the Europeans.[1]

Early life

Balaji Janardan Bhanu was born in a Chitpavan Brahmin

family in Satara in 1742 and was nicknamed 'Nana'. His
grandfather Balaji Mahadaji Bhanu had migrated from a
village called Velas near Shrivardhan during the days of
the First Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath Bhat. The Bhats and
the Bhanus had family relations and very good friendship.
The two families had respectively inherited the 'Mahajan'
or village-head positions of the towns of Velas and Shrivardhan. Balaji Mahadji had once saved the Peshwa from
a murderous plot by the Mughals. The Peshwa therefore recommended Chattrapati Shahu to award the title Nana Fadnavis
of Phadnavis (one of the Ashtapradhan) on Bhanu. Later,
when the Peshwa became the de facto head of state, Phadnavis became the main minister who held key portfolios
midst of internal dissension and the growing power of the
of Administration and Finance for the Maratha Empire
British East India Company.
during Peshwa regime.
Nanas administrative, diplomatic and nancial skills
Nana was the grandson of Balaji Mahadji Bhanu and had
brought prosperity to the Maratha Empire and his maninherited his grandfathers name keeping up with the traagement of external aairs kept the Maratha Empire
dition. The Peshwa treated him like family and extended
away from the thrust of the British East India Company.
the same facilities of education and diplomatic training
He displayed his best warfare skills in various battles
as his sons, Vishwasrao, Madhavrao and Narayanrao. He
won by Maratha forces against the Nizam of Hyderabad,
continued to be the Phadnavis or the nance minister for
Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore and the English
the Peshwa.
Army.

After the assassination of Peshwa Narayanrao in 1773,

Nana Phadnavis managed the aairs of the state with
the help of a twelve-member regency council known as
the Barbhai council. The council was Nanas mastermind plan to protect, Madhavrao II, son of Narayanrao,
borne posthumously,to Gangabai, the widow of Narayanrao from the Peshwa familys internal conicts. The
Barbhai Council was an alliance of inuential Sardars
(Generals) led by Nana. Other members of the council were Haripant Phadke, Moroba Phadnis, Sakarambapu Bokil, Trimbakraomama Pethe, Mahadji Shinde,
Tukojirao Holkar, Phaltankar, Bhagwanrao Pratinidhi,

Peshwa administration

In 1761, Nana escaped to Pune from the Third Battle

of Panipat and rose to great heights becoming a leading
personage directing the aairs of the Maratha Confederacy, although he was never a soldier himself. This was a
period of political instability as one Peshwa was rapidly
succeeded by another, and there were many controversial transfers of power. Nana Phadnavis played a pivotal
role in holding the Maratha Confederacy together in the
1

Maloji Ghorpade, Sardar Raste and Babuji Naik. During this time the Maratha Empire although weakened by
the Panipat war of 1761, was still signicant in size with a
number of vassal states under a treaty of protection who
recognized the Peshwa as the supreme power in the region..

VILLAGE OF MENAVALI

temples, one dedicated to Lord Vishnu and another to

Meneshwar () Lord Shiva.
Originally, simple stone steps descending into a river,
ghats evolved into an elaborate arrangement of terraces with separate areas for dierent activities, such as
bathing, washing, lling water and performing religious
rites. Temples were traditionally built on ghats.
The Peshwa-era saw architectural combinations of a
Wada-type residence, a Ghat on a water-body and a Temple.
The Nana Phadnavis wada on the bank of the river Krishna at Menavali, is one of the very rare places where
such a combination is preserved intact.

Rear entrance to Nana Phadanvis house (Nana phadanvis wada)

which is still preserved today in the same condition as when Nana
built it in 1780. Location: Menawali, Wai T.SATARA

Madhav Rao Narayan, the Maratha Peshwa with Nana Fadnavis

and Attendants

Nana, being the Peshwas Phadnavis transcribed and

maintained their documents of accounts and administrative letters in the ancient Modi script. These documents, known as the famous Menavli Daptar were preserved in this Wada at Menavali.

Nana died at Pune on the 13th of March 1800, just before Peshwa Baji Rao II placed himself in the hands of
the British, provoking the Second Anglo-Maratha War
that began the breakup of the Maratha confederacy. In
an extant letter to the Peshwa, the Marquess Wellesley
describes[2] him thus: The able minister of your state,
whose upright principles and honourable views and whose
zeal for the welfare and prosperity both of the dominions
of his own immediate superiors and of other powers were
so justly celebrated.

After Nana Phadnavis died in 1800, the Peshwa BajiraoII, conscated the Wada.

There is a dark musty, narrow, steep staircase concealed

in the metre-thick wall to the oor above. The staircase
was at once secret and easily secured, admitting only one
person at a time into Nana Phadnaviss darbar hall. Nana
Phadnaviss reception darbar hall has an attached bedroom with a teakwood bedstead. The teakwood bedstead
is an intricately carved four-poster. The oor is swept
with clay and cowdung.

Village of Menavali

The Nana Phadnavis Wada[3] is a large six-quadrangled,

perimeter-protected wada. This construction was completed circa. 1780.

The British General Wellesley (brother of Lord Wellesley), Duke of Wellington returned the property to the
Nanas wife Jeeubai on 25 March 1804.
After her death, Sir Bartle Frere (governor of Bombay)
handed over the property to Nanas descendants. The
Nana Phadnavis Wada today remains with his descendants. Having split the major part of his properties between themselves, the Wada is still owned jointly by them
all.

Bhavan Rao Trymbak Pant-Pratinidhi of Aundh and

Raghunath Ghanshyam Mantri (Satara) bestowed the village of Menavali to Nana Phadnavis in December 1768. Wadas are systems of open courtyards of increasing seNana Phadnavis settled the village and built himself the curity. Nanas corridors on the upper oor are lined with
Wada with the ghat on the river Krishna and the two teak-wood lattice work. A concealed escape stairway in

3
the wall leads out of the Wada. Descending the stone
steps leads to the ghat on the river Krishna.
The lm crew of the Bollywood movie Swades, once
camped at the ghat to shoot some footage. The crew
cleaned and painted the old stone walls of the ghat and
the temples.
On descending the steps and turning right, one sees a
peaceful and rather drab view of Pandavgarh in the distance.
Nana Phadnavis constructed two temples on the Krishna
ghat, when he built his wada. One temple was dedicated
to Lord Vishnu. The other to Meneshwar () Lord
Shiva.
The bell house of the Meneshwar temple houses a six
hundred and fty kilogram bell. This bell was captured
by Bajirao-1s brother Chimaji Appa, from a cathedral in
the Portuguese fort at Bassein. Dated 1707, the ve-alloy
bell bears a bas-relief of Mary carrying the infant Jesus
Christ cast into it.
An ancient tree, with a massive coniform trunk has a platform constructed around it as old as the Wada itself. This
tree featured in the Bollywood movie Swades. In the
movie, the village elders hold a Panchayat on the stone
platform around this tree.
Several Bollywood movies have been shot, using the wada
as an exotic location, notably, Yudh (Jackie Shro/Tina
Munim), Mrutyudand (Madhuri Dixit), Goonj Uthi
Shahnai, Jis Desh Me Ganga Rahata Hai (Govinda),
Ganga-jal (Ajay Devgan), Sarja (Ajinkya Deo) and
Swades (Shahrukh Khan, Gayatri Joshi).

Nana Fadnavis Wada

External links
Nana Phadnavis, the rationalist
[Nana Phadnis by YN Deodhar,Popular Book Depot, 1962]

Notes

[1] James Grant Du, A History of the Mahrattas. Volume 3,

page 136.
[2] Captain A Macdonald, Memoir of Nana Furnuwees (Bombay, 1851).
[3] Baji J. Ram Rao, Menavali".

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm,
Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopdia Britannica
(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

Nana Fadnavis Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_Fadnavis?oldid=693341136 Contributors: Tom Radulovich, Ramrao, Salilb,

Nachiketvartak, Pol098, Srichrome, Bhadani, Jaraalbe, RussBot, SmackBot, Bluebot, ImpuMozhi, Yogesh Khandke, Deepak D'Souza, CmdrObot, Psohoni, Cydebot, Ekabhishek, Rahulbaba, Waacstats, Laura1822, Ravichandar84, Fconaway, Student7, Sankalpdravid, BOTijo,
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6.2

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org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Madhav_Rao_Narayan%2C_the_Maratha_Peshwa_with_Nana_Fadnavis_and_Attendants.jpg
License:
Public domain Contributors: Madhu Rao Narayan, the Maratha Peshwa with Nana Fadnavis and Attendants Original artist: James Wales
File:Menavali_pan.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Menavali_pan.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: originally posted to Flickr as Menavali Original artist: sathellite
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