Administrative System of the Marathas c11.s3.9

c11.s3.9

Shivaji had done away with the agency of such old hereditary officers as the Patil and the Kulkarni in the village and the Deshmukh and the Deshpande in the district. They were left in the enjoyment of their old dues but the work of revenue collection was entrusted to new officers directly appointed by the king. The country had been divided by the Muhammadan government for revenue purposes into Mauja, Pargana, Sarkar, and Subhas; Shivaji abolished, or to be more accurate, modified these old divisions. In his time the country was divided into Maujas, Tarfs and Prants. The officer in charge of a Tarf was styled as Havaldar, Karkun or, in some rare instances, Paripatyagar. The officer in charge of a Prant was variously designated as Subhedar, Karkun or Mukhya Deshadhikari. Over several Prants was sometimes placed an officer called Sarsubhedar, to supervise the work of the Subhedars. These officers, like the Kamavisdars and the Mamlatdars of the Peshwa period, had to look after all the branches of the administration. The Subhedar's staff consisted of the usual complement of eight officers, viz.