Sayajirao was born into a Maratha family in the village of Kavlana in Malegaon taluka of Nashik district, as Gopalrao Gaekwad, second son of Kashirao Bhikajirao (Dada Sahib) Gaekwad (1832–1877) and Ummabai. He belonged to a cadet branch of the Gaekwad dynasty, descended from a morganatic marriage of the first Raja of Baroda, and so was not expected to succeed to the throne.
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