[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928) › c5.26 # The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c5.26 The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c5.26 - **Language:** English ### [c5.26](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c5.26) His first steps were naturally cautious and circumspect. He started operations with a small force attached to his father’s \*jahgir\*, which probably needed few officers. But as soon as this force was augmented by the addition of Sambhaji Mohite’s cavalry¹ a Sarnobat or commander-in-chief was appointed. During the Sarnobatship of Mankoji Dahatonde the strength of the army was 3,000 and by 1659, if we can believe Krishnaji Anant Sabhasad, Shivaji was in a position to bring ten thousand cavalry and ten thousand Mawle infantry into the field. In this army the Silhedars did not preponderate although at first Shivaji had to depend mainly on these free-lances. Of the three thousand horsemen under Mankoji Dahatonde, fully two thousand were Silhedars; but by 1659 the strength of the paga or regular cavalry had risen to seven thousand, while the Silhedars numbered only three thousand.² In other words the numerical proportion of the Silhedar had fallen from 66 % to 33 % of the whole cavalry force available for service. This feature of the Maratha army did not escape the notice of the Muslim historians. Khafi Khan writes: ‘It is said that Sivaji got together some ten or twelve thousand of Kachh and Arab horses, so that when he sent out an army most of the horsemen were bargirs, i.e., they rode horses belonging to him’. ³ Bhimsen, who served under Dalpat Rai, a Bundela chief, informs us that Shivaji employed Silhedars, ‘but the Mahrattas, who had most pay, were bargirs.’⁴ Krishnaji Anant Sabhasad is more positive in his statement: ‘The strength of the paga (regular cavalry) was rendered superior (to that of the Silhedar). The Silhedars were placed under the jurisdiction of the paga.’⁵ It is needless to point out that the numerical superiority of the regular cavalry over the irregular Silhedar horse contributed to better discipline in Shivaji’s army. But he did not stop here. A born military leader, he recognised early the supreme need of unity of command in the battle-field and this he attained by establishing a regular cadre of officers both for the infantry and for the cavalry. - [Previous: c5.25](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c5.25) - [Next: c5.27](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c5.27) - [Up: c5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c5) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c5.26](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.sen-1928.c5.26) · Pramāṇa