Administrative System of the Marathas c15.12

c15.12

Of the other vessels mentioned by Sabhasad the *tarande* was a sailing vessel of large dimension; the *shibad* was a flat-bottomed two-masted craft without any deck, and the *pagar* was only a well smoothed canoe. Most probably some of these crafts belonged to the mercantile navy. It may not be out of place to note here that Shivaji had a strong mercantile fleet that plied between his ports and the coast towns of Arabia. Unlike many of his contemporaries the great Maratha had realised that a strong naval power without a strong mercantile navy was an impossibility.