The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c7.68

c7.68

in Holkar’s army the Pendharis¹ preponderated over the paid mercenaries; and in Sindhia’s forces there were more Purvias than Maratha soldiers.² They were bound by no common ideals or common interests and were utterly ruthless in their methods. It was these non-Maratha mercenaries who made the Maratha name dreaded and hated throughout the length and the breadth of the Indian sub-continent. Briefly, then, it may be said that Shivaji had organised a national army; in Rajaram’s time the army was feudalised; and it was left to Balaji Baji Rao to denationalise it. This denationalisation with its consequent demoralisation inevitably led to the final overthrow of the Maratha empire. Feudalism in itself was bad, but the employment of foreign mercenaries was, as we shall see, even more disastrous.