A History of Agriculture in India v2.c86.s1: The Marathas
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c86.s1
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The Marathas
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The bulk of the Marathas were Shudras with an infusion of Rajput blood in certain castes. No other historian had better insight into the character of the Marathas than Elphinstone, who was the British Resident at Poona in 1811 and Governor of Bombay from 1819 to 1827. ‘Though the Marathas had never appeared in history as a nation, they had as strong marked a character as if they had always formed a united commonwealth,’ observed Elphinstone. ‘They are small sturdy men, well made, though not handsome. They are all active, laborious, hardy, and persevering. If they have none of the pride and dignity of the Rajputs, they have none of their indolence or their want of worldly wisdom. A Rajput warrior, as long as he does not dishonour his race, seems almost indifferent to the result of any contest he is engaged in. A Maratha thinks of nothing but the result, and cares little for the means, if he can attain his object. For this purpose he will strain his wits, renounce his pleasures, and hazard his person; but he has not a conception of sacrificing his life, or even his interest, for a point of honour. The Rajput is the most worthy antagonist—the Maratha, the most formidable enemy; for he will not fail in boldness and enterprise when they are indispensable, and will always support them, or supply their place, by stratagem, activity, and perseverance. All this applies chiefly to the soldiery. The mere husbandmen are sober, frugal, and industrious.²
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² Elphinstone, Hon. M. *The History of India—the Hindu and Mahometan Periods*, pp. 616, 617
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Sardesai, the Maratha historian, observes: ‘The Marathas as a people doubtless possessed in their vein high blood and noble tradition derived through ages from their royal ancestors such as the Mauryas, the Rashtrakutas, the Chalukyas and the Yadavas, not to mention the more recent additions to the original stock by the arrivals from time to time of north Indian Rajput tribes such as the Paramarsa (the present day Pawars), the Solankis, the Bhosles, the Ghorpades, the Mohites, the Mahadiks, the Gujars, the Shirkes, the Sawants, the Ghatges, the Manes, the Dafles, the various Deshmukhs of the Mawals, several of who adopted new surnames, in some cases from the places they occupied in the Deccan and from other sources. The Nimbalkars of Phaltan, for instance, are indeed the Paramars of Dhar, who after being expelled by Muslim conquerors from their habitation in Malwa, at first took their residence at Nimbalak in the Deccan and received their present name from that village. The Bhosles similarly are believed to have migrated from Rajputana and settled near Verul in the vicinity of Daulatabad. Sivaji's mother came from the Jadhao family, doubtless descendants of the ruling Yadavas of Deogiri, who continued to drag on a subdued existence in the region once ruled by their royal ancestors. The Ghorpades are indeed a branch of the Bhosles who acquired that surname from one of their ancestors capturing a fort by climbing up a rampart on a rope tied to an aguana (i.e. ghorpad). The several Deshmukhs of the Mawal valleys such as the Jedhes, the Bandals, the Khopdes, the Pasalkars, the Silimkars and so on, acquired their present surnames when they came into and colonized those regions west of Poona, and figured prominently as early associates of Sivaji.⁸
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⁸ Sardesai, Govind Sakharam. *New History of the Marathas*, Vol. I, *Shivaji and His Line*, 1600-1707, pp. 35-37
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The intellectual elite of the Marathas were Chitpawan Brahmans of the Konkan. The Peshwas, the Prime Ministers of Maratha rulers, were Chitpawan Brahmans. The first Peshwa was Balaji Viswanath. On his death in 1720, he was succeeded by his son Baji Rao, who in 1737 made an incursion into Delhi to intimidate the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah.
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Apart from providing Peshwas, the Brahmans also provided accountants. The accounts work was kept so intricate, that other castes could not penetrate their special preserve.
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Describing the food, dress, arms and method of warfare of the Marathas, Elphinstone states: 'Their usual food was a cake of millet, with perhaps an onion; their dress a small turban, tight breeches covering their thighs, and a scarf or sash rolled round their middle. When their body was not bare, it was covered by a light cotton tunic.
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'Their arms were a sword and a matchlock, but oftener a bamboo spear, thirteen or fourteen feet (4 to 4.3 m) long, the national weapon, which they used with extraordinary skill. Their horses were those of their own country, small, strong, and active, capable of enduring great fatigue, and taught to bound forward, or stop, or to wheel round when at full speed on the slightest pressure from their rider's leg. They had a pad for a saddle, with a blanket folded over it. When stationary, few except the chiefs had tents; and on their inroads, each man slept on the ground, with his spear struck by him and his bridle tied to his arm, ready to leap on horseback.
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'They would then form a compact body, to protect those which were carrying treasure; but with such a prize before them, the Marathas were irresistible: the party were generally obliged to take post; the Marathas cut off the communications, and perhaps even the water; and, at the end of a day or two, the Mughals were obliged to surrender; the men were stripped of their horses and their valuables, and the chiefs detained for a ransom.'⁴
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⁴ Elphinstone, Hon. M. *The History of India—the Hindu and Mahometan Periods*, pp. 660, 661