CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

NYAYA NAGAR,MITHAPUR,PATNA-800001

RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL

FULLFILMENT COURSE

INDIAN HISTORY

RISE OF THE
MARATHAS

PROPOSAL SUBMITTED BY:

SAJAL SANATAN

ROLL NO.:-2149

SEMESTER:- FIRST

COURSE:-B.A.LL.B(HONS.)

PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO:

DR PRIYA DARSHINI

FACULTY OF HISTORY

DECLERATION

Page | 1
I hereby declare that the project entitled “RISE OF THE MARATHAS “
submitted by me at CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY is a record of
bona fide project work carried out by me under the guidance of our mentor PRIYA
DARSHINI MAM . I further declare that the work reported in this project has not
been submitted and will not be submitted, either in part or in full, for the award of
any other degree or diploma in this university or in any other university.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is a fact that any research work prepared, compiled or formulated in isolation is inexplicable to
an extent. This research work, although prepared by me, is a culmination of efforts of a lot of

Page | 2
people who remained in veil, who gave their intense support and helped me in the completion of
this project.

Firstly, I am very grateful to my subject teacher Dr Priya Darshini, without the kind support and
help of whom the completion of this project was a herculean task for me. She donated his
valuable time from his busy schedule to help me to complete this project. I would like to thank
him for his valuable suggestions towards the making of this project.

I am highly indebted to my parents and friends for their kind co-operation and encouragement
which helped me in completion of this project. I am also thankful to the library staff of my
college which assisted me in acquiring the sources necessary for the compilation of my project.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank the Almighty who kept me mentally strong and in
good health to concentrate on my project and to complete it in time.

I thank all of them !

----

SAJAL SANATAN

ROLL NO.:-2149

B.A.LL.B(HONS.)

TABLE OF CONTENT

 INTRODUCTION

Page | 3
 POLITICAL RISE OF MARATHAS POWER

 MUGHAL AND MARATHAS RELATION

 RISE OF MARATHAS DURING PESHWAS ERA

 ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF MARATHAS

 CONCLUSION

 BIBLIGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

Page | 4
The Marathas rose up in 17th century under Shivaji, who a died in 1680 1eying an Independent
Kingdom called Swarajya behind. His life left the legacy of inspiring the common man for
defence and expansion of his Swarajya. Taking advantage of his death Aurangzeb/ the Moghal
Emperor of India, descended down to the Deccan, he extinguished the Sunni Kingdoms of
Golkonda and Bijapur but did not succeed against the Marathas who defeated him. This defeat of
Aurangzeb in the Deccan emboldened the Marathas in turn for the conquest of territory both in
the north and south.

The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was a power that dominated a large portion

of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. The empire formally existed from 1674 with the
coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji and ended in 1818 with the defeat of Peshwa Bajirao II. The
Marathas are credited to a large extent for ending Mughal rule in India.[4][5][6][note 1]

The Maratha were a Maratha warrior group from the western Deccan Plateau (present-

day Maharashtra) who rose to prominence by establishing a Hindavi Swarajya (meaning "self-
rule of Hindu/Indian people"). The Maratha became prominent in the 17th century under the
leadership of Shivaji, who revolted against the Adil Shahi dynasty, and carved out a kingdom
with Raigad as his capital. Known for their mobility, the Maratha were able to consolidate their
territory during the Mughal–Maratha Wars and later controlled a large part of the Indian
subcontinent.

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, Chhattrapati Shahu, grandson of Shivaji, was released by
the Mughals.[10] Following a brief struggle with his aunt Tarabai, Shahu became the ruler and
appointed Balaji Vishwanath and later, his descendants, as the peshwas or prime ministers of the
empire.[11] Balaji and his descendants played a key role in the expansion of Maratha rule. The
empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar (modern-day Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) in the north, and Bengal Subah in the east. The Maratha discussed
abolishing the Mughal throne and placing Vishwasrao Peshwa on the Mughal imperial throne
in Delhi but were not able to do so. In 1761, the Maratha Army lost the Third Battle of
Panipat against Ahmad Shah Abdali of the Afghan Durrani Empire, which halted their imperial
expansion into Afghanistan. Ten years after Panipat, the young Peshwa Madhavrao I's Maratha
Resurrection reinstated Maratha authority over North India.

Page | 5
Since the early 17th century, the Marathas emerged as new political elite by joining the service
of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golkonda courts in the Deccan. Some Marathas earned the titles of
Raja, Naik and Rana and became petty chiefs of hill forts and Chander Rao Morey and Yaswanta
Rao, Rao Naik Nimbalkar, Jujah Rao Ghatage, the Deshmukh of Mullore, were some of the
important subordinates of the Deccan Sultans. Maloji, the grandfather of Shivaji married the
sister of Jagpal Rao Nail Nimbalkar the ‘deshmukh’ of Phultun. Maloji’s son Shahji joined the
count of Bijapur and was married to Jijiyabai. Shahji and Jijiyabai’s youngest son was Shivaji.

He was born at Shivaneri on April 10, 1627. As Shahji was busy till 1636 Shivaji was denied
paternal attention. Shivaji was shifted to Poona under the guardianship of Dadaji Kondadev. In
1640-41 Shivaji married Saibai Nimbalkar and the administration of the Jagir of Poona was
entrusted to Shivaji by Shahji Bhonsle under the guardianship of Dadaji Khonddev. With the
death of Dadaji Khonddev in 1647, Shivaji became the independent agent of Shahji at Poona.

Shivaji tactfully befriended the brave community of Maval chiefs who became loyal defenders to
him. The Maval chieftains Jedhe Nayak of Kari and Bandal Nayak were the first to join hands
with Shivaji. Shivaji developed a desire to recover as a legitimate heir of Shahji, the territories
surrendered to Bijapur Sultan by the latter. But he could not execute his plans as his father Shahji
was imprisoned by the Bijapur forces.

Shivaji succeeded in 1649, on getting his father released from the prison. Shivaji occupied
Purandar fort in 1648 and the fort of Javali in 1656, and also the fort of Rairi or Raigarh which
became the capital of Shivaji’s ‘swarajya’ in 1674.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE

1) The researcher tends to throw some lights on the rise of marathas

2) The researcher tends to highlight the political rise of marthas

Page | 6
3) The researcher tends to establish relation between marthas and Mughal

4) The researcher tends to highlight the rise of marathas during peshwas era

5) The researcher also likes to put some point on administrative structure of marathas

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

: The research is based on doctrinal research methodology

SOURCES OF DATA

: The researcher used both primary as well as secondary sources to complete this project.

LIMITATION OF STUDY

The researcher can not opt for non-doctrinal method of research due to nature of the project and

hence he has to dependant only upon doctrinal method of study where library reference is utmost

requisite and shall include primary as well as secondary sources

POLITICAL RISE OF MARATHAS POWER

The Marathas in the Deccan began emerging since the early 17th cent.ury under the Bijapur,

Ahmednagas and Golkonda states. They served in the army of Bijapur and Ahmednagar rulers,

hut some served the Golkonda state as well. The hill-forts jn the Deccani states qxera controlled

Page | 7
by the Marathas though the forts of nore importance were manned by Muslim qiladr&. l'hey

were often honoured by the titles of raja, nnik and rao. The Bijapur ruler Ibrahim Adil Shah

employed the natives of Maharashtra as bargirs and frequently used them against the Nizam

Shahi rule& of Ahmednagar. He even recruited Brahmin and tile Marathas in the accounts

department. The Maratha sardars who served the Bijapur rulers were Chundcr Rao son Yashwant

Rao distinguished himself against Nizam Shahi rulers Ahmednagar and was confirmed as the

Raja of Javli; and Rao Naik Nimbalkar or Phultun Rao who joined the Bijapur rulers in the mid-

17th centcry. Jujhar Rao Ghatage, the deshmukh of Mullori, joined the Bijapur ruler Ibrahim

Adil Shah. Similarly, the Manays were distinguished silahdars under Bijapur. The Ghorpades,

Duflays of Jhutt and Sawants of Waret also served Bijapur in the first half of the 17th century.

Under the Nizam Shahi rulers, Jadav Rao, the deshmukh of Sindkher, was most powerful.

Lokhjee Jadav Rao possessed 10,000 horses under the Nizam Shahi rulers. Some members of

house of Bhonsle, to which Shivaji belonged, were patels under the Ahmednagar rulers. Shivaji's

grandfather Maloji was' connected with Jagpal Rao Naik Nimbalkar, the deshmukh of Phultun,

by matrimonial alliance (his sister Deepa Bai was married to Maloji). In 1577, Maloji joined the

service of Murtaza Nizam Shah as bargir at the instigation of Lokhjee Jadav Rao of Sindkher.

But in 1599 misunderstanding between the two over the question of mamage between Shahji and

Jija Bai forced Maloji to leave. But soon (beginning of the 17th century), Maloji asserted his

position and again joined the Nizam Shahis with the help of the Nimbalkarqand got the title of

~aloji'~aja Bbonsle. He was given the charge of the forts of Shivneri andchakun and got the

jagirs of Poona and Sopa in retum. His piestige enhanced when in 1604 he got connected with

Jadav Rao Sindkher. The latter mamed his daughter Jija Bai to his son Shahji. Meanwhile,

Mughal encroachments in Ahmednagar (under Akbar, see Unit 9) completely shattered its

Page | 8
stability. Internal strifes also started. This led to total chaos and confusion. Jahangir took

advantage of the situation and in 1621 succeeded in winning over the favour of many Maratha

sardars to his side. The most important one was Lokhjee Jadav Rao, the deshmukh of Sindkher,

and the father-in-law of Shahji. After the accession of Murtaza Nizam Shah I1 (16291, Lokhjee

Jadav Rao shifted his allegiance to the Nizam Shahi niler, but was treacherously murdered

(1630). At this time, Jagdeo Rao also joined Mughal forces with a mansab of 5000 zat. Shivaji

wanted to occupy all the possessions of Shahji, (which the latter held in 1634 but had to

surrender in 1636) as a matter of legitimate right. After Dadaji Konddev's death, Shivaji with

definite plans, decided to recover them. However he had to restrict himself (as early as 1648)

owing to Shahji's arrest by Mustafa Khan, the Bijapuri commander. Shivaji unsuccessfully tried

to pressurise Adil Shahi ruler for the release of his father through an alliance with the Mughals

(1649). Shahji was ultimately released (16 May, 1649) after surrendering Bangalore and

Kondana to Bijapur. In the meantime (1648),.Shivaji occupied the fort of Purander This provided

an impregnable defence to the Marathas in the years to come. The next in line to fall was the fort

of Javli (1656). Kt was the stronghold of the famous Mavle chieftain Chandra Rao More. With

its occupation, he got another stronghold Rain (later renamed Raigarh) which was to assume the

siatus of the Maratha capital shortly after. The conquest of Javli not only opened the gate for

further expansion towards south and west Konkan but it also increased Shivaji's military strength

with Mavle chieftains of More territory joining him.

Page | 9
 MUGHAL AND MARATHAS RELATION

The Mughal-Maratha relations can be divided into four phases: (i) 1615-1664; (ii) 1664-1 667 ;

(iii) 1667-1680 and (iv) 1680- 1707.

First Phase : 1615-1664

The Mughals, as early as Jahangir's reign, realised the importance of Maratha chieftains in the
Deccan politics. iahangir succeeded in persuading some of the Maratha chieftains to defect his
side in 1615. As a result, the Mughals sucdeeded in defeating the combined Deccani armies
Page | 10
(1616). Shah Jahan, too as early as 1629, attempted to win over the Maratha sardars. Shahji, the
father of Shivaji, joined the Mughals this time but later defected and conspired a&:;nst the
Mughals with Mu~ari Pandit and the other anti-Mughal faction of the Bijapur L ~rt. Shah Jahan,
realising the emerging threat of the Marathas, opted for a Mughal-B'japur alliance against the
Marathas. He asked the Bijapur ruler to employ Shahji, but to keep him at a distance from the
Mughal territory in Karnataka (Treaty of 186). Even Aurangzeb seems to have adopted his
father's policy when just before leaving for the North on the eve of the war of succession he in
his nishan to Adil Shah advised him to do the same. But Aurangzeb's desire for Bijapur-Mughal
alliance against Shivaji turned out to be a nightmare for, unlike in 1636 when Shah Jahan offered
2/3 of the Nizam Shahi territory in bargain, Aurangzeb had nothing to offer. According to Satish
Chandra, this contradiction dragged throughout till Aurangzeb occupied Bijapur in 1687.

Second Phase : 1664-1647

The rising menace of Shivaji, murder of Afzal Khan, oc )ation of Panhala and south Konkan,
reluctance of Bijapur army to tackle, Shivaji; and finally the failure of Shaista Khan (1600-1664)
forced the Mughals to reasses, rhe whole situation. Now Aurangzeb appointed Mirza Raja Jai
Singh as the viceroy of Deccan. Jai Singh conceived a masterplan for thc outright conquest of
DecLan as against the Mughal policy of cautious advance. According to this masterplal, first of
all Bijapur was to be threatened by allying with Shivaji after giving him ccir~essi~ns at the cost
of Bijapur and shifting Shivaji's jagia to less sensitive areas, &way from the Mughal C-ccan.
After the defeat of Bijapur, as Jai Singh felt, th ask of suppression of Shivaji would not have
been a difficult one.

Third Phase : 1667-1680

Maratha successes raised dam in the Mughal court. Mahabat Khan was sent to the Deccan as the
sole incharge of the affairs (November, 1670). But he, too, could not gain much success;
consequently he was removed from the scene along with Prince Muazzam in 1672. The Deccan
was now placed under Bahadur Khan (1673). Marathas continued their victorious march. They
occupied Koil (June 1672). But their raids in Khandesh and Berar (December, 1672) were
frustated by the Mughab. In 1673, Bahadur Khan succeeded in occupying Shivner. Yet these

Page | 11
Mughal successes - could hardly hold Shivaji. He took full advantage of the chaos that prevailed
in $ijapur following Ali Adil Shah's death (24 November, 1672). His son was too young (just
four years) to provide stability. Shivaji wrested the forts of Panhala (6 March 1673), Parli (1
April 1673) and Satara (27 July 1673) from Bijapur. There were factions in the Bijapur court.
The anti-Khawas Khan faction under Bahlol Khan put the entire blame of Bijapur reverses on
Khawas Khan. In 1674, Bahlol Khan succeeded in pushing back the Marathas at Kanara.

Fourth Phase : 1680-1707

The year 1680 is very important as far as Deccan history is concerned. Shivaji died in this very
year (23 March), and Aurangzeb also decided to go in person to tackle the Deccan affairs. Now
the Mughals ambarked upon a policy of total conquest. On the other side, during his first four
years of stay in the Deccan, Aurangzeb attempted to suppress the Maratha power with the help of
the Deccani states who had given asylum to the rebel Prince Akbar. In spite of maintaining
constant pressure (from 1680-1684), the Mughals could not achieve much. By 1684, Aurangzeb
realized that he had to tackle Bijapur and Golkonda first. This resulted in the occupation of
Bijapur (1686) and Golkonda (1687). But the decision (a plan which Jai Singh laid out as early
as 1665 in coordination with the Marathas) came perhaps too late., By this time the Marathas had
not only become more powerful but also succeeded in establishing a second line of defence in
Karnataka. They were no longer the segmentary chieftains, but a formidable power with a king
who was equal .in status with other Deccani ruler.

Page | 12
 RISE OF MARATHAS DIURING PESHWAS ERA

During this era, Peshwas belonging to the Bhat family controlled the Maratha Army and later
became de facto rulers of the Maratha Empire. During their reign, the Maratha Empire
dominated most of the Indian subcontinent.

Balaji Vishwanath
Shahu appointed Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath in 1713. From his time, the office of Peshwa
became supreme while Shahuji became a figurehead.

His first major achievement was the conclusion of the Treaty of Lonavala in 1714 with Kanhoji
Angre, the most powerful naval chief on the Western Coast. He later accepted Shahuji as
Chhatrapati.In 1719, an army of Marathas marched to Delhi after defeating Sayyid Hussain Ali,
the Mughal governor of Deccan, and deposed the Mughal emperor. The Mughal Emperors
became puppets in the hands of their Maratha overlords from this point on.

Page | 13
Baji Rao I
After Balaji Vishwanath's death in April 1720, his son, Baji Rao I, was appointed Peshwa by
Shahu. Bajirao is credited with expanding the Maratha Empire tenfold from 3% to 30% of the
modern Indian landscape during 1720–1740. He fought over 41 battles before his death in April
1740 and is reputed to have never lost one.

 The Battle of Palkhed was a land battle that took place on 28 February 1728 at the village
of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between Baji Rao I and the Qamar-
ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam. The battle is
considered an example of brilliant execution of military strategy.
 In 1737, Marathas under Bajirao I raided the suburbs of Delhi in a blitzkrieg in the Battle
of Delhi (1737).
 The Nizam left Deccan to rescue Mughals from the invasion of Marathas, but was
defeated decisively in the Battle of Bhopal. The Marathas extracted a large tribute from the
Mughals and signed a treaty which ceded Malwa to the Marathas.
 The Battle of Vasai was fought between the Marathas and the Portuguese rulers of Vasai,
a village lying on the northern shore of Vasai creek, 50 km north of Mumbai. The Marathas
were led by Chimaji Appa, brother of Baji Rao. The Maratha victory in this war was a major
achievement of Baji Rao's time in office.[

Invasions in Bengal
After the successful campaign of Karnataka and the Trichinopolly, Raghuji returned from
Karnataka. He undertook six expeditions into Bengal from 1741 to 1748. Raghuji was able to
annex Odisha to his kingdom permanently as he successfully exploited the chaotic conditions
prevailing in Bengal after the death of its governor Murshid Quli Khan in 1727. Constantly
harassed by the Bhonsles, Odisha, Bengal and parts of Bihar were economically ruined. Alivardi
Khan, the Nawab of Bengal made peace with Raghuji in 1751 ceding Cuttack (Odisha) up to the
river Subarnarekha, and agreeing to pay Rs.1.2 million annually as the Chauth for Bengal and
Bihar.[38]

During their occupation of western Bengal, the Marathas perpetrated atrocities against the local
population.[40] The Maratha atrocities were recorded by both Bengali and European sources,
which reported that the Marathas demanded payments, and tortured and killed anyone who
Page | 14
couldn't pay. Dutch sources estimate a total of 400,000 people in Bengal were killed by the
Marathas. According to Bengali sources, the atrocities led to much of the local population
opposing the Marathas and developing support for the Nawabs.

Maratha's Afghan conquests

Balaji Bajirao encouraged agriculture, protected the villagers and brought about a marked
improvement in the state of the territory. Raghunath Rao, brother of Nanasaheb, pushed into the
wake of the Afghan withdrawal after Ahmed Shah Abdali's plunder of Delhi in 1756. Delhi was
captured by the Maratha army under Raghunath Rao in August 1757, defeating the Afghan
garrison in the Battle of Delhi. This laid the foundation for the Maratha conquest of North-west
India. In Lahore, as in Delhi, the Marathas were now major players. After the Battle of Attock,
1758, the Marathas captured Peshawar defeating the Afghan troops in the Battle of Peshawar on
8 May 1758.

Third battle of Panipat

In 1759, the Marathas under Sadashivrao Bhau (referred to as the Bhau or Bhao in sources)

responded to the news of the Afghans' return to North India by sending a large army north.
Bhau's force was bolstered by some Maratha forces
under Holkar, Scindia, Gaikwad and Govind Pant Bundele. The combined army of over
100,000 regular troops re-captured the former Mughal capital, Delhi, from an Afghan
garrison in August 1760. Delhi had been reduced to ashes many times due to previous
invasions, and there was an acute shortage of supplies in the Maratha camp. Bhau ordered
the sacking of the already depopulated city. He is said to have planned to place his nephew
and the Peshwa's son, Vishwasrao, on the Mughal throne. By 1760, with defeat of the Nizam
in the Deccan, Maratha power had reached its zenith with a territory of over 2,500,000
square miles (6,500,000 km2). Ahmad Shah Durrani called on the Rohillas and the Nawab of
Oudh to assist him in driving out the Marathas from Delhi. Huge armies of Muslim forces
and Marathas collided with each other on 14 January 1761 in the Third Battle of Panipat.
The Maratha Army lost the battle, which halted their imperial expansion.

Page | 15
The Jats and Rajputs did not support the Marathas. Their withdrawal from the ensuing battle
played a crucial role in its result. Historians have criticised the Maratha treatment of fellow
Hindu groups. Kaushik Roy says "The treatment of Marathas with their co-religionist fellows
– Jats and Rajputs was definitely unfair and ultimately they had to pay its price in Panipat
where Muslim forces had united in the name of religion." The Marathas had antagonised the
Jats and Rajputs by taxing them heavily, punishing them after defeating the Mughals and
interfering in their internal affairs. The Marathas were abandoned by Raja Suraj Mal
of Bharatpur and the Rajputs, who quit the Maratha alliance at Agra before the start of the
great battle and withdrew their troops as Maratha general Sadashivrao Bhau did not heed the
advice to leave soldier's families (women and children) and pilgrims at Agra and not take
them to the battle field with the soldiers, rejected their co-operation. Their supply chains
(earlier assured by Raja Suraj Mal and Rajputs) did not exist.

Page | 16
 ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTRE OF MARATHAS

The Maratha administration is essentially derived from the Deccani structure though some of its
institutions are Mughal derivatives.

The Ashtapradhan (The Council of Eight) was a council of eight ministers that administered the
Maratha empire. This system was formed by Shivaji. Ministerial designations were drawn from
the Sanskrit language and comprised:

 Pantpradhan or Peshwa – Prime Minister, general administration of the Empire

 Amatya or Mazumdar – Finance Minister, managing accounts of the Empire
 Sachiv – Secretary, preparing royal edicts
 Mantri – Interior Minister, managing internal affairs especially intelligence and
espionage
 Senapati – Commander-in-Chief, managing the forces and defence of the Empire
 Sumant – Foreign Minister, to manage relationships with other sovereigns
 Nyayadhyaksh – Chief Justice, dispensing justice on civil and criminal matters
 Panditrao – High Priest, managing internal religious matters

Page | 17
The ashtapradhan was neither the creation of Shivaji nor was at first organised at, the time of his
coronstion. The peshwa, mazurildar, wakins, dabir, sunris (and the smobat) existed under the
Deccani rulers also.

Provincial Administration

The country was divided into mauzas, tarfs and prants. All these units were already existing
under the Deccani rulers and were not the innovation of Shivaji. But he: reorganised and
renamed them.-Mauza was the lowest unit. Then were the tarfs headed by a havaldar, karkunoa
paripatyagar. The provinces were known as prants under subedar, karkun (or mukhya
desbadhikari). Over a number of prants there was the sarsubedar to control and supervise the
work of subedars. Each subedar had eight scbordinate officers: diwan, mazumdar, fadnis, sabnis,
karkhanis, chitnis, jamadar and potnis. Later, under the peshwas tarf, pargana, sarkar and suba
were indiscriminately used. Under Shivaji none of the officers was permanefit and hereditary.
All officers were liable to frequent transfers. But under the peshwas, the office of kamavisdar
and mamlatdars became permanent. To check the mamlatdars, there were darkhdars (fee men)
who were hereditary provincial officers. They served as a check on mamlatdars and other naval
an4 military officers. Neither the mamlatdars could dismiss them nor compel them to perform
any particular job if not specified. None of the eight provincia! level officers derived their power
from mamlatdar. Instead, they served as a check on his power.

Military Organisation

The Maratha army was not homogenous, but employed soldiers of different backgrounds, both
locals and foreign mercenaries, including large numbers
of Arabs, Sikhs, Rajputs, Sindhis, Rohillas, Abyssinians, Pathans, Topiwalas and Europeans. The
army of Nana Fadnavis, for example, included 5,000 Arabs. The army organisation of Shivaji
was not 2 noval experiment. Under Muhammad Adil Shah of Bijapur also we hear three officers
as incharge of the fort. They were also frequently transferrable. The army organisation of Shivaji
continued on the same lines under the pesbwas as well. Shivaji maintained light cavalry and light
infantry trained in guerilla and hilly warfare. The Mevalis and the Hetkaris were his most
excellent troopers. The smallest.unit in Shivaji's infantry coilsisted of 9 men headed by a naik.
Five such units were under one havaldar. Over two or.three bavaldars was a jumledar. Ten

Page | 18
jumledars were put under a bazari and seven such hazaris were under a samobat. Shivaji's
cavalry consisted of bargifs and the siledars. The bargir troopers were supplied horses and arms
by the state while the siledars had to bring their oh horses and arms. Over each group of 25
bargirs was a Maratha havaldar; five such havaldars formed a jumla and 10 jumlas a hazari and
five such hazari were placed under panch hazari. They were, in turn, under the command of
sarnobat. The siledars were also placed under sarnobat. For every group of 25 horses there was a
watercarrier and a farrier. Later, under the peshwas, the pindharis who were robbers and
plunderers were also allowed to accompany the army. In lieu of their services, they used to get
the right to collect palpatti (which was 25 per cent of the war booty). 7 hey hardly spared any
one-friend or foe; general public or temples (they pl~indered at will). Shivaji's army was well
scrved by an efficient intelligence department whose chief was Bahirji Naik Jadav.

Navy

After the conquest of Konkan Shivaji built a strong navy as well. His fleet was equipped with
ghurabs (gunboats) and gallivats (row boats with 2 masts and 40-50 I oars). His fleet was mainly
manned by the Koli sea-fearing tribe of Malabar coast.He established two squadrons of 200
vessels each. But in all probabitity the number of vessels stated is exaggerated. Robert Orme
mentions just 57 fleets of the command of Admiral Dariya Sarang and Mai Naik Bhandari.
Daulat Khan was another admiral of Shivaji's navy. Shivaji used his naval power to harass both
the indigenous and European tradedpowers. But Shivaji could hardly sucd,in checking the Siddi
mznace. The pesbwas also realized fully the importance of a strong navy: they strong fleet to
defend the western coast. But the Maratha naval power reached distinction under the Angiras,
practicaRy independent from the peshwas.

Judiciary

The Marathas failed to de~lop any organised judicial department. At the village level, civil cases
were heard by the village elders (panchayat) in patil's office or in the village temple. Criminal
cases were decided by the patil. Ha& mq/dSs was the highest court for civil and criminal cases.
The sabbanaik (judge president) and mahprashnika (chief interrogator) gradually faded away
under the. pesbwas whose duty was to examine and cross-examine the plaintiffs.

Page | 19
 CONCLUSION

The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was a power that dominated a large portion

of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. The empire formally existed from 1674 with the

coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji and ended in 1818 with the defeat of Peshwa Bajirao II. The

Marathas are credited to a large extent for ending Mughal rule in India.

The rise of the Marathas as a strong political power under Chatrapati Shivaji, and their long-
drawn rivalry with the Mughals in the 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries add a new
dimension to the study of Indian history and culture.
The Marathas were originally petty ‘bhumiars’ and soldiers in the service of the neighbouring
Muslim kingdoms of Ahmadnagar and Bijapur, where they learnt the art of administration and
had their first political training. The History of the Marathas can he broadly divided into two
part®, viz*, the Shivshahl and the Peshawal* The Shlvshahi may further be sub-divided into two
ports : one, the reign of Shivaj i the Great and the other the reigns of Spmbhaj iv Rejerara and
Tarabai. The second part, ranging from 1680*4707, is known in the Maratha Ilistory as the Har
of Independence of the Merathas, The reign of Bajaras forms its vital cor® and has been
considered as the most critical period of the Maratha History* Since the early 17th century, the
Marathas emerged as new political elite by joining the service of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and
Golkonda courts in the Deccan. Some Marathas earned the titles of Raja, Naik and Rana and
became petty chiefs of hill forts and Chander Rao Morey and Yaswanta Rao, Rao Naik
Nimbalkar, Jujah Rao Ghatage, the Deshmukh of Mullore, were some of the important
subordinates of the Deccan Sultans. Maloji, the grandfather of Shivaji married the sister of
Jagpal Rao Nail Nimbalkar the ‘deshmukh’ of Phultun. Maloji’s son Shahji joined the count of
Bijapur and was married to Jijiyabai. Shahji and Jijiyabai’s youngest son was Shivaji. The

Page | 20
Marathas divided their kingdom hierarchically into ‘mauzas’, ‘tarafs’ and ‘prants’ for
administrative efficiency and convenience. Mauza was the lowest unit of administrative
structure. The head of the taraf or district was havaldar, Karkun or paripatyagar. The provinces
were known as Subahs and their officers were called Subedars. Karkun or Mukhyadesadhikari or
Sarsubedar supervised and controlled the work of the Subedars. With the introduction of Mughal
admwtration.in the Deccan a new conflict staned.'The local landed elements were resqtful since
they were being deprived of their position; even the Mnghal jagirdars found the situation too
difficult to *tract their due share. All this crcated such chaos and confusion that Aurangzeb found
it almost impossible to handle. You would find that the Deccan problem played its own role in
the downfall of the Mughals. ~hivaji's administrative set up was not a new one, but he gave it a
fresh colour by introducing more and more centralization.. He avoided every possible
configuration of various groups to assume political power. But such a set up could work
efficientlj only when an able person was there to administer. Soon, yith the departure of Shivaji,
a definite decline set in. Under the pesbwas, corruption and slackness infected not only the
central and provincial government but also the army. You will read in Block 9, ,Unit 36 how
under the peshwas, the king's power gradually diminished and it virtually passed into the
pcabwrrs' hands during the 18th century. Before final decline of the Maratha Power had set in
there arose among the Marathas capable leaders like Ahalya Bai, Nana Fadna-vis, Mahadji
Scindia etc. who gave a fresh lease of life to the Maratha Confederacy and ably resisted the
English influence and expansion.

Page | 21