Administrative System of the Marathas c19.s3.t6: Group 2
Administrative System of the Marathas c19.s3.t6
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Group 2
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1. Javji valad Gangaji Patil Thorat ... 34
2. Sakhoji valad Satbaji Mule ... 34
3. Khandoji valad Shetyaji Mule ... 60
4. Gundaji valad Pilaji Patil Dhete ... 35
5. Hangoji valad Malji Dhangale ... 70
6. Chahu valad Mahadji Parit ... 35
7. Aman valad Lakshman Mali ... 55
8. Nagoji valad Muktaji Mule ... 35
9. Jarya valad Nama Mang ... 25
10. Nimbaji Panman ... 20 and his mother Rakhmai ... 65
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The winner in this case paid a Harki of Rs. 200.
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*11. Trial by Ordeal:*
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Although the parties signed a Rajinama to abide by the evidence of the Pandhar, and furnished security for their obedience, the defeated party might claim a fresh decision by ordeal and if one ordeal failed he could ask for a trial by an ordeal of a different sort. Sometimes he changed his mind about the selection of ordeal before the first proposed by him had been tried. How much indulgence was given to a Maratha suitor, in order that he might be satisfied that no injustice had been done to him, and how often he changed his mind can be shown by a document quoted by Mr. Bhaskar Vaman Bhat in the Tritiya Sammelan Vritta of Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal.¹³ "Upon that, on the second day Somaji refusing the decision of the *gots* demanded an ordeal by water. He said that the man drawn by hand out of the water by the Pandhri should be regarded as in the right. When you were asked whether you were willing to undergo that ordeal you answered in the affirmative. The next day he changed his mind, refused the ordeal by water and suggested that the case should be decided by an oath in the mosque at Kasba Ranjangaon; on the third day he rejected the idea of an oath in the mosque and again demanded an ordeal by water. Then it was ordered that the plaintiff and the defendant should pour water over each other's hands. He who would pass this ordeal should enjoy the watan. Somaji rejected this proposal also and prayed for an ordeal by fire."
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¹³ P. 42.
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Of the ordeals enumerated in the above document the first deserves our special notice, because it was to all intents a trial by the Pandhar or by the *got*. The parties and the Pandhars were sent to a sacred river like the Krishna, or better, to a *sangam* of special sanctity like the Krishna-Vena sangam. There, at an auspicious moment the Pandhars stood on the bank after their bath in the sacred stream. The defendant and the plaintiff still remained standing in the river. Either the Patil or some other trustworthy man there present was then ordered to draw the rightful party from the water and pass a conscientious verdict. An ordinary man would not deliberately give a wrong verdict at such a place, at such a moment and in the presence of all his co-villagers. He would not only ensure for his soul eternal perdition after death, but also public execration while alive. This ordeal was therefore not unreasonable, specially in those times of strong faith in religion and of stronger superstition. In a dispute regarding the Patilki watan of Fursangi, in Tarf Haveli, of Pargana Poona, between the Kamthes and the Gaikwad Harpales, such an ordeal was resorted to. While the assembled Pandhars stood on the sandy banks of the Krishna, Yeknak, a Mahar was ordered by the gots and the balutas to draw the rightful owner of the watan from the river bed and he loudly declared his verdict.¹
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¹ P. D., Vol. I, p. 168.
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*12. Ordeal by Fire and heated Metal:*
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There were so many forms of ordeal that it will not be possible to describe them all. We will here take notice of the more important ones only. One of the most common ordeals was to draw a piece of metal out of a pot full of boiling oil. This had to be performed in a temple of special sanctity and at an auspicious moment previously fixed by the government. The ordeal had to be witnessed by the co-villagers of the parties as well as by a government officer deputed for that purpose. An ordeal with a piece of metal in heated oil is thus described in the summary of a dispute regarding a Patilki watan between Devji and Shankarji Dangat: "You were then sent with Rajshri Apaji Hanmant Subhedhar and Balaji Dadaji and Baghoji Raut, officers from the Huzur and the District to Pali for the performance of an *Agnidivya*. The *got* of that place assembled in the temple and they lighted a fire and heated *ghi* and oil mixed in customary proportion. You bathed and after a declaration of your right, took two pieces of metal from the heated liquid in the presence of all. Then your hand was bandaged and sealed. The next day the aforesaid parties were brought to the Huzur by the Karkun of the District officer. On the third day, in the presence of the Majalasi the bandage was taken off and the seals broken. On your hand were found only the marks that formerly existed there. Nothing more, nothing less; you passed the ordeal successfully.” ¹⁵
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¹⁵ P. D., Vol. I, pp. 165-166.
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Another ordeal is described in a document quoted by Mr. Bhat in the journals of the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal.¹⁶ There, the palm of the man is first bandaged with leaves of peepul tree and new thread. Then a heated ball is placed on his hand. He is then made to walk over seven concentric circles. After completing the seventh circle he drops the metal ball on a little heap of grain which is burnt and it is thus shown that no fraud has been practised. These ordeals were undoubtedly the relics of a bygone age. But the fallacy of such trials was not altogether undetected; in one case at least we find the Sabha Naik objecting to the demand of a *rava* (drawing out a piece of metal from heated oil) on the ground that when reliable evidence was available, an ordeal should not be permitted. Fire ordeal was in fact very seldom resorted to in ordinary cases.
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¹⁶ Tritiya Sammelan Vritta, p. 44.
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Ordeals with boiling water and with burning lamps are also mentioned. In the latter case truth was supposed to be indicated by the period of burning. When an oath in a temple or mosque was taken, a period was fixed within which divine intervention was expected to take place. If the man lied, some illness or other mishap was expected to befall him or his family; but if he was left undisturbed, it was believed that his assertion had been corroborated by the god of the temple. On one occasion a man took an oath on the feet of Shahu Chhatrapati, and as fate would have it, died of cholera within a month.¹⁷ "Then Bhikaji Harpala said that the Maharaja's feet were the Krishna to him and he would take an oath on his (Raja's) feet. Accordingly he swore that the watan in the aforesaid Mauja belonged to him and that Kamthe was a Thalvaik (Mirasi) peasant. Within a day or two of this oath Bhikaji Gaikwad got cholera, he had to be carried back to the village on the back of a bullock and there he died after a month in consequence of that false oath taken on his behalf."
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¹⁷ P. D. Vol, I, p. 168.
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Boundary disputes between two villages were often settled by ordeal. One of the Patils walked on the right boundary with a cow's hide on the head; here also a fixed period was allowed to elapse for the manifestation of divine confirmation. But the Patil had afterwards to undergo a Prayashchitta for defiling his body.¹⁸ 13. *Nivad patra and Watan patra:*
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¹⁸ P. D. Vol, 1, p. 131-133. For another ordeal to settle such disputes see P. D. Vol. VII, p. 65.
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At the conclusion of the case a *nivad patra* or a *watan patra* was given to the winners in the Peshwa's name—for all judicial measures were taken in his name. The winner was allowed to take away the original, but a true copy was always kept in the Peshwa's Daftar. These copies were sometimes useful in testing the genuineness of the old records. In a dispute regarding a Deshmukhi watan in 1792-93 an old document of doubtful character was produced. The seals affixed on it had become indistinct and unreadable. It was then compared with old documents of similar dates and with similar seals and its authenticity was proved beyond doubt.¹⁹
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¹⁹ P. D., Vol. VIII, p. 69.
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Elphinstone says that generally great favour was shown to men of rank. In all countries, in all ages, men of wealth and influence have for all practical purposes defied law with more or less impunity.²⁰ It does not seem that in Maratha countries they enjoyed any unusual advantage.
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²⁰ That things were not much better in this respect at Bombay during the Governorship of Elphinstone can be proved by the interesting revelation made in the Journal of Lady West. I quote here only one extract: "Aug. 24 (1823), Mr. G. has the natives flogged without any examination, trial or usual formality. A friend sends a note to him and says pray flog the bearer and it is done." For other instances of high-handedness see *Bombay in the days of George IV*, ed. Drewitt, Longman, 1907.
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In the 11th volume of his Sources of Maratha History, Mr. V. K. Rajwade has published a long but incomplete account of a suit about the inheritance to the property of the Chaskar family. The Chaskars were near relations of the Peshwa (1779 A. D.) and the case was brought before the celebrated Nyayadhish Ram Shastri.
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The procedure was, of course, informal, but that was not because the parties concerned were near relatives of the Peshwa. Even the procedure of village Panchayets were extremely informal. Sometimes Ram Shastri was interviewed in his own house in private. Sometimes he consulted a common friend of the disputants; but on the whole he conducted the business with firmness and with an attitude of strict justice. In fact Ram Shastri was not the person to deviate from the path of justice for the sake of any man in the world. And Ram Shastri was not the only Nyayadhish famous for uprightness in Maratha History. European observers cared more for form and procedure and hard and fast rules. The absence of these led them to pass sweeping remarks on the judicial system of the Marathas. Even an acute observer like Elphinstone could not rise above this ordinary prejudice. Not that the rich and powerful could not buy justice sometimes, but that was by no means the general rule; we find high officials punished for misdemeanours, and their watans and inams attached for liquidation of debts. Powerful Sardars, however, could not be brought under law. This was the bane of feudalism, till then prevailing in European countries too. So far as the European critics of the Maratha system are concerned, it was a difference of ideals more than anything else that shocked them so much.