Administrative System of the Marathas c14.s2.1

c14.s2.1

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.