Administrative System of the Marathas c27.s3.18

c27.s3.18

The Marathas were no rivals of the Mughals in their literary achievements, and their language did not permit the flowery style and pompous grandiloquence for which Persian literature is famous. It will be therefore futile to expect that the terms of a Marathi appointment letter should in every detail and word for word tally with the revenue regulations quoted above. The Marathi document is terse, succinct and brief and lacks the preamble and the ornate style of a Mughal *farman*, but a close comparison of the two leaves no doubt that the one was inspired by the other so far as the general revenue principles were concerned. In the appointment letter of Lakshman Bhikaji, Mamlatdar of Wan and Dindori, for instance, we find the following instructions laid down for his guidance: