New History of the Marathas v1.c6.35

v1.c6.35

The various Maratha clans of the Deccan were dragging on their obscure existence in the service of one or other of the three Muslim potentates of the Deccan with hardly any idea at the time of asserting their independence. Among them the Jadhavs with their seat at Sindkhed in the vicinity of Daulatabad were then powerful in the service of the Nizam Shah. The Bhosles were at first comparatively insignificant. Maloji Bhosle the grandfather of Shivaji had to content himself by serving as a petty horseman in the employ of the Jadhavs. The cousins of the Bhosles, *viz.* the Ghorpades, served the Adil Shah of Bijapur, enjoying a small jagir at Mudhol. The clan of the Morés enjoyed almost royal power and influence in the hilly regions west of Satara, while rendering nominal service to Bijapur.