New History of the Marathas v1.c7.17

v1.c7.17

2. Shahji's possession of Bangalore.—In those days of difficult communication between the centre and the outlying provinces, it is no wonder that the local governors assumed almost royal splendour and independence of action. Shahji thus established his position at Bangalore with the airs of a great chief, for which he had already proved his worth. He spent most of his time henceforth at Bangalore and occasionally held his court at Kolar and Balapur also. For the military and administrative work which he had to execute in a foreign land, he transplanted many Brahman and Maratha families from Mahārāshtra and trained them as hereditary officials loyal to his cause. He introduced Marathi as the Court language into the Karnatak regions, and along with it the Mahārāshtra system of revenue and accounts. He held an open Court, wherein he entertained musicians, poets, writers and saints. Thus in a short time a miniature Mahārāshtra arose in the midst of the Kannad and Tamil lands, the effects of which have survived to this day through three centuries of change. Although the actual conquest of Tanjore was left to be accomplished by Shahji's worthy son Ekoji in 1675, the necessary preparations were all completed during the twenty five years of the former's regime. Shahji, however, always remained loyal to Bijapur. He remitted regular contributions of money to the Adil Shah and was so careful and guarded in his official dealings that he gave no cause for suspicion or complaint. The people of these southern lands looked upon Shahji's rule as almost a providential continuation of the old Vijayanagar tradition carried on in its essential spirit by a Hindu leader. His loyalty, however, came to be suspected for a while owing to extraneous causes as will be explained later.