Administrative System of the Marathas c7.s3.1

c7.s3.1

Both Hindu and Muhammadan writers must have written a good deal about the wonderful career of Shivaji in Persian. There are moreover very important letters, so far as political history is concerned, written by Jai Singh and other officers of Aurangzib from the Deccan. Whether these make any incidental reference to Shivaji's administrative system is yet to be investigated. This source, however, promises to be fruitful in more than one way. For the present, I have to be satisfied with such imperfect English translation as we get in Scott's Ferishta, Vol. II. and still more inaccurate and fragmentary translation as has been given by Elliot and Dowson in their History of India. Of the authors selected there the most important is Khafi Khan, but there is very little in his work to help us in our study of the administrative system of the Marathas.