Administrative System of the Marathas c14: Chapter III. Organisation of the Military Department

Administrative System of the Marathas c14

Language: English

c14.s1 1. Forts and Strongholds — 10 parts
c14.s2 2. The Three Chief Officers and their Duties — 38 parts
c14.s3 4. Infantry and Cavalry — 18 parts
c14.s4 5. Military Regulations — 17 parts

Chapter III. Organisation of the Military Department

1. Forts and Strongholds

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In his military organisation Shivaji aimed at efficiency. Vastly inferior to his enemies in numerical strength, he tried to compensate by quality the lack of quantity. He, therefore, tried to enforce strict discipline in his army and appealed not only to the military instinct but also to the patriotism of his soldiers. His earliest adherents were the Mawalis, a race of hardy hillmen, who came into prominence under Shivaji's leadership and have since then relapsed to their original obscurity. Shivaji depended mainly on these hillmen and the hills. The hills constituted an excellent defence, while the hillmen accompanied him in all his blod excursions and perilous raids. The ill clad and ill fed hillmen of Mawal were trained into an excellent infantry by the great Maratha captain, and he converted the bare rocks and mountains into impregnable forts to bar the enemy's progress through his country. At the time of his death, Shivaji possessed no less than two hundred and forty forts and strongholds, and in the jabita swarajya of Shahu¹ we find that not a single Taluka or Pargana was left without a protecting fort. Scott-Waring says that, "before his death he (Shivaji) had established his authority over an extent of country four hundred miles in length, and one hundred and twenty in breadth. His forts extended over the vast range of mountains which skirt the western shore of India. Regular fortification barred the open approaches : every pass was commanded by forts: every steep and overhanging rock was occupied as a station to roll down great masses of stone, which made their way to the bottom, and impeded the labouring march of cavalry, elephants, and carriages."² Chitnis pointedly remarked that forts were the very life of a kingdom,³ and Lokahitavadi tells us that Shivaji was famous mainly for building forts.

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¹ J. B. Br. R. A. S., Vol. XXII, pp. 36-42.

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² Scott-Waring, pp. 96-97.

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³ Chitnis, p. 80.

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Shivaji's hill forts, impregnable by nature, did not require a strong garrison. Five hundred was the normal strength, but in some⁴ exceptional cases a stronger force was allowed. No single officer was ever placed in entire charge of the fort and its garrison. "In every fort," says Sabhasad, "there should be a Havaldar, a Sabnis (and) a Sarnobat; (and) these three officers should be of the same status. These three should conjointly carry on the administration. There should be kept a store of grain and war materials in the fort. An officer called Karkhanis was appointed for this work. Under his supervision should be written all accounts of income and expenditure. Where the fort was an important one and where forts were of extensive circuit, there should be kept five to seven Tat Sarnobats. The charge of the ramparts should be divided among them. They should be careful about keeping a vigilant watch. Of every ten men of the garrison to be stationed in the fort, one should be made a Naik; nine privates and the tenth a Naik. Men of good families should in this manner be recruited. Of the forces, the musketeers, the spearmen, the archers, and the lightarmed men should be appointed, after the Raja himself had carefully inspected each man individually and selected the brave and shrewd. The garrison in the fort, the Havaldar, and the Sarnobat should be Marathas of good families. They should be appointed after some one of the royal personal staff had agreed to stand surety (for them). A Brahman known to the king's personal staff should be appointed Sabnis and a Prabhu, Karkhanis. In this manner each officer retained should be dissimilar (in caste) to the others. The fort was not to be left in the hands of the Havaldar alone. No single officer could surrender the fort to any rebel or miscreant. In this manner was the administration of the forts carefully carried. A new system was introduced.⁵

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⁴ Fryer, p. 127.

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⁵ Sabhasad, pp. 27-28. Sen, Siva Chhatrapati, pp. 29-30.

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The system was neither new nor unknown in Southern India. The regulations of Muhammad Adil Shah of Bijapur lay down clearly that the officers in charge of a fort should be three in number, neither less nor more. The Muhammadan ruler also says that these officers should be frequently transferred from one fort to another.⁶ We have seen in the preceding chapter that Shivaji also used to transfer the Mudradharis or officers in charge of forts and strongholds very often. He could not safely ignore the low standard of public morality that prevailed at the time while framing these regulations. It would have been sheer imprudence to leave a single officer entirely in charge of a fort in those days of disloyalty and treachery, when gold succeeded where policy and prowess failed. Shivaji himself had frequently used the golden bait with success and it was but natural that he should take proper precaution against its repetition at his cost. It was also necessary that he should conciliate the three principal castes by distributing the responsible posts under his government equally among them. The Prabhus and the Brahmans were jealous of one another, may be for social reasons, but the state of their feeling could not be overlooked even in affairs administrative. Shivaji himself had reason to fear Brahman opposition when he assumed the sacred thread prior to his coronation. The Marathas of his time also eminently deserved high commands in the army. The different sections of the great Brahman caste were not in amity⁷ and Chitnis tells us that the Sabnises were recruited from all classes of Brahmans, *viz.*, the Deshasthas, the Karhadas, the Konkanasthas and the Madhyandins.

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⁶ Itihas Sangraha, Aitihasik Sphuta Lekha, p. 27.

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⁷ It may be incidentally mentioned here that the Konkanastha had not yet come to the forefront in Maratha politics and most of Shivaji's principal Brahman officers belonged to the Deshastha section. The keen intelligence of the Shenvis had already espied a bright prospect in another quarter and they had in large number entered the Portuguese service. With their characteristic literary aptitude, they mastered European tongues before long and acted as interpreters for European merchants of all nationalities. It is not clear whether their persecution had begun so early. In any case prudence demanded that Shivaji should recruit his officers from all the principal castes, and conciliate them all.

2. The Three Chief Officers and their Duties

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The chief of the three officers was the Havaldar. He was to keep the keys with him. He was to shut the fort gates and lock them up with his own hands every evening. He was to draw the bolt and see whether the gates were properly secured. He was not to admit any one whether friend or foe, during night. Early in the morning he was to come and with his own hands open the principal gates.⁸ Although he was to carry on other duties conjointly with his colleagues, the Havaldar was never allowed to relegate these to any one else. Shivaji tested the efficiency of his Havaldars mainly in their proper control of the gates. Chitnis gives an anecdote that will bear quotation here.⁹ One night Shivaji went to Panhala and knocked at the gates of the fort. His attendants shouted out to the Havaldar that the Maharaja himself was seeking admission, hotly pursued by the enemy. The gates should be opened and the king taken in. The officer came and stood on the rampart with his colleagues. With due humility the Havaldar pointed out that the king's regulation did not permit the gates to be opened at that hour. He, however, offered to check the enemy till morning with the help of the guards of the out stations, while the Maharaja should wait near the gates. Then the king replied—"The regulations are mine and the order involving their breach is also mine. It is I who order you to open the gates." But the officer again submitted that he could not open the gates. Night was almost over. Till dawn the enemy would be kept off. Then Shivaji tried threats. "It is not proper," said he, "that a servant like you should not obey my orders. I will make an example of you." But still the gates were not opened. Early in the morning the Havaldar unlocked and unbolted the gates and with clasped hands approached the king. "I have done wrong; Your Majesty should punish me according to my deserts," said the officer. But the king applauded his sense of duty and promoted him on the spot. The chronicler of Shivadigvijaya informs us that those who failed this test were degraded or dismissed.

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⁸ Chitnis, p. 79.

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⁹ Chitnis, p. 108. Sen, Siva Chhatrapati, pp. 220-221.

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The Sabnis was in charge of the accounts in general and the muster roll in particular. The Karkhanis was mainly responsible for commissariat work. The kanujabta of the year 1, of the coronation era, thus enumerates their official duties:

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The Sabnis should be in charge of accounts. On each order below the seal the Karkhanis should put his sign of approval. All orders of expenditure upon the cash and the treasury departments should be issued by the Sabnis, and under the seal of the Havaldar the Karkhanis should put his sign of approval. The daily account of these two departments should be drawn up under the supervision of both; the cash should be indicated on the account by the Sabnis, and below the Havaldar's seal, the Karkhanis should put his sign of approval.

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If any order is to be issued from the fort to the district (under its jurisdiction), it should be issued by the Sabnis. The Havaldar should put his seal (on it), and below the seal the Karkhanis should put his sign of approval.

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The muster roll of the men should be taken by the Sabnis. It should be verified by a clerk of the Karkhanis. In this manner was the work of the cash and treasury departments allotted.

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If any order is made upon the district for either cash or clothes, it should be issued under the seal of the Sabnis with the Karkhanis's sign of approval. Besides this, all orders and requisitions should be made by the Karkhanis. Any tax (when necessary to meet the needs of the fort) should be levied by the Sabnis, and the Karkhanis should put his sign of approval under the seal.

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All accounts, whether of his own or of the Karkhanis's department, should be explained by the Sabnis, whether to the Havaldar or to the district officer or to the central government. The Karkhanis should sit near the Sabnis, but all interrogations about their accounts should be made to the Sabnis.

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All correspondence with the government or the district officers, or the Sardars, or the Subhedars or other Killedars, should be written by the Sabnis. The Sabnis should put his sign in them. After the Subhedar has sealed it, the Karkhanis should enter it in the daily ledger. He should not put his sign, but the letter should not be despatched without being recorded in the daily ledger.

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All inspection, and estimate of revenue of the province (under the jurisdiction of the fort) should be made by the Sabnis. This estimate should be entered into the accounts by the Karkhanis. The kaul and the order about the revenue should be issued by the Sabnis. After the Havaldar has put his seal on the papers, the Karkhanis should put his sign of approval.

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All accounts of income and expenditure, either in weight or in approximate value (of commodities), should be daily made by the Karkhanis. After the Havaldar has put his seal (on the accounts), the Sabnis should put his sign of approval. The Karkhanis should write all orders of expenditure upon the granary. After the Havaldar has sealed (them), the Sabnis should put his sign of approval.

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The distribution of stores, whether according to weight or according to approximate value, should be made by the Karkhanis. The Sabnis's Karkun should be present on the occasion for verification.

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All orders for goods or commodities upon the province (under the jurisdiction of the fort) should be issued by the Karkhanis. The Sabnis should levy contribution (when necessary). He should put his sign of approval after the Havaldar has sealed the paper.

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The Karkhanis should take charge of female slaves, boy servants, horses or cattle that may come. The Sabnis should put his sign of approval below the seal. If any loss occurs, the Karkhanis should put his sign below the seal.

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The Karkhanis should supervise the work when a building is constructed. The Sabnis should inspect the work. Cash and clothes should be distributed among the Karkhanis's men when occasion arises. It should have the approval of the Karkhanis. The distribution of grain should be made by the Karkhanis with the approval of the Sabnis.

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All accounts of the naval stores should be written by the Karkhanis's Karkuns. The work should be exacted by him under the supervision of the Sabnis.¹⁰

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¹⁰ Mawji and Parasnis, Sanads and Letters, pp. 130-132.

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Thus did the three officers co-operate and serve as checks to one another. Not a single fort of Shivaji could, therefore, be betrayed to his enemies. But all these precautions could not absolutely prevent treason and corruption.

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When Shivaji was absent in the camp of Jai Singh, the entire charge of the fort of Rajgad had, for the time being, fallen on Keso Narayan Sabnis, as there was no Havaldar. Keso Narayan Sabnis, on that occasion, misappropriated a large sum from public funds.¹¹ In 1663 Shivaji postponed an expedition to the Konkan as disquieting informatiop of a rebellion had come from Sinhgad. In a letter dated the 2nd April, 1663, Shivaji writes to Moro Trimbak Peshwa and Abaji Sondev that he was thinking of marching against Namdar Khan in the Konkan, but news arrived from Sinhgad that a revolt had lately taken place in the fort. He had, therefore, to give up his project of marching into the Konkan for the present. The two officers were requested to march at once to Sinhgad with their troops and militia and take charge of the fort. They were further required to make an enquiry about the rebels and report their names to the king.¹²

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¹¹ Rajwade, M.I.S., Vol. VIII, p. 7.

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¹² Rajwade, M.I.S., Vol. VIII, p. 11.

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Shivaji generally stored grains and provisions in large quantities in his forts for consumption during a siege. Towards the close of his career (in the year 1671-72), he decided to have a reserve fund to meet the extraordinary needs of forts beleaguered by the enemy. A paper under his seal drawn in the San Isanne says that Rajashri Chhatrapati Saheb has decided to raise money from each Mahal in his provinces and watans. This money should form a (reserve) fund, and should be spent only when war with Mughals would break out, and the Mughals lay siege to forts, and if money be not available from any other source; otherwise, this money should not be spent for any other government work. So has the Saheb decided and it has been settled that a sum of one lakh and twenty-five thousand Hons should constitute the reserve fund, and should be raised from the following Mahals and personages at the following rate:

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| Kudal | ... | 20,000 |
| Rajapur | ... | 20,000 |
| Kolen | ... | 20,000 |
| Dabhol | ... | 15,000 |
| Poona | ... | 13,000 |
| Nagoji Govind | ... | 10,000 |
| Jawli | ... | 5,000 |
| Kalyan | ... | 5,000 |
| Bhiwandi | ... | 5,000 |
| Indapur | ... | 5,000 |
| Supa | ... | 2,000 |
| Krishnaji Bhaskar | ... | 5,000 |

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It has been decided that the sum of one lakh and twenty-five thousand Hons (thus raised) should be set aside as a reserve fund.¹³

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¹³ Rajwade, M.I.S., Vol. VIII, pp. 16-17.

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In the same year Shivaji granted a further sum of one lakh and seventy-five thousand Hons for repairing his principal forts. He observes that the workmen grew discontented as they did not get their wages in time. A considerable sum was on that account set aside for building and repair works alone. The sum of one hundred and seventy-five thousand was thus allotted.¹⁴

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¹⁴ Rajwade, M.I.S., Vol. VIII, pp. 18-19

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| Sinhgad | ... | ... | 10,000 |
| Sindhudurg | ... | ... | 10,000 |
| Vijaidurg | ... | ... | 10,000 |
| Suvarnadurg | ... | ... | 10,000 |
| Pratapgad | ... | ... | 10,000 |
| Purandhar | ... | ... | 10,000 |
| Rajgad | ... | ... | 10,000 |
| Prachandgad | ... | ... | 5,000 |
| Prasiddhagad | ... | ... | 5,000 |
| Vishalgad | ... | ... | 5,000 |
| Mahipatgad | ... | ... | 5,000 |
| Sudhagad | ... | ... | 5,000 |
| Lohagad | ... | ... | 5,000 |
| Sabalgad | ... | ... | 5,000 |
| Shrivardhangad and Manaranjan | ... | 5,000 |
| Korigad | ... | ... | 3,000 |
| Sarasgad | ... | ... | 2,000 |
| Mahidhargad | ... | ... | 2,000 |
| Manohargad | ... | ... | 1,000 |
| Miscellaneous | ... | ... | 7,000 |
| | | | 1,75,000 |

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What arms of defence were supplied to these forts we do not precisely know. Shivaji had an artillery department and Orme¹⁵ tells us that "He had previously purchased eighty pieces of cannons and lead sufficient for all his match-locks from the French Director at Surat." We find mention of matchlockmen and archers in Sabhasad's pages; we have there an account of at least one dashing sally by Murar Baji Prabhu when Diler Khan laid siege to Purandhar. The enemy was sometimes "assailed with rockets, musket-shots, bombs and stones."¹⁶ Scott-Waring says that "his (Shivaji's) artillery was very contemptible, and he seems seldom to have used it but against the island of Gingerah."¹⁷ But Shivaji's soldiers, in common with the Muhammadans of the Deccan, hurled a curious, but none the less, effective missile against their enemy while labouring up the steep sides of their inaccessible strongholds. Fryer saw "on the tops of the Mountains, several Fortresses of Seva Gi's, only defensible by Nature, needing no other Artillery but Stones, which they tumble down upon their Foes, carrying as certain destruction as Bullets where they alight."¹⁸ Huge pieces of stone were for this purpose heaped at convenient stations and the Maratha soldiers rolled them down upon their enemy below. This could hardly check the progress of a determined foe; when this preliminary defence failed, the Marathas sallied out sword in hand and rushed upon the besiegers. But they did not always depend on their valour and gold was often used with very good results when steel failed.

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¹⁵ Orme, Historical Fragments, p. 38.

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¹⁶ Sarkar, Shivaji (Ist Ed.), p. 94.

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¹⁷ Scott-Waring, p. 102.

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¹⁸ Fryer, p. 123.

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The Havaldar of a fort usually enjoyed a remuneration of 125 Hons a year. Nagoji Bhonsle was appointed Mudradhari of fort Utlur in 1680 on a salary of 150 Hons per year, out of which he had to pay 25 Hons to two servants attached to his office. Krishnaji Surevanshi was appointed Sarnovat of the above-mentioned fort in the same year on an annual salary of 100 Hons. The Havaldar in charge of the buildings in the fort got the same pay as the Mudradhari, and his Mazumdar was paid at the rate of 36 Hons per year. Four TatSarnobats were sent by Shivaji to take charge of the ramparts of Kot Utlur, and they were engaged on 4 Hons and 8 Kaveripak Hons (12 in all) a year. Along with them had been despatched seven bargirs on a yearly pay of 9 Hons (3 ordinary Hons and 6 Kaveripak) per head. In a document, dated the 26th July, 1677, we find that Timaji Narayan, a clerk, was appointed as an extra hand for the office work in Fort Valgudanar, on a monthly allowance of three Hons.¹⁹ Besides the usual remuneration each officer got, according to his rank and the importance of his charge, an additional allowance for palanquin, torchbearers, personal attendants, sunshades and pages.²⁰

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¹⁹ Rajwade, M. 1. S., Vol. VIII, pp. 28-31.

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²⁰ Chitnis, p. 80.

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The Ramoshis and Parwaris who kept watch lived outside the ramparts and got a very small remuneration.

4. Infantry and Cavalry

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The Peshwa army consisted mainly of cavalry. The infantry was recruited from Hindusthan and made but a poor impression on an Irish soldier, Col. W. H. Tone. Shivaji's military genius, however, had early perceived the necessity of light infantry and light cavalry in a guerrilla war and hill campaign. His Mawalis and Hetkaris have become famous in the military annals of India. Selected after personal examination by Shivaji himself, each man was trained into an excellent soldier, not by drilling in the parade ground but by the surer method of service in an actual war. "Shiva Ji had no idea of allowing his soldiers' swords to rust."²¹ The result was that not only their weapons but the men who wielded them also gained in efficiency.

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²¹ Manucci ed. Irvine, Vol. II, p. 208

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Shivaji's infantry was carefully divided into regiments, brigades and divisions. The smallest unit consisted of 9 men and the officer commanding it was called the Naik. The Havaldar of the infantry had five such units under him. Over two or three Havaldars was placed a Jumledar. The officer commanding ten jumlas was styled a Hazari and the Sarnobat of the infantry had seven Hazaris under him. The Jumledar had an annual salary of one hundred Hons and his Sabnis got forty. The Hazari got five hundred Hons per year, and his Sabnis's salary varied from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five Hons.²¹ Chitnis informs us that at the time of a marriage or any other ceremony of similar importance in the family, the officers could expect financial help.

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²¹ Sabhasad, p. 30. Sen, Siva Chhatrapati, p. 33.

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The cavalry was divided into two classes, *vis.*, the bargirs and the shiledars. The bargir was equipped with horse and arms by the state, while the shiledar brought his own horse and sometimes came with a body of troops armed and equipped at his own expense. The bargir belonged to the *paga* proper, while the shiledar held a comparatively inferior position. "The strength of the *paga*," says Sabhasad, "was rendered superior (to that of the shiledar). Shiledars were placed under the jurisdiction of the paga. To none was left independence enough for rebelling. To every horse in the paga was appointed a trooper (bargir); over twenty-five such bargirs was appointed an expert Maratha Havaldar. Five Havaldars formed a jumla. The Jumledar had a salary of five hundred Hons and a palanquin, and his Majumdar a salary of one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five Hons. For every twenty-five horses were appointed a water-carrier and a farrier. A Hazari was a commander of ten such jumlas. To his office was attached a salary of one thousand Hons, a Mazumdar, a Maratha Karbhari and a Prabhu Kayastha Jamenis; for them was allotted a sum of five hundred Hons. Salary and palanquin were given to each officer according to this scale. Accounts of income and expenditure were made up in the presence of all the four. Five such Hazaris were placed under a Panch Hazari. To him was given a salary of two thousand Hons. A Mazumdar, a Karbhari and a Jamenis were likewise attached to his office. These Panch Hazaris were under the command of the Sarnobat. The administration of the paga was of the same kind. Similarly the different brigadiers of the shiledars also were placed under the command of the Sarnobat.²³ Shivaji enlisted in his army not only Hindus but Muhammadans also. A body of seven hundred Pathans offered their services to the Maratha king and Shivaji enlisted them, it is said, in opposition to the majority of his officers. Shivaji pointed out that a king was a king first, and a Hindu or Muhammadan afterwards; and was supported in this wise resolution by an old officer Gomaji Naik Pansambal.²⁴ Shivaji knew quite well that an army, however efficient, could not be expected to operate with success in an enemy country, unless served by an efficient intelligence department. He organised a body of excellent spies, the chief of whom was Bahirji Naik Jadhav. Shivaji was so well served by these intelligent officers that he owed many of his most brilliant successes mainly to the information collected by them. On one occasion his army was saved from utter destruction by Bahirji's knowledge of unfrequented hill tracks.²⁵

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²³ Sabhasad, pp. 28-29. Sen, Siva Chhatrapati, pp. 30-31.

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²⁴ Chitnis, p. 33. Sen, Siva Chhatrapati, p. 164.

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²⁵ Sabhasad, p. 93. Sen, Siva Chhatrapati, p. 130.

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Shivaji could never expect to reach the numerical strength of his enemies. But he had detected the defects of the heavily armed Muhammadan soldiery and relied on speed for success against them. He, therefore, never allowed his soldiers to be encumbered with heavy arms or costly camp equipage. Dressed in tight-fitting breeches, cotton jackets and turbans,²⁶ armed mainly with swords both long and short, spears and lances, bows and arrows and matchlocks, depending mainly on the spoils of war for their subsistence, Shivaji's soldiers were ready to march at a moment's notice. They were so quick both in mobilising and demobilising, that their enemies could hardly expect to get any information of their projects before their actual execution. Though the ordinary soldier was poorly dressed, Shivaji indulged in great expenditure in arming and equipping his body-guards. This regiment was divided into units of 20, 30, 40, 60, and 100 men. They were equipped at state expense and were given richly embroidered turbans and jackets of broad-cloth, gold and silver ear-rings and wristlets. Their sword-sheaths, guns and spears had silver rings and we may guess what a brilliant sight they offered when marching by the king's palanquin.²⁷

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²⁶ Grant Duff, Vol. I, pp. 181-182.

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²⁷ Sabhasad, p. 58. Sen, Siva Chhatrapati, pp. 76-77. Among the weapons in the royal armoury or Jirat Khana Raghunath Pandit not only mentions swords, daggers, and spears of different descriptions but also shields, clubs (gurguza) and battle axes (parashu). The curious reader will find an excellent chapter on arms and armours of the Marathas in "A description of Indian and Oriental Armour." By the Rt. Hon'ble Lord Egerton of Tatton, M.A., London, 1896.

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Besides the regular forces Shivaji could in times of emergency call the feudal forces of the Maratha watandars. In a kaulnama, published in the Tritiya Sammelan Vritta of the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, two watandars, Mal Patil and Baji Patil of Birvadi, offered to serve Shivaji, when need arose, like the Mawali Deshmukhs, with ten of their attendants. For their subsistence the watandars expected six Rukas or half an anna per head per diem and they offered to serve in the army as long as the occasion demanded ²⁸ Unlike the later Peshwas, Shivaji never depended much upon these feudal levies, nor did he prefer the mercenary shiledars, who in certain respects resembled the condottiere of medieval Europe, to the bargirs of his paga. It is quite possible that when his power was firmly established, Shivaji did no longer summon these feudal forces.

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²⁸ B.I.S.M., Tritiya Sammelan Vritts, p. 163.

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Shivaji paid his soldiers either in cash or by an assignment on the district governments. He was entirely opposed to payment by jagir. But when any of his soldiers happened to be a cultivator as well, the rent payable by him was

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The following account of Shivaji's camp from the pen of the celebrated French Governor Martin is certainly interesting "His Camp is without any pomp and unembarrassed by baggage or women. There are only two tents in it, but of a thick simple stuff, and very small,—one for himself and the other for his minister. The horsemen of Shivaji ordinarily receive two pagodas per month as pay. All the horses belong to him and he entertains grooms for them.........Ordinarily there are three horses for every two men, which contributes to the speed which he usually makes.........This Chief pays his spies liberally, which has greatly helped his conquests by the correct information which they give him." Indian Historical Records Commission, Proceedings of Meetings, Vol. VI, p. 25.

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deducted from his salary. Their pay was never allowed to fall in arrears as in the Peshwa days. As Shivaji was strictly punctual in his payment, it was not necessary for him to offer very high salaries. "For the lower officers and men the pay varied from Rs. 9 to 3 for the infantry, and Rs. 20 to 6 in the cavalry, according to the higher or lower rank of the soldier or trooper."¹⁹ Officers and privates of Shivaji's army were liberally rewarded for distinguished service in war. Wounded soldiers got a special allowance according to the nature of their wounds. Widows and orphans of soldiers who fell in active service were liberally pensioned by the state and the latter, if major, were enlisted in the royal army. In any case they could expect to enter Shivaji's army whenever they attained majority and in the mean time they were sure of a suitable maintenance.²⁰ Shivaji assembled all his soldiers after the destruction of Afzal's army and rewarded them in the usual manner. "The sons of the combatants, who had fallen in the action, were taken into his service. He directed that the widows of those who had no sons, should be maintained by (a pension of) half their (husband's) pay. The wounded were given rewards of two hundred, one hundred, fifty or twenty-five Hons per man according to the nature of their wounds. Warriors of renown and commanders of brigades were given horses and elephants in reward. Some were sumptuously rewarded with (ornaments like) bracelets, necklaces, crests, medallions, ear-rings and crests of pearl. Such were the presents conferred on men. Some were rewarded with grants of villages in mokasa." This practice of rewarding soldiers for meritorious services, and maintaining their widows and orphans by adequate pensions, was continued throughout the Peshwa period.

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¹⁹ Ranade, R.M.P., 123.

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²⁰ Sabhasad, p 25, Sen, Siva Chattrupati, p. 25.

5. Military Regulations

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The Maratha camp during the Peshwa period presented a disreputable spectacle. "Camp," says Elphinstone, "presents to a European the idea of long lines of white tents in the trimmest order. To a Mahratta it presents an assemblage of covering, of every shape and colour, spreading for miles in all directions, over hill and dale, mixed up with tents, flags, trees, and buildings In Jones's 'History' march means one or more columns of troops and ordnance moving along roads, perhaps, between two hedges; in the Mahratta history horse, foot and dragoons inundating the face of the earth for many miles on every side, here and there a few horse with a flag and a drum mixed with a loose and straggling mass of camels, elephants, bullocks, nautch-girls, fakeers, and buffoons; troops and followers, lancemen and matchlockmen, bunyans and mootasuddies." ³¹ Broughton gives a no less disparaging picture of Sindhia's camp. Wine was publicly sold and public women accompanied the army to the prejudice of discipline and order.³² This was unthinkable in Shivaji's time. No one was allowed to keep in the camp a female slave or dancing girl and any breach of this rule was punished with death. Shivaji, a lover of discipline and method, had drawn up for his army a set of wise regulations. These have been summed up by Sabhasad in the following lines:

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³¹ Elphinstone to Grant Duff, quoted in Colebrooke's Life of Elphinstone, vol. II, p. 137.

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³² Broughton, Letters from a Maratha Camp, p. 21.

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"The army should come to cantonments in the home dominions during the rainy season. There should be kept stored grains, fodder, medicines, houses for men and stables for horses thatched with grass. As soon as the Dasra ³³ was over, the army should march out of their quarter. At the time of their departure, an inventory should be made, of the belongings of all the men, great or small, in the army and they should start on the expedition. For eight months, the forces should subsist (on their spoils), in the foreign territories. They should levy

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³³ Scott-Waring wrongly supposes "The festival of the Dessara was instituted by Sevajee." It was an old practice of the Hindu kings to set on their expedition of conquest on the Dasra day.

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contribution. There should be no women, female slaves, or dancing girls in the army. He who would keep them, should be beheaded. In enemy territories, women and children should not be captured. Males, if found, should be captured. Cows should not be taken. Bullocks should be requisitioned for transport purposes only. Brahmans should not be molested; where contribution had been laid, a Brahman should not be taken as a surety. No one should commit adultery. For eight months, they should be on expedition in foreign countries. On the way back to the barracks in the month of Vaishakh, the whole army should be searched at the frontier of the home dominions. The former inventory of the belongings should be produced. Whatever might be in excess, should be valued and deducted from the soldiers' salary. Things of very great value, if any, should be sent to the royal treasury. If any one secretly kept (any thing) and the Sardar came to know (of it), the Sardar should punish him. After the return of the army to their camp an account should be made, and all the Sardars should come to see the Raja, with gold, jewels, clothes, and other commodities. There all the accounts should be explained and the things should be delivered to his Majesty. If any surplus should be found due to the contingents, it should be asked for in cash from His Majesty. Then they should return to the barrack. Saranjam should be given to the men who had worked hard in the late campaign. If any one had been guilty of violating the rules or of cowardice, an enquiry should be made and the truth ascertained with the consensus of many and (the offender) should be punished with dismissal. Investigation should be quickly made. For four months they should remain in the barracks, and on the Dasraday they should wait on the Raja. (Then) they should march out to the country, selected for the expedition, by the order of the Raja. Such were the rules of the army.³⁴

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³⁴ Sabhasad, pp. 29-30. Sen, Sivachhatrapati, pp. 31-33.

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These regulations were not designed merely to figure in the statute book, but were strictly enforced. While passing through the kingdom of Golkonda on his way to Tanjore, Shivaji had ordered his soldiers not to harass the people in any way. Whatever they wanted was obtained by peaceful purchase and any breach of law was severely punished. Sabhasad tells us that Shivaji on this occasion had made examples of a few offenders to intimidate others, and his severity had the desired effect. But the spirit of the times was not favourable to strict discipline.³⁵ and although Shivaji's spies seldom failed to bring to his notice all cases of violence and fraud,³⁶ yet it was impossible for him to put a stop to military excesses. In a letter dated the 8th September, 1671, we read how a Maratha soldier had attacked the Sabnis of his regiment with a naked sword.³⁷ On the 23rd July of the next year Shivaji wrote to Dattaji Pant Waknis that the soldiers gave trouble to the pilgrims of the Chaphal fair.³⁸ At Chaphal lived Ramdas, Shivaji's spiritual guide. He was revered throughout Maharashtra as a great saint and an incarnation of the monkey-god Maruti. If soldiers did not behave properly in the precincts of Ramdas's temple, we may easily imagine to what extremes their insolence carried them at safer places. Shivaji, however, could not achieve the impossible. His countrymen had before them the example of the Bijapur army, where discipline was conspicuous by its absence. Shivaji placed before them a high ideal, but an ideal cannot always be forced on an unwilling people at the point of sword. None the less, the great Maratha leader never failed to harangue his soldiers about their duties and responsibilities. In the year 1676 he came to learn that the regiment encamped at Chiplun had given great troubles to the people of the neighbourhood. The troops were short of provision and took by force what they wanted. Shivaji, therefore, issued a circular to the Jumledars, Havaldars, and Karkuns of the army reminding them that it was their duty to store sufficient provision in time. "If grain, bread, grass and vegetable were forcibly taken away from the peasant, they would desert the locality. Some of them would die of starvation and your presence would be more unwelcome than that of the Mughals." "Do not give the rayat the least trouble," continues Shivaji, "you have no need to stray out of your camping places. Money has been given to you from the government treasury. Whatever any soldier may want, either grain or vegetable or fodder for the animals, should be purchased from the market. Violence should not be offered to any one on any account." The remarkable document fully illustrates Shivaji's anxiety for the welfare of his people and the good name of his soldiers. The last portion of the letter shows how the minutest details of the army administration did not escape his notice. He admonishes his officers to take special precaution against fire. Soldiers were not to smoke or cook near the haystacks and lamps were to be put out before the men went to bed lest mice dragged the burning wicks and set fire to the haystacks. "If the haystacks were burnt the necessary hay could not be procured even if the Kunbis were decapitated and the Karkuns harassed. The horses would die of hunger and the cavalry would be ruined." ³⁹ Shivaji knew everything about his army, its needs and requirements. He was anxious to secure the welfare of his people and he tried his best to protect them from the violence of his soldiers. We should not be too severe with him if instances of tyranny or oppression took place inspite of his vigilance. We should judge him by what he attempted and not by what he achieved; although his achievements were by no means small.

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³⁵ From the preamble of a treaty it appears that Shivaji's men had carried away a number of men, women, children, cattle besides transport bullocks from Portuguese territories in contravention of Shivaji's military regulations. See Biker, Collecçao de Tratados, Tomo, IV, pp. 131-132 and Sen, Historical Records at Goa, p. 10.

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³⁶ He had numberless informers about his troops; so that if they kept back any money or goods from account, he forced them to give them up. Scott, Hist. of the Dekkan, Vol. II, p 55.

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³⁷ Rajwade, M.I.S., Vol. VIII, p. 20.

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³⁸ Bhate, Sajjangad-wa Samartha Ramdas, p. 122.

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³⁹ Rajwade, M.I.S., Vol. VIII, pp. 23-25.

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Inspite of his defects the Maratha soldier was a fine fellow. Of short stature and light built he was man for man inferior to the tall and stout Mughal and Deccani Mussulman. But his courage, hardihood, wonderful energy, presence of mind and agility more than compensated for his physical inferiority. Demoralised by the tactics of their elusive adversary, the Bijapuris and the Mughals at last failed to meet him even in the open field on equal terms. Fryer's comparison of the two armies well illustrates the merits and demerits of the contending forces as they struck an intelligent foreign observer. Says the Docter,⁴⁰ "Seva Gi's Men thereby being fitter for any Martial Exploit, having been accustomed to Fare Hard, Journey Fast, and take little Pleasure. But the other will miss of a Booty rather than a Dinner ; must mount in state and have their Arms carried before them, and their Women not far behind them, with the Masters of Mirth and Jollity ; will rather expect than pursue a Foe ; but then they stand it out better ; for *Seva Gi's* Men care not much for a pitched Field, though they are good at Surprizing and Ransacking ; yet agree in this, that they are both of stirring Spirits." It is remarkable that the same love of luxury and comfort characterised the Maratha officers at Panipat. While Shivaji did not allow " Whores and Dancing Wenches in his army," ⁴¹ the Maratha army at Panipat was encumbered with a large number of women. Broughton says of Daulat Rao Sindhia's soldiers that, "such as think that life is bestowed for superior enjoyments and have a taste for more spirited modes of whiling it away, retire, at the approach of evening, to the arrack shop, or the tent of the prostitute ; and revel through the night in a state of low debauchery which could hardly be envied by the keenest votary of Comus and his beastly crew." ⁴² Shivaji's successors had for reasons best known to them suffered these salutary regulations to lapse and the result was disastrous for their army and themselves. The Maratha soldiers declined in morale, discipline and alertness that had made them so formidable under Shivaji's leadership.