The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency from the Earliest Historical Times to the Musalman Conquest c10.166

c10.166

Of the Marátha families whose names figure constantly in history, the first are the Mánkaris or honourables, the old families who held lands previous to the rise of the Bhonsla dynasty. Mention has already been made of the Sirké family, the old rulers of the Ghát Mátha, who were dispossessed by the Morés. They have always held high rank among the Maráthás, and were frequently connected by marriage with the rájás of Sátára. The conquest of the Ghát country by Shiváji from the Morés, the rájás of Jávli, has also been mentioned. Members of the family were conspicuous as soldiers, and one of them was for a time Senápati. The Nimbálkars of Phaltan, whose surname was originally Pavár, are one of the oldest Marátha families. They have been deshmukhs of Phaltan since time immemorial, and were confirmed in their rights by the kings of Bijápur. Though connected by marriage with the Bhonslás, they continued faithful to Bijápur till the fall of the monarchy. In the reign of Sháhu, one of the family was sar-lashkar, and another member sided with the Mughals and obtained the jághir of Karmála and the title of Ráo Rambha. The Phaltan jáhgdár is one of the chiefs with whom the British Government has entered into a treaty. He was placed under the rája of Sátára and bound to furnish a fixed number of horse, and since the resumption of the state he has been placed under the Collector of Sátára. His jáhgir is a strip of country lying between the Nira river on the north and the Mahádev hills on the south; it is about 400 square miles in extent and yields a gross yearly revenue of about Rs. 1,00,000. Frequent failure of the rainfall prevents the district from being a fertile one, but it is fairly prosperous. Other branches of the Pavár family distinguished themselves under Sháhu and the Peshwás, and founded the states of Dhár and Dewás in Central India. The Daphles of Jath, whose original name was Chawhán, take their present name from the village of Daphlápur, of which they were pátils. They held a mansab under the Bijápur kings, but never rose to any great eminence afterwards. A separate treaty was made with them as with the chief of Phaltan. Jath lies to the south-east of the Sátára district, not far from Bijápur, and is neither fertile nor populous. Its area is about 700 square miles and its gross yearly revenue about Rs. 1,70,000.