The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c21.6.4

c21.6.4

The administrative organisation was not rigid enough. The Marâthâ empire of the eighteenth century was a mere confederacy. The Gâekwâḍ of Baroḍâ, Sindhiâ of Gwâlior, Holkar of Indore and the Bhonslâ of Nâgpur recognised the hegemony of the *de facto* king, Peśwâ of Pooṇâ, or the *de jure* monarch, the Râja of Satârâ, in a very rough and ready fashion. They would sometimes rally to his standard and sometimes war with him. Sometimes they would fight among themselves and sometimes band together against the common foe. With obvious differences of setting and detail, they acted the political drama of ancient India on the stage of the eighteenth century.