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New History of the Marathas v1.c16: Chapter XII

New History of the Marathas v1.c16

Language
English

Contents

Chapter XII

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1659 Siddi Khairyat of Janjirā overcome.

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1672 April Shivaji’s first visit to consult Rāmdās.

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1672 English envoy Ustick visits Shivaji.

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1673 English envoy Niccolls visits Shivaji.

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1674 Visit of the English envoy, Oxenden.

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1675 Visit of the English envoy, Austen.

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SHIVAJI'S CHARACTER AND WORK.

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1. The Amatya's tribute.
2. Shivaji and Ramdas.
3. Shivaji and a Hindu Samrajya.
4. The Eight Ministers, and administration.
5. Forts on land and sea.
6. Army organisation.
7. The navy and the Siddi of Janjira.
8. Shivaji's Relations with the English.
9. Was Shivaji a mere plunderer ?
10. Estimate of Shivaji by thinkers and writers, 1—8.
11. Conclusion.

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1. The Amatya's tribute.—We cannot see the full height of a gigantic tree when we stand beneath it. So, too, a hero's true greatness is perceived only when he is viewed from a distance in time. It is, therefore, a wonder how Shivaji's character, policy and achievements were so correctly judged by one of his own ministers, Rāmchandra Nilakanth. This officer had filled the post of Amātya (or Accountant General) under him for ten years, and afterwards showed signal capacity by successfully organising the national defence and ensuring concerted action between scattered elements during Mahārāshtra's life-and-death struggle with all the forces of the Mughal Empire, after Sambhājī's tragic death and the flight of Rājārām from the homeland. He wrote a sort of political testament for the guidance of the succeeding kings, which is known as the Ajnāpatra.¹

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¹ This has recently been translated from the Marathi original into English by Professor S. V. Puntambekar of the Benares Hindu University.

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I shall begin by giving here some extracts from this wonderfully penetrative analysis of Shivaji's character and aims :

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* संत बोलतात,

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राजे भ्रष्ट यवन जाले, ठायीं ठायीं दोष घडले,
मग यांहीं अवतार घेतले, कलिपाप हरावाया ॥

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The Saints have said :

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The corrupt Muslims have become our Kings,
Everywhere misdeeds have cropped up,
Then He incarnated Himself
To remove the sins of this dark age.

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“The epoch-maker Chhatrapati was at first a Muslim’s dependent but he managed from the age of fifteen to free his small jagir of Poona and based his future greatness on that small beginning, entirely relying on his own effort and initiative.

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“He judged the capacities of men and created his own helpmates and servants by enabling them to do great things, so that he could succeed in what appeared impossible at the beginning. He welded the scattered elements of his people into a united body and with their help accomplished his main object. He was surrounded at first by three powerful states the Adilshahi, the Kutbshahi and the Nizamshahi, besides the Subhas of the Mughal Emperor, each maintaining a lac of troops. There were besides these the Siddis, the French, the English, the Dutch, with smaller chiefships like Rāmnagar, Sondha, Bidnur, Mysore, Trichinopoly and the various local Palegars with clansmen like the Morays, the Shirkes, the Sāvants, the Nimbālkars, the Ghātges, etc.

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“All these he encompassed with the extraordinary power of his own ingenuity. He overcame every enemy, some he openly attacked, some he compelled to accept a fight, some he surprised by means of ingenious contrivance, others he weakened by involving them in mutual dissensions, sometimes secretly fomenting quarrels; others he confounded by sudden raids upon their camps and habitations. Some he boldly met in open combat, some he won over through tempting offers, some he boldly went to visit personally, some were scattered through curious stratagem.

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“He audaciously built his own forts and shelters in alien jurisdictions; in the case of some who were already strongly entrenched in naval bases, he raised his own rival sea-forts. His navy forcibly entered some inaccessible ports. In this way dealing differently with different opponents he established an independent kingdom of his own stretching from Salher and Ahiwant in West Khandesh to Tanjore on the Kaveri, with unchallenged supremacy, erecting for its defence hundreds of forts and several sea-bases with extensive market places. He created his own regiments of 40 thousand paid troops, in addition to about 70 thousand shilledars or hired troopers, and an infantry of some two lacs, a treasure which could be counted by crores, choice jewelry and material provision of every indispensable article. Thus he elevated his Maratha nation consisting of 96 clans to an unheard of dignity, crowning the whole achievement by occupying an exalted throne and assuming the title of Chhatrapati. All this he did for the defence of his religion, for putting Gods and Brahmans in a position enabling them to have their proper functions performed without molestation. Under Shivaji's rule robberies and injustice became unknown, and his commands came to be strictly obeyed by all. He plunged the most powerful Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb into an ocean of grief. Indeed this miracle is a special creation of God Almighty through Shivaji's instrumentality.”

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So much for the best contemporary estimate of him. We can say that Shivaji's principal service lies in his having quickly transformed the inherent lawlessness of the Maratha people into a national solidarity by his unequalled leadership, enabling them to attain to the foremost place among the various races of India. We know well what a factious, turbulent and riotous life the Maratha clans of the western hills used to lead for centuries before the rise of Shivaji. They had been wasting their energy in internecine disputes, obeying no law, no authority and making life and property hopelessly insecure in the land. Shivaji correctly gauged the situation; he at first heartily joined the mass, and by quickly gaining their confidence established such a complete hold upon their contentious but valiant spirits, that they soon learned to render implicit obedience to him; and under his leadership they put forth a united national effort in defence of their country's liberty. The roving undisciplined bands soon came to realize the value of willing comradeship, and followed their leader in weal and woe. Shivaji succeeded not only in establishing his own independence, but also in bringing about the necessary solidarity among the scattered warring elements of his homeland, so that the Marathas were transformed into a nation and a power of the first rank in Indian politics. He placed before the nation the higher ideal of *Swarajya*, of political emancipation from the chains of grinding slavery that held down his country for centuries together. The semi-wild hill tribes of the Sahyadri range, the common peasantry of the Desh country, and the military feudal lords who held the country of foreign Sultans, he welded into a powerful nation state, that successfully challenged the might of the Mughal Empire. Shivaji was manifestly a highly gifted personality, ready to meet any danger, always possessing supreme self-confidence, at once stern and kind-hearted, an ideal king of the type which Kālidās has immortalized in his famous description of Dilip.²

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² अदृष्ट्वाभिगम्यश्च, Raghuvansha, I. 16 and others.

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2. Shivaji and Ramdas.—The rank materialism of the present day has so blinded us that without a special effort and a particular study of the essential ingredients of the atmosphere which Shivaji breathed, we can form no accurate estimate of what he thought, believed and achieved. His aim in life was primarily spiritual rather than political. He severely resented Muslim interference with the religious practices of the Hindus, and tried to make his land safe for sincere believers of every creed. As this could not be done without political power, he had of necessity to achieve that power.

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A large number of papers of his period has lately been printed, which particularly disclose this phase of Shivaji’s endeavour. Gods, Brahmans, Saints, and Shrines are words ever present in his mind, as these papers reveal. It is a historical fact that wherever Shivaji went, be it Agra, Karwar, Tanjore or elsewhere, his first concern was to find out the celebrated shrines of the vicinity and the men of saintly character and learning that congregated at such places. He goes by sea to Basrur and pays a devout visit to Gokarn Mahableshwar at Karwar. Later when he went to Bhāgānagar and thence proceeded to the south, he spent a long time at Shrishaila Mallikārjuna, getting into a trance from which he could be roused with difficulty. Saints and sacred places were in those days the repositories of knowledge, learning, piety, and information in the various branches of life. Often he used to lose sight of his objective and suddenly get into a mystic pensive mood, after having met with some souls of extraordinary spiritual power. He never undertook a serious task without first consulting his gurus. Shivaji made no distinction in this respect between a Hindu and a Muslim saint. He honoured all with equal respect. At his capital Raigad he erected a special mosque for Muslim devotees in front of his palace in the same way, that he built there the temple of Jagadishvar for his own daily worship.

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The famous saint Rāmdās was the *guru* from whom Shivaji received formal initiation and to whose shrine he made grants of land which are found recorded in a sanad in which the royal donor eloquently describes his feelings of reverence and devotion. There are two opposite views on the question of Shivaji's relations with Rāmdās, one school of writers maintaining that this saint was the sole inspirer of Shivaji's work in the political field as well as in his spiritual life. The other view is that Rāmdās had hardly any share in Shivaji's constructive work as a king. Rāmdās certainly appeared in the region round about Satara, just about the time that Dādāji Kondadev and Shivaji took possession of Sinhagad (1644). From this date onward the two persons made Mahārāshtra their main field of activity for over thirty years; and they must certainly have heard of each other's work and felt respect for it. Rāmdās' description of the best man (*Uttama Purusha*) occurring in his *Dāsabodha*, seems to me to convey a deep inner meaning, pointing to his having just before heard of Shivaji's suppression of Afzalkhan. So one may justifiably maintain that instead of Rāmdās inspiring Shivaji in his political ideals, it was Rāmdās who was led to effect a change in his outlook and teaching, after observing a clear demonstration of the hero as King in the person of Shivaji. Thereafter Rāmdās began to feel that no religion could stand and thrive without a strong leader of men coming forth to defend it; in other words, that political power was necessary for maintaining religious liberty. The truth appears to be this. Rāmdās at first confined his teaching only to the spiritual regeneration of society coupled with practical hints for making life a success. He established a chain of monasteries throughout the land where physical education was imparted with special attention to the formation of bodily strength and character. The presiding deity in these *mathas* was the athletic demi-god Hanuman. But to look upon these monasteries as secret training centres of Shivaji's political activity or as institutions for political spying to help him, is mere guess work of twentieth century Indian politics.

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When did Shivaji and Rāmdās first come together? Both had their field of activity in Mahārāshtra and must have heard and learnt of each other for a good long time before they had a personal meeting. Such a meeting presupposes that the two may have an intimate contact together, long quiet talks and mutual discussions so as to influence each other's future plans. There is no evidence nor any likelihood that such a purposeful and consultative meeting between Shivaji and Rāmdās took place before the known one of April 1672 (Chaitra of Shaka 1594), which is mentioned by Diwākar Gosāvi in his letter. It was after this admittedly first meeting, that their contact began to grow closer and that Shivaji received his formal initiation (*Upadesh*) from the *guru*. From 1672 onwards they met frequently and consulted each other; and their mutual respect grew in an increasing degree till the end. Thenceforward Shivaji indeed found great solace in the *guru's* company.

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During the unhappy closing days of Shivaji's life, his vision came to be dismally clouded for various reasons, and he purposely went to seek advice from his *guru* and spent a month in his company at Sajjangad. The question was, as Shivaji was visibly dying, who should conduct the affairs of the Maratha State, seeing that Sambhāji had proved himself hopelessly unfit. Taking a dispassionate view of the situation as we know it now, Rāmdās, if he had had the inclination to handle political matters, should have called together when Shivaji was there on a visit to him, the principal officials and publicly declared some definite scheme of succession for their execution. Such a course would have averted the perilous situation which developed from the absence of a formal declaration of Shivaji's heir. Instead of this Rāmdās at that visit of Shivaji merely gave expression to the conventional blissful sentiments of satisfaction at Shivaji's achievements, which we find embodied in that exquisite poem *Anand-Vana-Bhuvan*, summarizing the hero's life-work.

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Shivaji's other *gurus* have been mentioned elsewhere.

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3. Shivaji and a Hindu Samrajya.—It is necessary to inquire whether Shivaji ever entertained a desire to found a Hindu empire for the whole of India. There is no knowing what would have happened if he had been vouchsafed the long life which his opponent Aurangzeb enjoyed, or at least if he had lived ten years longer than he did. His base was certainly broad enough to sustain any expansion of his small Maratha kingdom in the Deccan. He had practically subjected the territories south of the river Godavari. His main object was to win religious freedom and not territory. He certainly would have been foremost to defend the Hindu religion all over India. “*Hindavi-Swarajya*” was the title he has used for his national scheme in one of his letters (to Dādāji Naras Prabhu in 1645), meaning thereby that he wanted to strive for a Hindu religious autonomy for the whole country. Sambhāji in his Danapatra calls him *Haindava-dharma-Ud-dharaka*.³ Shivaji's famous letter to Aurangzeb breathes such a spirit. Although he died prematurely, his ideals did indeed continue to inspire his successors for more than a hundred years after him, particularly the Peshwas right upto the time of Mahadji Sindia, who tried to free the Hindu holy places of north India from Muslim control, and who indeed obtained from the Emperor Shah Alam a *firman* prohibiting the slaughter of cows throughout the country. Peshwa Bālāji Rāo in one of his letters boasts of being a true disciple of Shivaji, meaning that he followed the latter's ideals. Shivaji's levy of *Chauthai* and *Sardeshmukhi* was conceived in the spirit of an all-India instrument of expansion. A poet of Mirza Raja Jaysinh's court credits his patron with the feat of having “subjected kings like Shivaji who aspired to the imperial seat of Delhi.”⁴

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³ हैन्दवधर्मोद्धारक the regenerator of the Hindu religion.

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⁴ येन श्रीजयसिंहेन दिल्लीपदलिप्सवः शिवप्रभृतिभूपाला वशं नीता स्वतेजसा ॥ जयसिंहप्रशस्ति, राजवाडे सं० ले०

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Shivaji voluntarily undertook a journey to the court of Aurangzeb, a hazardous venture, which discloses a desire on his part to see for himself how far northern India was prepared for the restoration of a Hindu empire after several hundred years of continuous Muslim rule. The line quoted above discloses a general public desire to depose Aurangzeb as he was the enemy of the Hindu religion. The moment Shivaji escaped from the Emperor's custody, Hindu India hailed him as a heaven-sent deliverer, and thereafter northern scholars, poets, priests and chiefs began to flock to Shivaji's court. Poet Bhushan⁵ and Chhatrasāl Bundelā are instances of this nationwide impulse. Even Gāgābhatt was induced to preside at the coronation ceremony, mainly on account of the prevailing sentiment all over north India in favour of Shivaji's uncommon personality.

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⁵ Bhushan is now supposed to have visited Shahu and not Shivaji. But he certainly voiced the sentiments current about Shivaji.

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Similarly one cannot sufficiently admire the method he adopted for the defence of his kingdom by means of land and sea-forts, the four rocky naval bases forming the spinal cord of Maharashtrian independence, which even the great Mughal Emperors had never thought of. At all these naval bases he established docks for the construction and repair of armed and trading vessels with fresh gun-foundries which excite our admiration even now. This was a provision both for the expansion of trade and security against hostile attacks, of which the famous Maratha Captain Kanhoji Angria and his house took full advantage for more than half a century after Shivaji had passed away. The Abbé Carre reports that Shivaji had studied geography in minute details with the help of specially prepared charts. Shivaji's ships opened a fresh trade to Arabia and outside, a source of income hardly understood in those days of narrow vision. He removed the time-honoured ban on sea voyage by Hindus, and in opposition to the orthodox practice admitted Muslim converts back into Hindu fold, as the cases of Bajaji Nimbālkar and Netaji Palkar amply prove, as an innovation not then allowed by contemporary Hindu society. Shivaji's new State required a new court language in preference to Persian, which meant a sure sign of slavery ; so he adopted Marathi for this purpose and constructed a Sanskrit dictionary of specially coined court terms, known as the Raj-vyavahar-kosh.*

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∗ See foot-note 10, p. 214.

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The comprehensive and many-sided arrangements of Shivaji’s coronation ceremony were a revival to strike the popular imagination and remind it of ancient imperial tradition, which had fallen into oblivion ever since the days of the ancient Guptas and Harshavardhan, more than ten centuries before.

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But one thing is quite clear that in defending the Hindu religion, Shivaji was in no way actuated by any hatred towards the Muslims as a sect or towards their religion. Full religious liberty for all was his ideal and the practice in his State. He revered Muslim saints like Bāwā Yāqut of Kelsi to whose shrine he made a grant which is still being enjoyed. He had many devoted Muslim servants and followers who wholeheartedly co-operated with him. His chief naval commanders were Muslims, Daulat Khan and Siddi Misri. Madāri Mehtar a *farrash* (chamberlain) was a servant near his person, who helped him in his flight from Agra. Shivaji’s confidential foreign secretary (*Munshi*) was one Mulla Haidar, who wrote his Persian correspondence and who was once deputed to Bahadur Khan the Mughal viceroy in the Deccan to negotiate a peace.⁶ A considerable portion of the population under Shivaji’s rule was Muslim, but it all lived as contented and free as his Hindu subjects.

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4. The Eight Ministers.—The Aryan theory of the state had laid down elaborate schemes from which Shivaji accepted his division of departmental work among eight ministers, a measure admirably suited to the needs of his time, which is still in evidence all over the world. Shivaji clearly laid down definitions of these ministers’ duties and responsibilities. Among the institutions brought into being by Shivaji this departmental division of work among ministers is the most noteworthy. This system was borrowed by Shivaji from the ancient Hindu tradition embodied in Sanskrit works on polity. Under Muhammadan rule there used to be only two main officers, one *Diwan* or the revenue minister, and the other the *Bakshi* or the head of the military establishment. The provincial head or Subahdar was vested with full civil and military powers. It must, however, be borne in mind that Shivaji’s ministry of eight departments can in no sense be likened to the present ministerial cabinets under responsible government or democratic rule. Shivaji assigned no separate independent powers to his ministers. His was merely a convenient system for dividing administrative work; and six out of his eight ministers were bound, in consonance with the needs of the time, to conduct military operations when required, along with their respective duties. It is, therefore, misleading to compare this division of work instituted by Shivaji with the governments of our present times controlled by cabinets responsible to parliaments. Modern cabinets have independent powers and they often overrule the monarch. But Shivaji was a thorough autocrat, and although he freely sought advice from his ministers, he as often overruled their advice and dictated his own measures as he thought best. Of the eight ministers, the Peshwa or Prime minister, was to exercise supervision over the rest and to conduct the government in the absence of his master. The salary of the Prime Minister was 15000 Hons a year, which works out at Rs. 4375 a month at the rate of about 3½ Rs. the exchange value of the Hon, quite a substantial reward for the service rendered, and the more so when we bear in mind the purchasing power of money in those days. The other ministers were (2) the Amātya (in charge of the revenue), (3) the Sachiv (in charge of finance), (4) the Senāpati (commander-in-chief), (5) the Mantri (personal adviser), and the (6) Sumant (foreign minister). The Amātya received a salary of 12,000 Hons yearly or Rs. 3,500 a month. The two remaining ministers (7) the Nyāyādhish (minister of justice) and the Panditrav (minister of charities and religion) were not expected to go out on expeditions, but were to have stationary offices at the seat of government. The salaries of these last six were 10 thousand Hons a year or nearly Rs. 3000 a month.

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Shivaji as an intensely practical administrator, clearly saw the danger of distributing land in lieu of service. To his ministers and the other servants he always made cash payments. Rāmachandra Pant Amātya has lucidly described the dangers and pitfalls of conferring gifts of land for military and other services under a government. The jagir system Shivaji considered harmful to the interests of the State. He mercilessly confiscated the landed watans of previous regimes and allowed no middlemen as landholders between the cultivators and the Government. Writes the Amātya, “The king is the supreme owner of all lands. To him the Zamindars do not render proper loyalty. Nor do they remain contented with what they possess. They are unjust to the cultivators of the soil. They erect independent fortifications, defy the master, grasp what does not belong to them, commit robberies outside. Once their position is fairly strengthened, they use it as a base for further expansion, (Did not Shivaji do the same?). If a foreign enemy invades a country, these land-holders often openly join him, secretly convey to him important information. Thus they become a fruitful source of weakness to the State. A jagirdar is rarely honest.”

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⁶ This Mulla Haidar served Shivaji till his death, and thereafter having disagreed with Sambhāji he joined the Emperor's service and in 1700 was the Chief Kazi at Delhi. See p. 215, footnote.

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The creation of ministerial departments was a matter of gradual growth, developing as Shivaji's work began to grow. They were not all created at the time of his coronation, although formal confirmation and promulgation of their definite duties were effected at the time of that ceremony.

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Administration.—The whole dominion of Shivaji was fluctuating and fluid in its area, as he was all along engaged in building up and extending his kingdom. He divided it into three main provinces, the northern division from Poona to Salher, being under his Peshwa Moropant Pingle and including north Konkan also. Southern Konkan upto north Kanara was in the viceroyalty of Ānāji Datto, while the southern Desh districts roughly from Satara to Dharwar and Kopbal were under Dattājipant Waqnis. The newly conquered districts south of the Tungabhadrā, namely, Arni, Vellore, Jinji, &c. were administered by Harji Mahādik, Shivaji's son-in-law. There were many scattered outlying districts, where specially trusted and competent agents were appointed from time to time. The Mughal territory was to be subjected to the levy of the Chauth contribution. All this territory old and new contained, as contemporary records tell us, 240 forts, of which 111 were newly built by him. His annual revenue has been calculated at seven crores of Rupees, but possibly it was much less in actual realisation. He collected a large amount of treasure and other valuable articles which it is impossible to calculate even with tolerable accuracy in terms of modern currency. Besides the land revenue there were cesses according to local conditions.⁷

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When one comes to examine Shivaji’s administration, one can easily detect a few broad principles which he shrewdly brought into force as he proceeded building up his *swarajya*. They are :—

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1. The country was to be defended against enemies by means of well garrisoned forts ;

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2. All services were to be paid in cash and not by grants of land ;

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3. Servants were employed on the principle of merit and not heredity ;

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4. Revenue was not to be collected through Zamindars or middlemen but through a well-supervised government agency ;

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5. The system of farming lands was abolished; in other words, land revenue was never auctioned ;

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6. All government work was divided among well defined separate departments⁷ ;

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⁷ *Vide* का० सं० प०या० ले० २; भा० व० २ मराठ्यांचे दप्तर; इ० सं० पे० द० मा०; ऐ० वि० वि० १ पृ० २१.

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7. Equal opportunity was offered in the public service to all castes ;

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8. Expenditure was so budgeted as to lay by some surplus every year.

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It will be noticed that all well regulated governments of modern times have adopted these principles in their administration. The first basis of this system was laid down by Dādāji Kondadev, who in his turn had copied it from Malik Ambar. Shivaji selected the best points of all previous systems. Justice was mostly entrusted to the village panchāyats, so that the task of policing the country became automatically simplified.

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Shivaji always gave as much importance to preservation as to acquisition. Some of the ministers on military duty outside were drawing certain advantages which the ministers doing civil duty at headquarters were denied. Once when such a complaint reached Shivaji, he made an important pronouncement and declared that preservation of the raj was a task in no way inferior to fresh acquisition, and that the ministers and servants doing duty at home should be as well rewarded as those who were out on active service.⁸

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⁸ Raj. 8. 10. योगक्षेम, acquisition and preservation.

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I may here quote one recorded instance of how strict and impartial Shivaji was about alienating government lands. His son-in-law Pilāji Shirke, husband of his daughter Rajkuwar, had rendered meritorious service in arranging a friendly understanding between Shivaji and Lakham Sāvant of Kudal. In return for his good work Pilāji Shirke demanded from Shivaji the grant of the Deshmukhi Vatan of Dābhol. In a typical but firm and sweet reply Shivaji wrote to Shirke, “Our Maratha government does not allow grants of land to any body. But recognising your good work for the State and in addition the family relationship we bear with your house, we will think of bestowing the Dābhol Deshmukhi on the son of our affectionate daughter Rajkuwar, when she gets one.”⁹

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⁹ Letter, Shiva-Charitra Sahitya 3.438.

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It was only new personal grants which Shivaji disallowed. But he generously continued old religious grants and even made fresh endowments to both Hindu and Muslim shrines.

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While Shivaji erected forts of his own, he did not allow any private individuals under his rule to build their own fortifications. He purposely dismantled several old private fortresses which were likely to endanger his position. Writes Amātya in this connection, “Zamindars when threatened by the enemy are apt to join him and cause harm to our State. Such deserters should be traced, captured and punished. In case their capture becomes impracticable, their sons and relations should be apprehended; the womenfolk should be made slaves. Examples should be made of such treasonous practices even by resort to the method of poisoning such offenders.”

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5. Forts on land and sea.—Of all measures of defence the most prominent that was devised and persistently developed by Shivaji was his system of forts. These became a necessary adjunct of the guerilla method which he developed from his father’s example. There are three distinct lines of such forts which can be recognised even at the present day, although all these forts were either purposely dismantled during the British regime or fell into decay through neglect, as the method of warfare has now been completely revolutionized. The main forts are on the tops of the Sahyadri range; there are two more lines of them, one on the eastern and the other on the western spurs of the mountain range. In addition, there are some built by him on difficult rocks on the sea-coast. Some towns in the plains had also been strongly fortified long before Shivaji, such as Ahmadnagar and Sholapur. Sindhudurg of Malvan, Vijaydurg, Suvarnadurg and Kolaba were the main naval fortifications which even today inspire awe and admiration for Shivaji’s ingenuity. Of all his forts Raigad, his capital, reveals the great importance which Shivaji attached to these forts and the lavishness with which he poured money on their construction. Almost the first fort constructed by him was Pratāpgad which was at first intended to be only a seat of the goddess Bhavāni whom he installed therein. For grasping the significance of Shivaji’s conception of defending his country by means of these forts, an actual visit to some of them today is indeed necessary. Visitors to Poona from all over India and abroad, hardly fail to visit Purandar and Sinhagad in the vicinity of that town.

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The construction of these forts is worth noting. Only one difficult passage is kept in the bosom of the fortifications, not to be easily detected. When the principal entrance is securely closed and guarded, no enemy can reach the inside. Guns, ammunition, grain and other requisites used to be stored inside, so that the defenders could hold out for almost any length of time. Raigad is so extensive inside, that large numbers of cattle and men could have their life’s requisites for years on end. A plentiful supply of water inside the forts was the first necessity in their construction. There were natural springs upon most of the hills, while elsewhere special tanks were built. Shivaji prepared and circulated minute regulations for the conduct of the garrison and the defence in case of attack or siege. The classical and sonorous names given to most of these forts, excite one's interest and admiration for the ingenuity of Shivaji's Pandits in coining them.

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Most of these forts possess a history of their own, and wonderful reminiscences, which have gathered about them in local tradition, bring to a visitor's mind a picture of those old days. What minute care and observation Shivaji personally bestowed upon the construction of his forts can be understood from the following extract out of an old description of the fort of Malvan which Shivaji named Sindhudurg : " Sindudurg is a star in the firmament, an ornament of pride to the Maharaja's raj, just as every Hindu house has for its front decoration the tulsi-basin. The gods obtained only fourteen gems, but Shivaji added this fifteenth to the number. When he came to Rājāpur for the first time he minutely examined the various rocks locked in water and dotting the western coast, and was struck with the position of the rock islet opposite Malvan. He at once called together the fishermen of the place and gathered from them all details of that frowning sea-monster. It was difficult of direct approach except with a zig-zag serpentine sea-passage, through which only a small fishing boat could make its way. Large ships could have no access to it. Shivaji rewarded the Kolis liberally and at once employed them as enterprising sailors. He consulted the astrologers and selected an auspicious day to begin the foundation. He ordered five hundred stone-dressers and two hundred iron-smiths, purchased two hundred tons of iron-metal and started the work of construction. A grand inauguration ceremony was held, sugar was distributed, feasts and dinners were lavishly given amidst music and rejoicing. One hundred Hons were distributed in charity to appease the sea-goddess along with cocoanuts, dresses, and other offerings. Three thousand skilled artizans, some of whom were specially obtained from the Portuguese government of Goa, were at once engaged for the various jobs. A guard of five thousand Mavlas was set up; a budget of one crore of Hons was sanctioned. All possible measures against damage by the waves or the danger of an enemy were taken. Shivaji appointed Govind Vishvanāth Prabhu as the Chief supervisor of the works and himself returned to Raigad. Within three years a mighty bleak black spot arose on the fortress and then the Maharaja made his formal ceremonial entry into it with a salvo of guns. He named it Sindhudurg.” 10

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6. Army Organisation.—Little need be said on Shivaji’s army. The forts formed an adjunct to his main fighting forces, which had only two branches, troopers and foot-soldiers, the latter mostly garrisoning the forts. Shivaji mixed freely with all kinds of men and possessed an intuitive capacity for judging their character and ability. Most of his soldiers were either directly selected by him or guaranteed by those about him who shared his confidence. Small muskets, swords and shields, or small daggers and spears were the weapons then mostly in use. There were two main classes of troopers, *Silledars* and *Bargirs*. Silledars were the higher type who brought in their own horses and weapons, and received a larger pay, while the bargirs were direct employees, receiving their accoutrement from government. Large camps of troops were formed at convenient places with thousands of horses and magazines of weapons and stores of provisions. Shivaji was fond of horses and procured select animals of the Arab, the Kathiawadi and other breeds. Bodies of spies were attached to each regiment, whose officers arranged the troop-movements in consonance with the information supplied by the spies. These spies formed the most efficient branch of Shivaji’s army. How minutely Shivaji regulated the affairs of the army can be judged from the following letter which was circulated by him as standing orders to all the revenue and military officers.

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“To Jumledars, Havaldars, and Karkuns, in charge of the army stationed at Chiplun, 16 April, 1673.—

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¹⁰ *Chitra Gupta bakhar*—pp 132-34. A few names of Shivaji’s forts will interest the reader,—प्रचंडगड, प्रकाशगड, प्रचितग०, प्रबळग०, प्रवालग०, प्रसन्नग०, प्रसिद्धगड ; भूधरगड, भूपालगड, भूमंडनगड, भूषणग० ; महिपतगड, महिमंडनग०, वल्लभगड, वर्धनगड, वसंतगड, वंदनगड, विशालगड, विश्रामगड. Chapter VII of the Amātya’s Rājiniti is devoted to the subject of forts ; the Shivaji Souvenir gives a description of all Shivaji’s forts.

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I have made arrangements for a cavalry regiment being cantoned at Chiplun, as it cannot possibly return to the up country at this advanced season. Owing to the stay of this regiment at Chiplun, all the grain and other necessaries that were stored for the rainy season in the Subha of Dabhol, have been almost exhausted, entailing hardship and no end of distress upon the people of the district by the grain, forage and every other article having been appropriated for the use of the army. There are yet twenty days of the hot Vaishakh month to pass.¹¹ The severity of the season now prevents any change in encampment. As provisions are are urgently required, I have ordered the officers to collect whatever grain could be had from the various forts and thus provide for men and horses. Now you will ask for any amount of rations of grain and grass, feed recklessly while the supplies are available, and when these are exhausted during the height of the rainy season, you will get nothing. Hence the present supplies must be made to last till the end of the rainy season. You must, therefore, without complaint accept whatever rations the Karkuns will daily give you and nothing more should be asked; so that all will get tolerably enough to keep men and horses from starving. You must not, therefore, grumble and quarrel with the officers or trouble them for every trifling requirement. No one should enter the store-rooms and make free use of the provisions kept therein.

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Men and horses must continue to accept whatever is given them and make things going. Some will make fires for cooking purposes in places where there are stacks of hay. Some will take live-coal for smoking pipes and carelessly set fire to the stacks lying about. When one shed takes fire, it will soon extend to the whole encampment and cause incalculable damage. Should a mishap of the kind occur, no amount of punishment of officers and cultivators will replace the loss; not a piece of timber would then be available to construct the sheds and no shed could be constructed at a moment's notice. You must all take note of this situation, keep a watch in the camp and see that nothing untoward happens, while men are cooking food or burning grass. If you keep lights burning at night, mice might carry away the lighted wick and cause mischief. All such accidents must be scrupulously guarded against. You must be particularly careful about fires breaking out. Every precaution should be taken to save the grass and the sheds. Then only can the horses live through the long rainy season. If you fail, there is an end to all horses and stables and food. Then you will begin to rob the people; some will take away the grain of the poor cultivators, some will take away their bread, others grass and wood, some carry away their vegetables and other provisions. When you behave that way, the poor peasants will find life impossible and run away. Some will starve.

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Then they will think you are worse than the Mughals, who overrun the countryside. Thus all the curses of the peasants and the horses will descend on you. Know this well, whether you are *sipahi* or a foot-soldier and behave yourselves. Some of you may be staying in different villages in government stables or otherwise. You have no business to trouble the rayats in any way, no business to stray outside your place. The Sarkar has given you your share from the treasury. Whatever one wants, whether grain, grass for cattle or fuel or vegetables, you should duly buy it, if it comes round for sale; or you should go to the open bazaar and buy it. You must not force anybody or quarrel with anybody. The supplies that have been assigned to the government stables must last for the whole rainy season. The Karkuns are instructed to give rations with an eye to economy. You must take what you are given, so that you will never be reduced to starvation. You will have some food every-day and the horses will gain strength. You must not lose temper with the Karkuns or enter the store-rooms violently and seize the articles. The men attached to the stables will make fires, some will make their hearths and cook at wrong places, some will light their smoking pipes without noticing that the hay is lying about. Thus there will suddenly occur an accident. When one room catches fire, the whole place will be burnt down. Therefore, let due warning be given to all.

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Officers should always be going about to see that everything is safe. Therefore it is, that I write to you in such detail. All the Jumledars, Havaldars and Karkuns should hear this letter being read to them and act up to it. We shall keep ourselves informed frequently, nay every day, and punish those who disobey. Whosoever behaves in contravention of this order will be severely punished and dishonoured.”¹²

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¹¹ So the letter is written about Vaishakh Shudh 10 = 16 April 1673.

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¹² Source-book of Mar. History—P. 117, Shivaji Souvenir. P. 150.

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Insistence on order, implicit obedience and the strictest discipline were the rules which distinguished Shivāji as a ruler far in advance of his age, as is illustrated by the manner in which he regulated the behaviour of his troops during their campaigns of conquest or plunder. “A grand Darbar was held on the Dassara day when all the men, their horses and equipment were minutely examined and the regulations clearly explained. No molestation of women, children, Brahmans, husbandmen and cows was allowed during war. All plundered articles were to be delivered upon return to headquarters, when special rewards in money, dresses and titles were bestowed for good work, and severe punishment inflicted upon delinquents, who had kept back or misappropriated articles of plunder. After returning from a plundering expedition, he saw to it that every article seized by his men was properly delivered to his officers. Every member of his army was supplied with a memo of his private belongings when he started on the march, and on return was required to give up whatever he possessed over and above his original list. Honest dealings were handsomely rewarded and the least dereliction punished with severity.” Every soldier, before being enlisted in the service had to produce two sureties for good conduct. The relatives of those who had fallen on service or duty were compensated. When Shivaji attacked a town, he was an adept in discovering secret hoards, so that people came to credit him with supernatural powers. His simple style of life has been highly commended by the French envoy Germain, who visited him at Tiruvadi in July 1677. He wrote, “The camp of Shivaji was without pomp, without women; there were no baggages, only two tents but of simple cloth, coarse and very scanty, one for him and the other for his prime-minister.”¹³

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¹³ Foreign Biogr. P. 306.

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7. The navy and the Siddi of Janjira.—Shivaji early in his career saw the necessity of having a strong and independent navy of his own, as much for the protection as for the expansion of his resources by means of foreign trade. More than a hundred years before Shivaji, the Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar had established his own navy at Janjira and placed in command of it Siddi Yaqut Khan a daring Abyssinian immigrant well-versed in naval art (1490). He was charged with the two-fold function of the supervision of the coastal trade and the safe conveyance of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. Thus was created the small State of Janjirā which has survived centuries of political change.¹⁴

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¹⁴ Janjirā is a corruption of the Arabic word *Jazira* meaning an island. It is situated at the mouth of the Rajpuri creek, Yaqut Khan became the hereditary title of the Siddi Chief of Janjirā.

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When Shivaji attacked Kalyan and seized the Bijapuri portion of north Konkan, he was severely opposed by this Siddi chief with his numerous following of daring sailors. Thus it became necessary for Shivaji to create his own navy in order to check the activities of the Siddi and strengthen his own power on the west coast. In this way there arose a perennial source of rivalry and war between these two powers throughout the Maratha period.

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Shivaji's war with the Siddi commenced in 1657 and continued upto his death, having been marked in the interval by some very stiff engagements. In 1659 he sent his Peshwa Moropant Pingle and Vyankoji Datto (brother of Ānāji) with a strong naval force to put down the Siddis. Siddi Khairyat was overcome and compelled to accept terms, by which all the territory of the Siddis was to be handed over to Shivaji except the island fort of Janjirā itself. Whilst these operations on the west coast were going on, Shivaji was attacked by Afzal Khan with the result that his hold upon the Siddi was released. By the time Mirza Raja Jaysinh appeared on the scene, the Siddi transferred his allegiance to the Mughal Emperor, and under the latter's support increased his power to a considerable extent with an additional base at Surat. Shivaji also had in the meantime increased his navy, and prepared for a renewal of his contest with the Siddi by building the four strong fortresses of Sindhudurg, Vijaydurg, Suvarnadurg and lastly Kolaba, with adequate naval equipment for each. Ibrahim Khan and Mainak Bhandāri were his trusted naval commanders. They succeeded for a time in establishing a strong check upon the various powers of the west coast from Kalyan to Karwar, including the Portuguese of Goa. The last named considered it a wise policy to conciliate Shivaji by agreeing to supply him with guns and ammunition of western make, whenever required.

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Under the backing and encouragement of the Mughals, the Siddis’ strength steadily grew and a continuous war between them and Shivaji was the result, a full narration of which cannot be attempted here.¹⁵

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¹⁵ Students will do well to refer to his letter dated 19th January 1675 addressed to his officer at Prabhāvali on naval equipment—Raj. 8.31.

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8. Shivaji’s relations with the English.—This subject has been already treated in so far as the factors of Rājāpur were concerned. There was really no conflict of interest between Shivaji and these merchants of the East India Company. The Dutch and the English, unlike the Portuguese, had then no intention of making land acquisitions in India and confined their activities to trade, which profited them as much as it did the Indian princes. The island of Bombay had just been acquired by the English from their Portuguese neighbours, and as Surat was constantly under the threat of an attack from Shivaji, the English were planning to shift their headquarters from Surat to Bombay. The incident of Rājāpur rankled in their hearts, but no actual collision occurred. After his escape from Agra Shivaji’s power rapidly increased, and the English became anxious to secure his good will in order that their trading operations might not suffer. With this object in view the President of Surat sent envoys to Shivaji from time to time, Ustick in 1672, Nicolls in 1673, Henry Oxenden in 1674, and Austen in 1675. Of these the visit of Oxenden to Raigad at the time of Shivaji’s coronation is historically noteworthy, as that Englishman has left a full and accurate account of what he saw and heard of that important event in Shivaji’s life. Oxenden brought Shivaji presents from the Company along with their congratulations. A treaty of mutual trade and friendship was then arranged between them and their relations remained cordial during Shivaji's life-time.

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9. Was Shivaji a mere plunderer?—Shivaji has been often called a plunderer and a rebel. One must examine his life minutely to determine what this charge exactly meant. Every patriot has felt bound to rebel against the existing alien government, and it would be no wonder if Muslim writers set Shivaji down as such. Even the Marathi writers exult in calling him a pund (rebel) for having liberated his land from foreign yoke. As soon as he attained the required power, he organized a regular government and advanced the interests of the subjects over whom he ruled. But he cannot be charged with being a wicked wanton plunderer. He plundered the towns and territory of the enemy as a legitimate act of war. There is no instance of his having plundered innocent people or princes who were not at war with him. Even the Muslim historian Khafi Khan absolves him from this charge. He never molested religious places such as musjids. He respected the holy Koran when obtained in plunder and returned it with due reverence. It was a strict rule in his army never to molest women, children or holy men in the course of a raid. Prisoners of war were very kindly treated and released after their wounds had been dressed.

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His usual practice when he arrived before a town, was to call upon the wealthy and leading merchants to make a reasonable contribution towards the expenses of his war, and if it was willingly paid, he never used force. But when such willing compliance was refused, he exacted forcibly what he could collect. In most cases Shivaji's plunder was a war levy, more or less of the type of that extorted by the present day governments of the world, who legally impose and exact money during times of stress in the form of tax or contribution. Shivaji was careful not to harm poor innocent husbandmen by depriving them of their means of livelihood. He imposed large fines upon well-to-do merchants and seized their secret hoards; or he carried away enemy treasures while they were on the way. When an enemy was defeated, he plundered his camp and took away the tents, animals, stores and whatever else could be obtained. These wise and considerate methods of Shivaji were mostly adhered to throughout the best days of Maratha government. Shivaji took great pains to acquire correct information about his objectives through his efficient spies and acted upon it with the least molestation possible.

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10. Estimate of Shivaji by thinkers and writers.—The opinion of a Maratha on his national hero may be suspected of being tainted by blind adoration or national vanity. I shall therefore give here only estimates of Shivaji's character formed by foreigners, most of them belonging to the race that had fought four sanguinary wars to wrest the overlordship of India from the hands of Shivaji's successors in office.

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(1) Elphinstone in his *History* aptly summarizes Shivaji's character thus:—

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"The son of a powerful chief Shivaji had begun life as a daring and artful captain of banditti, had ripened into a skilful general and an able statesman and left a character which has never since been equalled or approached by any of his countrymen....It required a genius like his to avail himself as he did of the mistakes of Aurangazeb by kindling a zeal for religion and through that, a national spirit among the Marathas. It was by these feelings that his government was upheld after it passed into feeble hands and was kept together, in spite of numerous internal disorders until it had established its supremacy over the greater part of India."

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