The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c21.61

v4.c21.61

Bālājī, on his return from the Konkan, determined to put a stop to anarchy in Shāhū’s kingdom. Freebooters were suppressed with a strong hand, and an example was made of Dāmājī Thorat, whose stronghold was razed to the ground, while he himself was thrown into a dungeon. Civil government was restored, and the Pratinidhi and the *Ashtapradhān*, or Cabinet of Eight, were appointed. But the old system of government established by Shivājī was no longer workable. Conditions had changed, and at home the real power lay in the hands of the Peshwā, while in the more distant parts of the country the great Marāthā chiefs were virtually independent. Bālājī realised that the only possible working arrangement was a confederacy of the Marāthā leaders; but even then, the separatist tendencies were constantly at work, and the jealousy felt by the Marāthā chiefs for the power wielded at the court by the Brāhman Peshwā was a constant source of friction and danger.¹