New History of the Marathas v2.c24.59

v2.c24.59

This change in the Kolhapur government must have been supported, if not initiated by Ramchandra Nilkanth himself, the only man of capacity and experience in that party. The famous *Ajnapatra*, completed on 19th November 1715, expounding Shivaji's policy, is addressed by Ramchandrapant to Sambhaji II, then 17 years old as to a beloved pupil, conveying lessons in the art of governance and pouring forth all the accumulated wisdom of Shivaji's policy in which the Amatya was the principal instrument of execution. The language and diction are in harmony with the exalted subject, so that this treatise is considered of singular value in disclosing the high ideals of the founder. Ramchandra Nilkanth either died or retired after the issue of this *Ajnapatra*.²