Administrative System of the Marathas c15.2

c15.2

Soon after his conquest of the Konkan, Shivaji found it necessary to organise a navy strong enough to check the raids of the Siddi's fleet on his coast. His fleet consisted mainly of Gallivats and Ghurabs as well as many river crafts of various description. Sabhasad tells¹ us that no less than four hundred Ghurabs, Tarandes, Tarus, Gallivats, Shibads and Pagars were built and organised into two squadrons of 200 vessels. Each squadron was placed under the supreme command of an Admiral, Dariya Sarang, a Muhammadan officer, and Mai Naik, a Bhandari. Dariya Sarang was not the only Muhammadan officer in Shivaji's fleet. Another prominent Muhammadan Admiral, Daulat Khan by name, entered Shivaji's service a few years later. The fleet was in all probability manned mainly by the Kolis and other sea-faring tribes of the Malabar coast. What was their uniform, or whether they had any, we do not know. At Malwan, the principal port of Shivaji, there is a statue of the Maratha hero with the peculiar Koli hat on his head.³ It will not, therefore, be unfair to suppose that the sailors of Shivaji's fleet generally wore a similar headgear.