Administrative System of the Marathas c8.s3.7

c8.s3.7

When this council was first organised, we do not precisely know. At the time of the coronation the eight¹³ 'pradhans' (ministers) had stood on either side of the throne to pour holy water from gold and silver jars and basins, over the king's head.¹⁴ Malhar Ram Rao Chitnis tells us that it was then that the council came into being.¹⁵ These offices, however, were by no means new. Though the Mukhya Pradhan, the Amatya, the Mantri, the Sumanta, the Sachiv and the Senapati were unknown, people were quite familiar with the Peshwa, the Mazumdar, the Waknis, the Dabir, the Surnis, and the Sarnobat. What Shivaji did, was to retain the old posts with new Sanskrit designations. But whether these new designations meant any new power or new responsibility, is not certain. It is, however, significant that an official paper (kanujabta) was drawn in the first year of the *Abhisheka* era to enumerate the duties of the eight Councillors (pradhans) and other heads of departments.¹⁶ But it is quite possible that this paper was drawn up simply to enforce a stricter method in the existing organisation. Sabhasad tells us that the following officers had enjoyed the privilege of taking part in the coronation ceremony as members of the Ashta Pradhan council: