The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c12.21

c12.21

Like Shahu the Peshwas were accompanied in all their expeditions by a staff of civilian officers, and the ordinary works of administration were punctually attended to in the camp. Civil and criminal justice was daily administered, petitions were regularly heard and audience was granted to the poorest man who might seek it. The camp was provided with all the necessities, with all the conveniences, with all the comforts of life then known in India. The days of Shivaji were forgotten. The Peshwas and their chiefs emulated the splendours of the Muhammadan nobility of the North, and this new taste for comfort and ease led to the slackening of the rigid discipline Shivaji had insisted on.