Administrative System of the Marathas c18.s9.35

c18.s9.35

The fifth village officer was the Potdar, always a Sonar or goldsmith by caste. His duty was to test the genuineness of the coins, or rather to see whether the coins really had the prescribed weight and proportion of metal. But it seems that sometimes one Potdar held the office for more than one village. A document dated 1740-41 shows that three brothers were holding the potdarship of Tarf Rajapur (4 or 5 villages make a Tarf). "Balaji Rudra, Keso Rudra, and Moro Rudra Shenvai, Potdars of Rajapur came to the Swami at the Mukkam of Shahunagar near the fort of Satara and submitted that they were enjoying the Potdar's watan of Tarf Rajapur.¹⁹ A second document dated 1742-43 shows that one Ganshet Sonar held the Potdar's office for two Parganas and his remuneration was a Damdi per Rupee of the collected revenue (¼ pice = 1 Damdi).²⁰ (A Sanad granting the Potdari watan of the Parganas Sakse and Karnale was given to Ganshet Sonar last year. The aforesaid Sonar informed (us) that you said that Potdar's Damdi (customary remuneration) is in your ijara and people therefore did not give him the usual Damdi per Rupee). While another document dated 1765-66 tells us that Lakshman Sonar, Potdar of Pargana Nevase, got an allowance of Rs. 4 per month from the government and an extra allowance at the rate of Rs. 2 per large village and Re. 1 per small village.²¹ This grant of a government allowance perhaps point out that it was recognised that the Potdars' services were more necessary to the central government than to the villagers. The Potdar closes our list of village officers and we shall now turn to the industrial organisation of the village.