This valiant captain married three times. Out of the three, the first and the last wives   were the daughters of Karmarkars.  First one was Salajabai. She died soon at Bhthur or Brahmavart. But, about whom we the Karmarkars would feel proud, was that daughter of Karmarkar meaning  the third wife of Nanasaheb. Her name was Sundartai. She was born in 1846. She was of 10 years of age at the time of marriage. Her maiden name was Krishnabai alias Parvatibai. She was the daughter Ramchandra Sakharam Karmarkar, a relative of Patwardhan of Sangli. To see and finalize the marriage, the priest of the Peshwa’s had come to Sangli. From her horoscope it was predicted that soon after her marriage there would be war and bloodshed, but she was selected since she was beautiful. She was married to Nanasaheb at Brahmavart.

On 5th June 1857 at Kanpur, Nanasaheb took the lead for the struggle for independence against the Britishers. He was coroneted as king at Bithur on 30th June, and on 1st July the of war was proclaimed against the British. However, in this battle Nanasaheb had to leave the country and go to Nepal. When the Bithur battle was won, Nanasaheb was coroneted on the historical throne of Peshwa, which brought by the Second Bajirao from Pune. After the defeat in the battle, the English began to harass the Peshwas. Then the last Bajirao’s two wives namely Mainabai and Saibai and Nanasaheb’s wife Krishnabai (she was called as Kakusaheb), all went to Khatmandu and had royal patronage of the king of Nepal.

Saibai, the wife of Bajirao sold her ornaments in Nepal and established a small state of Raniganj. She purchased 8 villages from the government of Nepal. She also got the civil and criminal rights to rule over there. Saibai and Kakusaheb lived there and so that  area  became a state, and  Govindpur was recognized as the capital of Raniganj. Saibai constructed a Palace, Office, and temples of Lord Ram and Hanuman. The seat of Peshwa was neatly placed in the office. Like the king and queen of Nepal, she was also honoured with an umbrella with golden stick. The government of Nepal paid her salary too. She had the right to use the royal umbrella while going to see Pashupatinath. Devpatan was the cremation place for the last rites of royal family members. The last rites were performed to the ladies of the Peshawa families at that place only. At Raniganj the seat of Peshwa was kept on the third floor, where nobody was allowed to go. Every night, food, water and a lamp used to be kept there. A she-elephant named Vishnukali would salute to the seat of Peshwa everyday in the morning. The administrator of Nepal respected these two ladies as goddesses. Like Saibai of Peshwa, Kakubai also held the prestige of Peshwa  and family high and this daughter-in-law preserved the glory of this tradition and became really  “an humble wife’. This was a matter of pride to her mother-in-law and also to the subject (people). Kakubai had no child. She died in the palace at Raniganj in 1886 at the age of 40. She was cremated at a place near Pashupatinath, where other Peshwas were cremated.

After the end of Shivashahi, i.e. the era of Shivaji’s kingdom, the direction of the Maratha family began to be changed, and a new equation of political power was established. In that arrangement which Justice Ranade as described as “Maratha Rajmandal” (the Maratha cabinet), the family of Peshwa had the first place. Nanasaheb of this family was the first one to challenge the British empire and later on the prestige and honour of the Peshawas were maintained and preserved till 1886 first as his wife, and later as the queen Krishnabai (Kakusaheb) with her intelligence and work. The Karmarkas would definitely be proud of this efficient Queen who was born in the Karmarkar family.  (From History of the Peshawa family” by Promod Oak )