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Administrative System of the Marathas c8.s5: 6. Secretaries

Administrative System of the Marathas c8.s5

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6. Secretaries

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Outside the council but in no way inferior to the eight ministers was the Chitnis or Secretary. Just below the pradhans had stood Bal Prabhu Chitnis, and Nil Prabhu Parasnis,⁴⁹ at the time of Shivaji's coronation. The Private Secretary of an autocratic king naturally enjoys great influence and is a power behind the throne. Balaji Avji, Shivaji's chitnis was a man of exceptional ability. Not only did he perform the ordinary duties of his office, but he had been further entrusted with the exceedingly delicate task of taking down the behests of the great goddess Bhavani communicated through Shivaji's mouth.⁴¹ It is said that Shivaji had actually offered him a seat in the council, but the modesty of the great Prabhu statesman stood in his way.⁴² The duties of his office are thus enumerated by Malhar Ram Rao Chitnis. "The Chitnis Patra-lekhak will write all royal letters and diplomatic correspondence. Divining what is in the king's heart he should at once cleverly put it into writing discussing the various aspects of the case. He should write in such a manner that what is generally accomplished by war and great exertion, should be achieved by means of letters only. He should write answers to the letters that may come."⁴³ In the memorandum published by Rao Bahadur Sane we come across the following entry under Chitnis: "He should write all official letters and papers of the State. He should write answers to diplomatic letters.

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⁴⁹ Sabhasad, p. 84; Chitnis, p. 162. Sen, Sivachhatrapati, p. 117.

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⁴¹ Sabhasad, Chitnis, Chitragupta and all old chroniclers tell us that whenever Shivaji had to face any exceptional difficulty, the goddess Bhavani used to take possession of his body and tell him what he should do. As the king lay unconscious all the time, the behest of the deity was taken down by Balaji Avji. See also History of the Maratha People by Kincaid and Parasnis.

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⁴² Chitnis, p. 170.

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⁴³ Chitnis, p. 168.

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Sanads, deeds of grant and other orders to be issued (to the officers in the districts) should be written according to the regulations framed for the Fadnis's papers. On hand notes and letters of special importance there should be a seal or the king's signature only, and no seal of the other officers. The Chitnis alone should put his sign.⁴⁴ Such were the duties that the Chitnis had to perform.

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⁴⁴ Sane, P. Y. B, p. 358.

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Although in the above regulations the Chitnis is required to write all correspondence and draw up all state documents, in practice he was to a considerable extent relieved by others. Chitragupta tells us that the Fadnis alone and no other official could issue deeds of royal grant. All letters to the provincial and district officers were written by the Chitnis, while answers to the letters from commanders of forts had to be written by an officer called Gadnis. Letters to foreign courts were sent from the Dabir's office, and the Parasnis had to carry on all correspondence with the Emperor of Delhi, his wajir and Muhammadan potentates.⁴⁵

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⁴⁵ Chitragupta Bakhar (in the Kavyetihas Sangraha), pp. 104-106.

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Chitragupta was not a contemporary of Shivaji. Mr. V. K. Rajwade has described his work as a mere elaboration of Sabhasad's chronicle. We do not get a complete list of the Chitnis's official duties in Chitragupta. This want,⁴⁵ however, has fortunately been removed by a jabta of the first year of the coronation era. In that document the Fadnis also has been mentioned with the Chitnis in their official relation. A subordinate secretariat officer of no great importance in Shivaji's time, the Fadnis rose to great power and authority during the Peshwa regime. The Potnis was responsible for the account of income and expenditure of the metropolitan treasury, while the Potdar was only an assay officer. The eight pradhans had under them, besides their staff, the officers in charge of the eighteen *karkhanas* and twelve *mahals*. What precisely their duties were we do not know. The eighteen *karkhanas* and the twelve *mahals* were as follows :⁴⁶

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⁴⁵ For the jabta see Appendix.

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⁴⁶ The eighteen Karkhanas are referred to in the *Peshwanchi Bakhar* (p. 80) but the names given by Rao Bahadur Sane in the footnote are somewhat different.

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*The Eighteen Karkhanas :*⁴⁷

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⁴⁷ It should be noted that Chitnis's division of these departments is not exactly similar; for instance Jamdar Khana is placed by him under the heading mahal. For his list see Chitnis, pp 75-76 and Appendix B

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1. Khajina ... Cash
2. Jawahirkhana ... Jewel store
3. Ambar Khana ... Granary
4. Sharbat Khana ... Medicines
5. Toph Khana ... Artillery
6. Daftar Khana ... Record Department 7. Jamdar Khana ... Public treasury containing all sorts of things.⁴⁸
8. Jirat Khana ... Corn Depot, according to Molesworth, Armoury, according to R. V. Kosh.
9. Mutbak Khana ... Kitchen
10. Ushtar Khana ... Camels and their trappings.
11. Nagar Khana ... Band
12. Talim Khana ... Gymnasium⁴⁹
13. Pil Khana ... Elephant shades, etc.
14. Faras Khana ... Carpets, tents and accessories.
15. Abdar Khana ... Drink
16. Shikar Khana ... Game, aviary, chase and allied materials.

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⁴⁸ Jamdar Khana was Vastragar or royal wardrobe according to the Raj Vyavahar Kosh, p. 6.

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⁴⁹ Prof. Sarkar translates talimkhana as school (Mughal Administration, 2nd edition, p 194), and adds that in Firuz Shah's time it was called ilimkhana. I have, however, relied on the Raj Vyavahar Kosh. Raghunath Pandit, the Lexicographer, had a firsthand knowledge of these Karkhanas and he translated talimkhana as mallashala (p. 13) and the word is mentioned under the heading Shastra Vargah. The Marathi historian, referred to by Prof. Sarkar, is therefore perfectly right when he calls it a wrestling school. The Marathas did not blindly copy the Muslim institutions, though Shivaji was quite willing to borrow good institutions from all his neighbours. For instance Shivaji's daru-khana had no Muhammadan prototype (Sarkar, Mughal Administration, p 193) but the word is a literal translation of the Portuguese word casa de polvora, and Shivaji knew that he was not bringing a new thing into existence when in addition to Topkhana he decided to have a darukhana as well.

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17. Daru Khana ... Magazine
18. Shahat Khana ... Conservancy Department.

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*The Twelve Mahals :*

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1. Pote ... Treasury
2. Saudagir ... Merchandise
3. Palkhi ... Palanquins
4. Kothi ... Warehouse and granaries.
5. Imarat ... Building
6. Bahili ... Chariots
7. Paga ... Stables
8. Seri ... Comforts
9. Daruni ... The Zenana
10. Thatti ... Cowsheds
11. Tanksal ... Mints
12. Sabina ... Guards⁵⁰

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⁵⁰ Sabhasad, pp. 94-95.

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It is clear from the name of the departments that most of these officers were concerned more with the king's household than with any work of imperial or public interest. A few of them, on the other hand, like those in charge of the artillery, the mint, and the public treasury, fall under a different category. Shivaji's division of his government and household affairs into eighteen karkhanas and twelve mahals was, therefore, not a scientific one. But we cannot expect from a man surrounded on all sides by enemies, and ever engaged in a war of defence as well as of conquest, a scientific division of departments on modern lines. He had evidently copied from the existing system and found little leisure in his eventful career to improve upon it.

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In his departmental duties each of the eight pradhans was assisted by a staff of eight clerks. They were :

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1. The Dewan.
2. The Mazumdar or Auditor and Accountant.
3. The Fadnis or Deputy Auditor.
4. The Sabnis or the Daftardar.
5. The Karkhanis or Commissary.
6. The Chitnis or Correspondence Clerk.
7. The Jamdar or Treasurer.
8. The Potnis or Cash-Keeper.¹

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¹ Grant Duff, Vol. I, p. 191.

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