Serfoji II
| Raja Sarboji Bhonsle (Sarabhoji Raja Bhonsle) | |
|---|---|
| Raja of Maratha Dynasty |
Serfoji II Bhonsle (24 September 1777 – 7 March 1832) also spelt as Sarabhoji II Bhonsle, was the last ruler of the
Birth
Serfoji was born on 24 September 1777 in the
Difficulties faced in early life
But Thulajah died soon afterwards and his
At this juncture,
Restoration to the throne
Meanwhile, the
Reign and administration
During Serfoji's
From the collection of the V&A Museum.
Serfoji is also credited with having built a lot of
Contribution to the Sarasvati Mahal Library
The
The bibliophile that he was, he purchased around 4000 books from different parts of the world and enriched his library with his enormous book collection. Medical treatises, in the library collection contained his remarks alongside, in English. His library included treatises on Vedanta, grammar, music, dance and drama, architecture, astronomy, medicine, training of elephants and horses, etc. Serfoji set up the first Devanagari printing press in South India, using stone letters. He sent many Pundits including Aarur Swai ||ANIRUDRA|| Thyagarajar Iyer and puthukotai Adhi Nayagam Pillai far and wide and collected huge number of books and manuscripts for this Library. All the books in the library carry his personal autograph in English.
Apart from these, the Library contains a record of the day-to-day proceedings of the Maratha court known as the Modi documents, French-Maratha correspondence of the 18th century.
The Encyclopædia Britannica in its survey of the libraries of the world mentions this as "perhaps the most remarkable library in India".[1]
The Library is situated in the centre of Nayak palace and it was opened for public in 1918. There is also a small museum there for the visitors.
Educational reforms
Serfoji founded a school called Navavidhya Kalanidhi Sala where
Serfojis is also credited with installing a hand press with Devanagari type in 1805, the first of its kind in South India. He also established a stone type press called "Nava Vidhya Kalanidhi Varnayanthra Sala".
Civic amenities
Serfoji constructed ten
.Medicine
Serfoji established the
Based on the medical prescriptions stored at the Dhanvanthri Mahal, a set of poems were compiled detailing the procedures to cure various diseases. These poems were collected and published as a book, called Sarabhendra Vaidhya Muraigal.
Ophthalmology
In September 2003, during a meeting between Dr. Badrinath and Shivaji Rajah Bhonsle, the current scion of the royal family of Thanjavur and sixth in line from King Serfoji II, the existence of 200-year-old manuscripts in the Saraswathi Mahal library, containing records of the ophthalmic surgical operations believed to have been performed by Prince Serfoji II, came to light[2] Serfoji II regularly carried a surgical kit with him, wherever he went and performed cataract surgeries. Seforji's "operations" have been recorded in detail in English with detailed case histories of the patients he operated. These manuscripts form a part of the collection at the Saraswathi Mahal Library.
Zoological garden
Serfoji created the first
Shipping
Serfoji erected a shipyard at Manora, around fifty kilometers from Thanjavur. Serfoji also established a meteorological station to facilitate trade. He had a gun factory, a naval library and a naval store with all kinds of navigational instruments.
Serfoji was also keenly interested in painting, gardening, coin-collecting, martial arts and patronized chariot-racing, hunting and bull-fighting.
Contribution to arts and music
Serfoji was a patron of traditional Indian arts like
Construction and renovation activities
The five story Sarjah Mahadi in the
Pilgrimage to Kasi
In 1820-21, Serfoji embarked on a
Religious tolerance
Serfoji was open-minded and tolerant of other faiths. He liberally funded churches and schools run by Christian missionaries. He was also a patron of Thanjavur Bade Hussein Durgah.
Death
Serfoji II died on 7 March 1832 after a reign of almost 40 years (His first reign was from 1787 to 1793 and his second reign was from 1798 to 1832). His death was mourned throughout the empire and his funeral procession was attended by over 90,000 people.
Legacy
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In the history of pre-Victorian India, Serfoji's name often pops up at the first instance. He was a great savant and humanist, a man who was far ahead of his times. During his time, Thanjavur was one of the most developed princely states in the Indian subcontinent. While many rajahs were engrossed in fighting and civil wars, Serfoji ushered in an era of peace, prosperity and scientific development and pioneered new administrative and educational reforms. His vision helped Thanjavur forge ahead of other princely states and advance into a new age and emerge as a fitting competitor to European nations. Above all, he was an enlightened and educated soul; the quintessential Indian maharajah of the British colonial era who was at home with both Latin as well as Sanskrit and could converse and compile literary works in both Tamil as well as English. At his funeral, a visiting missionary, Rev. Bishop Heber observed:
I have seen many crowned heads, but not one whose deportment was more princely.
Trivia
- Serfoji was a scion of the Bhonsle family from which Chattrapathi Shivaji came. The Maratha kings were the descendants of Shivaji's half-brother, Venkoji.
- Serfoji II is mentioned as Sarabhoji in the Tamil records of the period.
- Serfoji became the last fully independent ruler of Tanjore when, in 1799, the administration of the kingdom was wrested from him by the British immediately after his restoration to the throne leaving the Bhonsles in charge of the fort and the surrounding areas alone. His son Shivaji was the last Thanjavur Marathi ruler to wield authority of any sort. The princely state was extinguished and Tanjore annexed by the British as per the controversial Doctrine of Lapse when Shivaji died in 1855. However, Shivaji's adopted heir and his descendants have continued to live in the Tanjore palace and use the title "Chattrapathi" and "Bhonsle Raja of Thanjavur" right up to the present day.
- The discovery in 2003, of Serfoji's medical prescriptions which contain an accurate description of eye-defects like cataracts and the operations to be performed have created news worldwide. Serfoji is now universally recognized as one of the early pioneers of cataract lens removal surgery.
See also
References
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ "Prince of Ophthalmology". The Hindu. 10 October 2004. Archived from the original on 18 January 2005.
- Raja Serfoji And Ophthalmology - A New Discovery
- Thanjavur Saraswathi Mahal Library
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003724/http://www.sarasvatimahallibrary.tn.nic.in/Thanjavur/Maratha_Rulers/body_maratha_rulers.html#serfoji2
- Raja Serfoji--Thanjavur's Maratha Legacy
- Restoration of Serfoji-era murals
- Muthiah, S. (5 September 2005). "Serfoji's steps to learning". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 October 2018.[dead link]
External links
- Sarasvati Mahal Library at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 November 2004) — official website (in English)
- List of Bhonsle Kings of Thanjavur
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