A History of the Mahrattas v1.c9.67

v1.c9.67

¹ Where anything is disorganized, in the hands of many, or in a state of confusion, the Mahrattas use this phrase. Europeans, in designating any one body of horse by this appellation, misunderstand both its point and its meaning. The Bramins invariably apply it to Mahratta affairs, of which they have not the sole management. [Bāra Bhāi (Baruh Bhaee), literally ‘twelve brothers,’ is explained in Molesworth’s Marāthi dictionary to mean ‘a pack of fellows of discordant dispositions and different designs united in any undertaking.’ The word was applied to the Pēshwā’s government under Nānā Farnavis by the courts of Hyderābād and Seringapatam. (Ranade’s Rise of the Maratha Power, p. 13.) The word Bergee or Burgay, mentioned by Grant Duff, is clearly a corruption of Bārgīr, and appears to be identical with the form Borgi used in a Bengal nursery-rhyme. See the note on bārgīr on p. 61, ante.]