Nana Saheb was born in 1824; in Bithoor (Kanpur District), the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, as Nana Govind Dhondu Pant. He was the adopted son of exiled Marathi Brahmin King Peshwa Baji Rao II. Both he and his brother were the adopted sons of Peshwa, who was childless in 1827. Nana Saheb's mother was the Peshwa sister-in-law.

The childhood son of Nana Saheb was Tatya Tope, Azimullah Khan, and Manikarnika Tambe, popularly known as Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi.

After the death of Baji Rao II, the British stopped giving pensions to Nana Saheb under the Doctrine of Lapse; and refused to accept him as an heir of Baji Rao II. This insult provokes Nana Saheb to take part in the Revolt of 1857.

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