Administrative System of the Marathas c27.s15: 9. Pendharis
Administrative System of the Marathas c27.s15
- Language
- English
9. Pendharis
c27.s15.1
Before we take leave of the Maratha army let us take a passing notice of the Pendharis who accompanied it. Authorised thieves were known in ancient India, and they accompanied the Mughal forces also, to harass the enemy's country. Manucci says, "Along with the armies there march privileged and recognised thieves called Bederia (Bidari); these are the first to invade the enemy's territory, where they plunder every thing they find. The handsomest items are reserved for the general; the rest they sell on their own account. Prince Shah Alam, when he was within the territories of Shivaji, near Goa, had in his army seven thousand such, whose orders were to ravage the lands of Bardes because of my non-return, as I have stated in my Second Part."[23] Irvine remarks in a note that these Bidaris are sometimes confounded with the Pendharis. Such confusion or identification is not however absolutely unwarranted.[24] The Pendharis and the authorised thieves mentioned by Manucci shared several common characteristics. They accompanied a regular army to ravage and plunder the enemy's territories. The Pendharis paid a tax which amounted to 25 per cent. of their booty, while the Bidari reserved the choicest items for the general. It may be noted that the authorised thieves and robbers who accompanied the Maratha army were variously called the Pendharis and Lamans and in extreme south Bedars. It may not therefore be altogether unreasonable, though the objections of so great an authority as Irvine cannot be lightly rejected, to suppose that the Pendharis of the Peshwa army had their prototypes in the Bidari who followed the Mughal forces. It should be noted that it is not known whether Shivaji had, like the Peshwas, an auxiliary force of authorised robbers. Naturally the Peshwa army organised on the Mughal model shows more points in common with the Mughal army than does the earlier Maratha army that earned eternal fame under Shivaji's leadership.
c27.s15.2
²³ Manucci, ed. Irvine, Vol. II, p. 459.
c27.s15.3
²⁴ It is worth noticing that Sabhasad thinks that Diler Khan was accompanied by a body of Pendharis when he laid siege to Kondana. It is therefore clear that these Bidaris were known to their Maratha contemporaries as Pendharis. See Sen, Extracts and Documents, Vol. I, p. 52.
c27.s15.4
THE POLICE.