The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c9.17

c9.17

The system of appointing three officers in a fort was neither new nor unknown in Southern India, for it had been advocated, and probably practised by Muhammad Adilshah; but Shivaji went further. He definitely laid down that the Havaldar should be a Maratha of good family, the Sabnis should be a Brahman known to his personal staff, and the Karkhannis should be a Prabhu.² The Marathas were doubtless good soldiers and the Brahmans and the Prabhus were well versed in accounts and clerical work, but their professional proficiency alone does not explain Shivaji’s reasons for making military appointments on a caste basis; for good Brahman generals were not wanting in those days, and a Prabhu could very well be expected to perform the duties of a Sabnis as efficiently as those of a Karkhannis.³ Shivaji had clearly laid down that the three officers must be dissimilar in caste. This would at once minimise the chance of their joint action against the king and placate the three principal castes of Maharashtra by an equitable distribution of state patronage in a manner best suited to the peculiar genius and traditions of each. The Brahman was not well disposed towards the Prabhu, the Prabhu had no kindly feeling for the Brahman who had bitterly opposed his claims to Vedic rites, and a Maratha could be ordinarily expected to be more loyal to the king of his own caste than to his colleagues of superior castes. Thus Shivaji utilised the best abilities that the three castes could provide, at the same time that he exploited their dislikes and differences to his own advantage.