When the moon is full and bright in the sky, illuminating the dark, ruined halls of Shaniwar Wada, they say you can hear a young boy’s voice cry out for help. Though the historic site is one of Pune’s most famous tourist attractions by day, fear strikes nearby residents’ hearts when screams puncture the isolated fortress’ walls by night. One ghost, in particular, is rumoured to roam the palace; this is the story of Prince Narayan Rao.
Shaniwar Wada was built in 1732 to act as a base for Pune’s Peshwas. The 13-storey fort was the brainchild of Baji Rao I, one of Maratha’s most iconic and formidable leaders. Its towering gates and 625 acres of land quickly made it a centre point of the Maratha Empire, a legacy it continues to hold nearly three centuries later. As the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy, Baji Rao I resided in the palace until his passing, wherein his son took his place, and then his son after that.
However, the natural progression of this passage of power was disrupted by the deaths of Baji Rao I’s eldest two grandsons; Vishwas Rao died in battle before coming into power and the next in line, Madhav Rao, became Peshwa only to pass from tuberculosis at just 27 years old. This left their youngest, Narayan Rao, to take rule. At only 17 years old, the teenage Peshwa was at the Maratha’s helm. His older brother had led their empire out of troubled times and back to strength and now Narayan Rao, just a child, faced the pressure of carrying that legacy.
When heredity means power, blood thins and familial love flies out the window. We saw this tragic reality in action as Narayan Rao struggled in his early, and as we come to learn, limited, days as a leader. The child lacked tactical abilities and foresight. He was ill-equipped for the weighty job he had been handed. All the while, Baji Rao I’s brother, Raghunath Rao, was plotting. The meddling uncle believed himself to be the rightful heir to the position, and while he had posed an issue to the previous Peshwa as well, Madhav Rao had been equipped to handle the situation and imprisoned him.
After months of rising tensions, constant conflict, and three attempted prison breaks, Narayan Rao met his demise on the 30th of August, 1773. In an unprecedented act of conspiracy, his uncle and other colluders used the bustling Ganesh Chaturthi Festival as a veil to hide their plotting. They bribed and turned Narayanrao’s guards against him, convincing them to attack the teenager. As he attempted to escape, the Peshwa screamed for his uncle to help him, going as far as stating he would sacrifice the power bestowed upon him for a second chance at life. Raghunath Rao’s betrayal goes down in history today, as Narayan Rao was brutally killed, his body hacked apart, in a fight for power that he didn’t even care to claim.
Today, almost three hundred years later, many believe the young ruler’s spirit lives on in Shaniwar Wada’s remains. People claim they’ve seen spirits wander around the palace late at night, and once a month, when the moon is at its fullest, they say they can hear Narayan Rao scream for his uncle’s help.
Of course, there is no way for us to verify these claims. Ultimatel,y your belief, or lack thereof, in ghosts is up to you. However, the true horror of this story is not derived from the supernatural. Rather, it’s in the timelessness of this tale; the repeating cycles of violent power struggles and the greed that supersedes morality. Our temporal distance from these historic tales doesn’t make them any less relevant to our lives. After all, something must resonate if we’re still retelling these horrors, like kids around a campfire, with flashlights shining up at our faces, hundreds of years later.
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