In the exiled Peshwa Bajirao II's Bithur court, Tatya Tope, a warrior, trains the Peshwa's adopted son Nana Saheb fencing. At the Peshwa's welfare event, the popular deference to British troops pains Manu, Nana's childhood pal.

Vahini Saheb, the Peshwa's sister-in-law, locks up Manu and orders her to memorise 25 `shlokas' as punishment for not apologising to the racist Geoff. Manu not only memorises them but also grasps their meanings, which unsettles Vahini.

The Peshwa mollifies Vahini Saheb, who's displeased about Manu living in Bithur. Later, after Manu blasts a part of the palace's wall with her special arrow, a shocked Vahini Saheb informs Peshwa and Moropant that Manu could be a big threat for them.

Nana doesn't return from his practice session with Manu. The court's residents worry about his well-being and the peshwaship's stability. Manu mounts her horse Pavan and returns to Bithur with a badly wounded Nana.

Moropant orders Manu not to practise with Tatya the art of using double-edged swords. He explains to her the British threats to the peshwaship, urges her to domesticate herself and hands her over to Vahini's tutelage.

The Peshwa, who hears Manu bickering with Nana over his right to ride an elephant, urges them to unite to rout the British. He makes Nana give his ancestral royal dagger to Manu as a mark of their unbreakable friendship.