New History of the Marathas v2.c30.68

v2.c30.68

Balajirao was a man of refined taste, fond of leading a luxurious life and enjoying splendour and the fine arts. During his regime the social life of Maharashtra underwent great changes in various directions. The Maratha camp life rapidly lost its original rudeness and simplicity, and fashioned itself on the enervating splendour of the imperial court. It is difficult to estimate correctly the financial position of the Maratha State under him. The public debt is reckoned by one authority to have been about 17 lacs at the time of the Peshwa's death; other students have calculated it at about a crore of Rupees. But fifty lacs will not be an unreasonable figure, by no means discreditable to his administration. The Peshwa was an expert in accounts and penmanship, and exercised strict control over receipts and expenditure. Public servants were trained in a special institution of the Secretariat called the Phad, where Nana Phadnis himself received his training.