Administrative System of the Marathas c14.s2: 2. The Three Chief Officers and their Duties

Administrative System of the Marathas c14.s2

Language: English

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