Balaji Vishwanath (Bhat) (1662–1720), better known as Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, was the sixth Peshwa and the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas (Marathi for Prime Minister) hailing from the Chitpavan Kokanastha Brahmin Hindu family who gained effective control of the Maratha Empire during the 18th century. Balaji Vishwanath assisted a young Maratha Emperor Shahu to consolidate his grip on a kingdom that had been racked by civil war and persistent attack by the Mughals under Aurangzeb. He was called "the second founder of the Maratha State." Later,his son Bajirao became the peshwa. His second son Chimnaji Appa won the vasai fort.

Balaji Vishwanath (Bhat) was born into a Konkanastha Brahmin (aka Chitpavan) family. The family hailed from the coastal Konkan region of present-day Maharashtra and were the hereditary Deshmukh for Shrivardhan under the Siddi of Janjira. He went out in search of employment to the upper regions of western ghats and worked as a mercenary trooper under various Maratha generals. According to Kincaid & Parasnis, Balaji Vishwanath entered the Maratha administration during the reign of Chhatrapati Sambhaji or the regency of his brother, Rajaram.Later he served as an accountant for the Maratha general, Dhanaji Jadhav, at Janjira. Between 1699 and 1702, he served as the Sar-subhedar or head-administrator at Pune and from 1704 to 1707 as Sarsubedar of Daulatabad. By the time Dhanaji died, Balaji had proven himself as an honest and able officer.Balaji fell out with Dhanaji's son and successor , Chandrarao Jadhav and went over to the newly released Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shahu who took note of his abilities and appointed Balaji as his assistant (c.1708).

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