Jamkhandi

In 1726, Ramchandrapant, a son of Hari Bhat was appointed as chief accountant of the cavalry under Indraji Kadam. His brother Govind Hari was also taken into Indraji’s Kadam as an accountant. For his exploits under Indraji Kadam, Chimnaji Appa took Ramchandrapant under his command. He would play key roles in the 1735 Janjira campaign and 1737 Vasai Campaign post which he would be given his own command. He would only grow with time as a capable commander till his death in 1740 at Shivrajpur near Kanpur.

His son Parashuram Patwardhan, popularly known as Parashuram Bhau was just nine years when his father died and his cousin Purushottam acted as his guardian. His first military action was in 1754 when he was just fourteen years old when he joined his cousin in the Maratha march on Savanur. In time, he would receive the Jagir of Koregaon and then, the Jagir of Tasgaon in 1763.

In time, Parashuram Bhau grew to the stature of the principal Maratha commander in the South and would clash repeatedly with Mysore. The 1790 Mysore campaign saw him coming to the aid of the British many a time and preventing total annihilation of their troop. In the campaign he would capture the whole territory till Srirangapatna from the North. In the 1795 Battle of Kharda, he was the Supreme Commander of Maratha Army. By the time of Parashuram Bhau, the Patwardhans served two purposes - the sword arm of the Maratha Empire in the South and a check on Kolhapur. In 1772, Jamkhandi was added to his estates. In 1775, when Parashuram Bhau sent officers to build a fort at Jamkhandi to act as his base of operations, the de facto independent Desai of Konnur, Kaddappa resisted but was defeated. He fled to Mudhol where he died in 1799. He would continuously poke at Jamkhandi and after his death, his brother Gadigeppa would continue the fight. Bhaskar Pant Sukhdev, Parashuram Bhau's officer in the area defeated him at Jagdal and Gadigeppa fled, dying as a fugitive three years later. Gedigeppa’s family stayed at Mudhol till 1812 when they were allowed to return back to Jamkhandi.