Within the upper tiers of the Maratha social order, Gaikwad represents an elite Kshatriya Maratha clan. It occupies an established position in the celebrated Maratha 96 Kuli (the ninety-six recognized noble clans).
The ascension of the Gaekwad dynasty Baroda began under Damaji Rao I and Pilaji Rao Gaekwad during the early eighteenth century. As commanders under the Peshwa administrative apparatus, they expanded Maratha rule into Gujarat, establishing Songadh as their fortress base before capturing Vadodara.
Pilaji Rao Gaekwad (Founder, Baroda State: 1721, 1732)
│
Damaji Rao Gaekwad (Consolidator)
│
[Successive Maharajas of Vadodara / Princely State]
│
Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III (Reigned: 1875, 1939)
• Visionary Administrator & Education Reformer
• Sponsored Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's Education at Columbia (1913)
The Maratha Gaikwad branch asserts Kshatriya status supported by specific ritual identifiers:
- Generally Kashyap or Gautam
- Khandoba of Jejuri, along with the goddess Bhavani of Tuljapur
- Devak (Clan Totem): The Surya-phul (sunflower) or panch-pallav (five sacred leaves)
- Somavanshi (lunar lineage) or Suryavanshi (solar lineage), depending on the regional shakha (branch)
The most prominent ruler of this lineage, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, transformed Baroda into an administrative benchmark between 1875 and 1939. A monarch dedicated to dismantling caste barriers, Sayajirao III instituted free compulsory primary education and funded the overseas education of a young Dalit scholar: Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. In 1913, Baroda state funding sent Ambedkar to Columbia University, demonstrating how princely power interacted with emerging anti-caste leadership.
