History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c59.s1.4

v4.c59.s1.4

This land, almost locked among the hills and open only in the east, is the cradle of the Maratha kingdom. Originally Maharashtra was formed by the Nasik, Puna and Satara districts, parts of Ahmadnagar and Sholapur, and the western corner of Aurangabad,—a rough total of 28,000 square miles. East of the Ghats the rainfall decreases rapidly, and is uncertain and insufficient for agriculture, while the soil is naturally sterile and broken up by low ranges of bare rocky hills which neither store water for cultivation nor attract the rainfall. "The Deccan, generally speaking, yields to much labour a bare measure of subsistence."