Narayanrao Bhat (10 August 1755 – 30 August 1773) was the 10th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy from November 1772 until his assassination in August 1773. He married Gangabai Sathe who later gave birth to Sawai Madhavrao. Early life Narayanrao Bhat was born 10 August 1755. He was the third and youngest son of Balaji Baji Rao (also known as Nana Saheb) and his wife Gopikabai. He received a conventional education in reading, writing and arithmetic and possessed a functional understanding of Sanskrit scriptures. He was married to Gangabai Sathe on 18 April 1763 before his eighth birthday. Gangabai was born in Kelashi village and belonged to Sathe family . Her father's name is not known, but Keshav Vinayak Sathe was the family head. Sathe's were the dashagranthi brahmins and were serving as priests of Kelashi's Mahalakshmi. Ruins of Gangabai's house are still present in Kelshi village near a small Datta Mandir. He was very close to Parvatibai, the widow of Sadashivrao, who took him under her care to lessen her sorrows after her husband's death. His eldest brother Vishwasrao, heir to the title of the Peshwa, died in the Battle of Panipat in 1761 along with Sadashivrao. His father died a few months later and his elder brother Madhavrao took over as Peshwa. He accompanied his brother Madhavrao in his expeditions to Carnatic on two occasions, once in 1765 and later in 1769. He received a wound in his wrist at the storming of fort Nijagal at the end of April 1770. In last one or two years of his brother's reign, he was placed in the care of the Maratha minister Sakharam Bapu in order to train him in his administrative work. His behaviour and performance of his duties always failed to impress his brother Madhavrao who expressed great fears about his future. Ascension Before his death, Madhavrao conducted a court session in which the issue of ascension was discussed at length and at the end of which, in the presence of the family deity, he nominated his younger brother Narayanrao as the next Peshwa. He counselled Naraynrao to conduct his administration by the advice of Sakharam Bapu and Nana Padnavis. Raghunathrao, the uncle of both Madhavrao and Narayanrao, didn't have the courage to openly oppose the nomination of Narayanrao in front of the dying Peshwa and so he apparently acquiesced to the arrangement. The Peshwa had also