The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c5.85

c5.85

But the new ideal died with Shivaji. His successors were impelled by other motives and guided by other principles. There was a sure but not a slow reversion to the ancestral type, and feudal institutions were revived on a larger scale and with renewed vigour. The effect was disastrous; the common ideal was lost sight of and with it disappeared for ever unity of purpose. As its former ideal grew dim, the once notable discipline of the army degenerated, and in the end the only feature common to the military excursions of Shivaji and Balaji Baji Rao was the collection of *Chauth*.