ramshastri prabhune

Ramshastri Prabhune was born in Mauli village of Satara district in Maharashtra. Due to his scholarship and industry he rose to become the Chief Justice of the Maratha Empire during the reign of Madhavrao Peshwa.He was a man of the highest integrity and rectitude. Even the Peshwa had to defer to Ramshastri in matters of Law.
Ramshastri lived a very frugal life and his wife sold milk to supplement the family income. He refused to live in the official residence and continued to live in his ancestral home in Pune. He was well versed in Sanskrit,Marathi,The Vedas,the Puranas,The Bible and the Quran. He always maintained that he was the custodian of the Dharma and hence all public functionaries including the Peshwa were accountable to him.
After the untimely death of Madhavrao Peshwa,his uncle Raghunath Peshwa usurped the Prime Ministership by killing the heir Narayanrao, The matter was brought before Ramshastri who ordered the arrest of Raghobadada. Raghoba was brought before Ramshastri who held him guilty as charged and sentenced him to imprisonment for life. The sentence could not be executed for political reasons and as a consequence Ramshastri resigned as Chief Justice and left Pune.
Ramshastri and Nana Phadnavis were the two stalwarts of the Maratha Empire during is period of decline.