Administrative System of the Marathas c23.s7.1

c23.s7.1

Let us now turn to our main enquiry, the antiquity of the official duties, as well as the rights and perquisites of these village officers. The Patil, in the Maratha days, was the revenue officer, the chief Police Magistrate, and he united in himself the functions of the chief judicial officer as well. Dr. Majumdar says,¹⁴ “Thus we learn from Kharassara Jataka¹⁵ that it was the duty of the headman (Gamabhojaka) to collect revenue, and with the help of local men to secure the village against the inroads of robbers.” The Patil had also inherited his judicial authority from his predecessor of the ancient Indian villages. “The judicial powers of the headman (Gamabhojaka),” says the same writer, “are referred to in the Jataka stories ***There is no express mention in the Jataka stories that he excercised them in conjunction with the villagers. The Kulavaka Jataka seems to show that such was the case at least in some villages."¹⁶ The old Hindu lawgivers are not altogether silent about this important function of the village headman. Vishnu certainly refers to his judicial authority when he says, "If any offence has been committed in a village, let the lord of that village suppress the evil, and give redress to those that have been wronged."¹⁷