3.6 Cultural Contributions

Empires are remembered for more than their battles. The Marathas, as they spread across India, also became great patrons of culture, supporting temples, the arts, languages and learning. Their cultural legacy is woven into the life of India to this day.

Protectors of temples and traditions

Rooted in the ideal of Swarajya, with its respect for the people’s own faith and customs, the Marathas were active builders and protectors of temples and pilgrimage sites. They repaired and rebuilt shrines, endowed temples with land and funds, and supported religious festivals, helping preserve traditions across the regions they ruled.

The Marathas and Bharatanatyam When a branch of the Maratha family ruled Thanjavur (Tanjore) in the far south, the Maratha kings became enthusiastic patrons of Bharatanatyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu. They supported dancers, built and endowed temples where the art was performed, and helped preserve and develop this classical dance form, a striking example of a power from the western Deccan nurturing a southern art tradition.

Language, learning and music

The Marathas encouraged the use of Marathi (alongside Sanskrit) in administration and literature, strengthening regional language and identity, part of Shivaji’s original vision of cultural self-rule. Maratha courts supported poets, scholars and musicians, and the Thanjavur court in particular became a celebrated centre of music, dance and Sanskrit and Telugu scholarship.

Patronage as Power Patronage means supporting artists, scholars and religious institutions with money, land and protection. By acting as patrons, the Marathas did three things at once: they preserved India’s cultural heritage, they won the loyalty of communities, and they left a legacy that outlived their political power, dance, temples and literature that survive today.

A wide cultural footprint

Because the Confederacy stretched across India, Maratha patronage touched many regions, temple-building in the north and west, support for pilgrimage centres, and the flowering of arts in the south. Forts, palaces, temples, water tanks and town planning from the Maratha period still dot the landscape from Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu.

Think About It A dynasty’s armies vanish when it falls, but its temples, dances and books can last for centuries. Why might a ruler’s cultural contributions outlive their political power? Give one example from this section.

Let’s Explore Find out one classical art form, temple, or fort connected to the Marathas (for example, Bharatanatyam at Thanjavur, or a fort in Maharashtra). Write three sentences: what it is, how the Marathas supported it, and why it still matters today.

For all their power and culture, the Maratha story does not end in triumph. Within a few decades of reaching their peak, they were overtaken by a new rival, the British. Why a power this vast declined so fast is the final question of the chapter.