New History of the Marathas v1.c7.5

v1.c7.5

1. Shahji's work in the Karnatak.—About the entry of Shahji into the Bijapur service, the six-articled chronology remarks, “During Shak 1557 (1635), Shahji Raje obtained from the Adil Shah a command of twelve thousand horse with the provision of land for his expenses. This land included the Poona country, the management of which was entrusted by him to Dādāji Kondadev of Malthan. He made Poona the seat of his rule and started operations by drawing a good plough through the land, (in order to remove the evil effects of the plough drawn by asses a few years before under the orders of Murar Jagdev). Dādāji brought in cultivators to settle on the land and made it rent-free for the first five years. Shahji Raje left for Bijapur.”¹ Shahji's later career is thus concerned with the affairs of the Karnatak.