She is acclaimed for her role in keeping alive the resistance against Mughal rule in Konkan, and acting as the regent of the Maratha Empire during the minority of her son, Shivaji II.

After the death of his half-brother and predecessor Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Rajaram ruled the Maratha Kingdom from 1689 to 1700, when his first wife Jankibai was the queen consort.

The expedition had already taken a giant toll, much larger than originally planned, on the empire and it looked possible that 175 years of Mughal rule might crumble due to being involved in a war that was not winnable.

[citation needed] By 1705, Marathas had crossed the Narmada River and made small incursions in Malwa, retreating immediately.

[citation needed] The Maratha country was relieved at the news of the death of Aurangzeb, who died at Ahmadnagar and buried at Khuldabad near Aurangabad, Maharashtra in 1707.

[3] Of the years 1700–1707, Jadunath Sarkar, a prominent Indian historian, especially of the Mughal dynasty, has opined: "During this period, the supreme guiding force in Maharashtra was not any minister but the dowager queen Tarabai.

Tarabai at that time demanded loyalty from the Maratha generals saying that Sambhaji (Shahu's father) had lost the kingdom which Shivaji had created.

[5] Shahu eventually prevailed, sidelining Tarabai, due to his legal position and Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath's diplomacy.

When Balaji Baji Rao left for the Mughal frontier, Tarabai urged Rajaram II to remove him from the post of Peshwa.

Gaekwad defeated a 20,000-strong force led by the Peshwa loyalist Trimbakrao Purandare at Nimb, a small town north of Satara.

He surrounded the Satara fort and asked Tarabai to release Rajaram II, whose physical and mental condition had deteriorated considerably.

Tarabai refused and Balaji Baji Rao left for Pune, since a siege of the well-provisioned and strong Satara fort would not be easy.

Janoji Bhonsle, also a rival of Balaji Baji Rao, was in the neighbourhood of Pune with a strong army and agreed to protect her against any harm.