The mid-eighteenth century began with the Marathas as the paramount power in India, and in the next two decades, they rose in power and prestige. In the Carnatic, Bengal, Rajputana, Malva, Bundelkhand they were supreme, and in Delhi, the Marathas ruled while the Mughal king reigned. In this period when Nanasaheb Peshwa was at the helm, the Maratha power reached its zenith. But that was not the entire story. The events of the mid-eighteenth century are pivotal, and determined the course of the next five decades. The rise of the Europeans in the south and the east added a new dimension, so that this epoch eventually emerged as the crossroad of Indian history.