Deshastha Brahmin in the context of Bhavabhuti

The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave the seat of Peshwa to Bajirao Ballal. During the reign of Shahu, the office of Peshwas were handed more responsibilities to keep the Jagirdars and Vatandars of the Maratha Empire from rebelling. After the passing of Shahu I the empire had no male heir apparent; hence the duty of maintaining peace lay with the Peshwas till the heir apparent (Rajaram II) was of age. The Peshwas from the time of Balaji Rao became the supreme authority in Maratha empire and the Chhatrapati's position became nominal.

All Peshwas during the rule of Shivaji, Sambhaji and Rajaram belonged to Marathi Deshastha Brahmin community. The first Peshwa was Moropant Pingle, who was appointed as the head of the Ashta Pradhan (council of eight ministers) by Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom. The initial Peshwas were all ministers who served as the chief executives to the king. The later Peshwas held the highest administrative office and also controlled the Maratha confederacy. Under the Bhat family, the Peshwas became the de facto hereditary administrators of the Confederacy. The Peshwa's office was most powerful under Baji Rao I (r. 1720–1740).

Bhāskara II ([bʰɑːskərə]; c.1114–1185), also known as Bhāskarāchārya (lit. 'Bhāskara the teacher'), was an Indian polymath, mathematician, and astronomer. From verses in his main work, Siddhānta Śiromaṇi, it can be inferred that he was born in 1114 in Vijjadavida (Vijjalavida) and living in the Satpura mountain ranges of Western Ghats, believed to be the town of Patana in Chalisgaon, located in present-day Khandesh region of Maharashtra by scholars. In a temple in Maharashtra, an inscription, supposedly created by his grandson Changadeva, lists Bhaskaracharya's ancestral lineage for several generations before him as well as two generations after him. Henry Colebrooke who was the first European to translate (1817) Bhaskaracharya's mathematical classics refers to the family as Maharashtrian Brahmins residing on the banks of the Godavari.

Born in a Hindu Deshastha Brahmin family of scholars, mathematicians and astronomers, Bhaskara II was the leader of a cosmic observatory at Ujjain, the main mathematical centre of ancient India. Bhāskara and his works represent a significant contribution to mathematical and astronomical knowledge in the 12th century. He has been called the greatest mathematician of medieval India. His main work, Siddhānta-Śiromaṇi (Sanskrit for "Crown of Treatises"), is divided into four parts called Līlāvatī, Bījagaṇita, Grahagaṇita and Golādhyāya, which are also sometimes considered four independent works. These four sections deal with arithmetic, algebra, mathematics of the planets, and spheres respectively. He also wrote another treatise named Karaṇā Kautūhala.