No, Marathas never discrete any temples or never ordered to or planned to,
the tailing pindaris(mostly muslim) of the Maratha army looted the temples and villages without the conset of their generals,
Similar notoriety happened in Bengal ,
Misconduct by the pindaris was a headache for the Marathas.
End of the day Muslim pindaris reaped blame of their wrongdoing on Maratha army
Here are some of the letters to verify maratha did not loot Temple of sringeri.
Letter from Neelkanth Appa (father of Raghunath rao Dada) to Balasaheb at Miraj
"lamaan and pindaris from Dadasaheb’s army went and looted lakhs worth from the Sringeri math, including an elephant. I have written to Dada to confiscate the goods’. This was followed by another letter in mid April; ‘the looters have been apprehended and a jambura and elephant belonging to the math taken over. The principal ten or twenty culprits were arrested. Just then Dadasaheb wrote that he will take action against them as they are his men. The men and the elephant were then sent to him’. On 14 May, Trimbak rao, Raghunath rao’s son, wrote to his uncle at Miraj, ‘Before the army crossed the river Tunga, lamaan and Pindaris had reached Shimogga. They went and looted the Swami’s math at Sringeri. The danda (staff) and kamandalu (vessel) of the swami was also taken. Nothing was left. Women were assaulted (and raped). Many women committed suicide. The Swami’s idol, linga etc was looted. The elephant stable was emptied and brought by the lamaanis. The Swami performed austerities and fasted for five days, giving up his life…
The last about the Swami giving up his life was not correct. The letter goes on to state, ‘When father learnt of this loot, he sent the cavalry to arrest the lamaan. The elephant was taken over. Remaining stolen items have not been found’."
A letter to Raghunath rao from his clerk
"…lamaans and looters looted the Sringeri math; this news reached the court. All details must be sought. You wrote ‘the looters came from all four directions. You have taken action and others must similarly act against the culprits’. Nana has sent this reply, ‘The Swami’s math was looted and the Swami is therefore fasting. This does not auger well for the kingdom; the Swami’s displeasure is not good….. Taking stern action the Swami must be compensated and his pleasure solicited…."
In a letter of 24 April 1792 written on behalf of Lord Cornwallis
"he paid no attention to from considerations of the irregular and depredatory system in which the Bayde Horse of Tippoo’s state and the pindary horse of the Mahratta armies were employed without any check or control, that from the nature of those horse the march of armies thro’ a country was always attended with circumstances of this description, that he was confident… that these matters will be considered as temporary inconveniences…."
After the demolition of Sringeri math the then Shankaracharya petitioned Tipu Sultan for help. A bunch of about 30 letters written in Kannada language, which were exchanged between Tipu and the Shankaracharya were discovered in 1916 by the Director of Archaeology in Mysore. Tipu Sultan expressed his indignation and grief at the news of the raid:
"People who have sinned against such a holy place are sure to suffer the consequences of their misdeeds at no distant date in this Kali age in accordance with the verse: "Hasadbhih kriyate karma rudadbhir-anubhuyate" (People do [evil] deeds smilingly but suffer the consequences crying)."
He immediately ordered the Asaf of Bednur to supply the Shankaracharya with 200 rahatis (fanams) in cash and other gifts and articles. Tipu Sultan's interest in the Sringeri temple continued for many years.
Although the regular troops did not attack the math, the pindari who did not act with ‘any check or control’ did. The Maratha polity was anguished over the act and efforts were on to compensate and appease the Swami for nearly a year after.
Conclusion : The Sringeri episode was neither a policy nor a battle plan for the Marathas. It was carried out by those predatory troops and pindaris who do not take part in an actual battle.
Swarajya mag responds to one out of fifty allegations. Typical really. Other British sources who actually were mercenaries with the mighty hindu armies corroborated the accounts of Hindu officers guiding the pillaging with on field testimony (see above). But that's ok, we know you only believe certain abrahamics and not others.
Plenty of sources exist, beyond the commie ones.
"smaller Maratha Army of Bhau Parshuram Patwardhan. Bhau and the detachment went from Srirangapatnam to Poona and Bombay . During this march through present-day Karnataka state, Bhau’s army displaced many local officials and disrupted normal life in efforts to secure the newly gained territories. Edward Moor, a member of Capt. Little’s detachment wrote a detailed eye-witness account of this journey.
In his account, Moor tells how the Marathas set ablaze the entire town of Santa Bednur (present-day Santhebennur, distt. Davanegere). In this instance, the Company soldiers had been travelling separately from the Marathas for more than a few days, and the Beydars (also termed Berad, Bedar, Beda and Ramoshi), military allies of Tipu Sultan, had been harassing the Marathas. The passage reads
The Marathas also ransacked the town of Erroor (present-day Hiriyur, near Chitradurga) after the town had paid ransom to the Marathas. The Bhau had promised protection to this town. The same fate befell Dooridoorg (the author could not identify this town) that was ‘plundered as usual by the Marathas’. [3] Previously, in 1791, the Marathas had desecrated the venerable Sringeri Mutt, one of the four seats of the Shankaracharya, which used to receive protection, patronage and grants from the government of Tipu Sultan. [4] Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, appointed Surveyor of Tipu’s provinces annexed by the Company in 1799, asked the amildar (local official) of Sagar, near Shimoga, to compare Tipu and the Marathas. The amildar said and the Surveyor reported thus
II
From Moor’s account, it would seem that the Marathas were either unaware or oblivious to cow-killing by the Englishmen in their party. Moor happily talks about not just eating, but slaughtering an ox and making smoked sirloin in the Maratha camp on Christmas 1791. He writes
Finally, Bhau, the Maratha general was forced to change his marching plans because one of his accompanying Brahmins had intercourse with a beautiful, but married, Dalit woman leading to an epidemic of ritual impurity in the Maratha army. Moor wrote
III
In order to portray Tipu Sultan as a ‘tyrant’, Francois Gautier relied on the account of Ripaud, a Frenchman who went to India from Mauritius in 1797 and 1799. In 1799, Ripaud wrote a diary entry complaining about the Malabar campaign of Tipu Sultan (1783). The above reading of two original sources pertaining to Maratha engagement in the Deccan during the 1790s, has revealed the Marathas to be ‘tyrants’ of no lesser magnitude! In conclusion, it may be said that there is no dearth of evidence successfully implicating various kinds of people in acts of political violence."
The Tyrant Diaries, Part II
www.google.com
More commie and Muslim sources, this time British colonialist citizen Francis Buchanan. He must be sympathetic towards "commies" or "Muslims" or perhaps "commieslims". That Queen Victoria and her Russian connections eh.
"Destruction by Peshwa Madhava Rao's men in 1770s:
Here is a list based on Buchanan's book:
Tumakuru District:
1) Madhugiri town: It was apparently prosperous under Haidar Ali but suffered under Maratha rule.
Mandya District:
2) Chinya village (Anglicized: Chinna), Nagamangala Taluk: The village was desolate when Buchanan visited it on 28 August 1800. He writes this 'Chinna is a poor ruinous place. It was formerly of some note; but about 30 years ago it was destroyed by the Marattah army, then attacking Hyder, and it has never since recovered.'
3) Melukote (Anglicized: Mail-cotay), Mandya District: This is a popular Hindu pilgrimage centre having numerous Hindu temples. It was often the scene of Mysore-Maratha battles. During their invasion in 1771, the terror of Maratha soldiers was so great that Brahmins deserted the place in fear. But the Maratha soldiers set afire to the temple chariots (rathas or raths) to lay their hands on the iron in them burning down many temples in the process. Writing on 29 August 1800, Buchanan claimed that Melukote had not yet recovered from its destruction by the Marathas.
Mysore District:
4) Katte Malalawadi (Anglicized: Cuttay Malalawadi): Here's what Buchanan writes about its destruction by Baji Rao. "About midway is Cuttay Malalawadi, a large mud fort, and the chief town (Kusba) of a district (Taluc). About thirty years ago it was fully inhabited and had a large suburb (Petta); while the cultivation all around was complete. At that period, a Marattha army, commanded by Badji Rao, laid waste to everything, and most of the inhabitants perished of hunger. So complete was the destruction, that even the excellent government of Hyder did not restore to the district more than one half of its former cultivation. The town never regained its inhabitants and was occupied by forty or fifty houses of Brahmans, who lived scattered amid the ruins."
Chamarajanagara District:
5) Sathyagala: Apparently, this village had about a thousand houses. According to Buchanan, 'a party of Marattah plunderers ravaged all this neighbourhood; and they were followed by a dreadful famine, in which 400 of the families in Satteagala perished of hunger.' Even if each family had seven members (a married couple with two parents and three kids), the number of deaths would run to 28,000 humans!
6) Singanallur (Anglicized: Singanaluru): This hamlet in Kollegal Taluk, Chamrajanagar District, located between Kollegal and Hanur towns, was 'destroyed'.
Kodagu District:
7) Suntikoppa (Anglicized: Sunticopa), Madikeri Taluk, Kodagu (Anglicized: Coorg) District: According to Buchanan this place was 'devastated by Maratha Peshwa'.
Davanagere District:
8) Basavapatna (Anglicized: Baswa-pattana), Channagiri Taluk: Destroyed during the 1771-72 Maratha invasion it was apparently rebuilt by the British after the final Anglo-Mysore War in 1799.
Chikmagalur District:
9) Siddaramanahalli (Anglicized: Siddaramanahally), Kadur Taluk): Affected
Chitradurga District:
10) Hiriyur (Anglicized: Heriuru): Affected.
11) Chikkalaghatta (Anglicized- Aligutta): Land was barren due to Marhata invasions of 1771.
Hassan District:
12) Banavara (Anglicized: Banawara): Suffered.
13) Nagapuri, (Anglicized: Naga-puri): Haidar Ali built a fort amidst hills to protect people but still could not prevent the Marathas from plundering it in 1771-72.
14) Javagal village, also known as Javagallu (Anglicized: Jamagulla), Arasikere Taluk: A large place that never recovered from the Marhata invasion.
15) Shantigrama, also known as Grama, Hassan District: Suffered under Maratha invasion. "
Chamarajanagara District:
1) Sathyagala, Kollegal Taluk: All 1,000 houses were destroyed by Maratha army during Cornwallis' invasion.
Chitradurga District:
2) Kodaganur (Anglicized: Koduganar): Whole of Chitrakal (Chitradurga) province was 'reduced to a desert' by Bhau.
3) Chikkalaghatta (Anglicized- Aligutta): Land was barren due to Marhata invasions of 1771 and then again by Bhau in 1791.
4) Hiriyur town: Affected by Bhau's invasion and the subsequent famine that followed.
5) Belaguru (Anglicized- Belluguru), Hosadurga Taluk: Buchanan visited this on 8 May 1801 and found that the land was uncultivated due to Bhau's army passing by.
Davanagere District:
6) Malebennur town: Destroyed.
7) Harihar town: Bhau looted the people and many died of hunger.
Hassan District:
8) Garudanagiri village: Was found to be depopulated on 9th May 1801 due to Bhau.
9) Banavara: Suffered by invasions of Bhau.
10) Hassan town: Buchanan claims only one quarter of agriculture remained due to the Maratha invasion."
BUT of course, only the Muslim mercenaries did this, and without any knowledge of their Hindu paymasters.
You're a trip dude.
Maratha Hindus actually marched with British Christians and Muslim mercenaries to loot and pillage Hindu lands and temples. They were true secularists, who even did not spare Hindus from the flames of secularist conquest. A lesson for modern hindutvas. The most successful hindu empire slaughtered hindus and Muslims alike without any fuss. It's nothing personal against any religion. Just business yknow. Getting the "chautha" tax and all.
@manlion