had himself crowned. After the coronation,
Maharaj accomplished ‘Dakshin Digvijay’,
the conquest of the South. The Swaraj
expanded comprising large areas of Nashik,
Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Sindhudurg,
Ratnagiri, Raigad and Thane districts of
Maharashtra. It also included parts Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu States. To ensure
the smooth management of the affairs of
the Swaraj and to ensure people’s welfare,
Shivaji Maharaj set up an efficient
administration. We shall get some
information about it in this chapter.
Ashtapradhan Mandal (Council of
Eight Ministers) : At the time of his
coronation, Shivaji Maharaj appointed a
council of eight ministers. The
administration was divided into eight
departments. A Head was appointed for
each department. These eight Heads of
department constituted the Ashtapradhan
Mandal. Maharaj alone had the power to
appoint a minister or to remove him from
his position. The ministers were answerable
to Maharaj for the administration of their
respective departments.
Shivaji Maharaj selected the Council
on the basis of their merit and
achievements. He did not give them
jagirs, vatans or gifts or fiefs. They were
paid handsome salaries instead.
The policy regarding agriculture :
Agriculture was the main occupation in
villages. Maharaj knew the importance of
agriculture. That was why he paid attention
to the welfare of farmers. He entrusted the
responsibility of organizing the land
revenue system to his capable and
experienced office bearer Annaji Datto. He
warned the officers that they should not
collect more revenue than the amount that
was fixed. He encouraged peasants to
bring uncultivated land under cultivation.
If the crop was lost due to excessive rains
or drought, or if an enemy army had
devasted the area of the village, remissions
were granted in land revenue and other
taxes. Maharaj had instructed his officers
to provide peasants with bullocks, ploughs
and good seeds for sowing.
Village economy of that period:
Agriculture was the backbone of the rural
economy. In villages, many occupations
developed to supplement agriculture.
Artisans in the village produced goods
and fulfilled the needs of the local people.
In this sense, a village was a
self-sufficient unit. Farmers gave a definite
share from their produce to artisans. This
share was called ‘Baluta’.
Trade and business : Maharaj knew
that a kingdom does not prosper without
an increase in trade. Merchants bring
novel goods as also certain necessities
into a kingdom. Goods become available
in plenty. Trade prospers adding to wealth.
The view that Maharaj took of merchants
is seen in the Ajnyapatra where merchants
are described as follows: ‘Merchants are
the ornaments of the kingdom and the
glory of the king.’
It was the policy of Maharaj to protect
industries. An excellent example of this is
the salt industry. He protected the salt
industry in Konkan. At that time, traders
imported salt from the Portuguese territory
and sold in Swaraj. That affected the local
trade in Konkon areas. So, Maharaj
charged heavy duty on the salt imported
into Swaraj from the Portuguese territory.
The intention was that the salt imported
from the Portuguese territory would then
cost more and as a result, its import would
decrease and the sale of the local salt
would increase.
The Military Organisation : There
were two main divisions of the army of
Shivaji Maharaj : infantry and cavalry.
In the infantry there were officers such
as the Havaldar, Jumledar, etc. The chief
of the infantry was called Sarnobat. He
was the highest officer in the infantry.
In the cavalry, there were two types
of cavalrymen, namely Shiledars and
Bargirs. The Shiledar had his own horse
and weapons. The bargir was provided
with a horse and weapons by the State.
In the cavalry, bargirs were more in
number. The ranks of the cavalry officers
were similar to those of the infantry
officers. The highest officer in the cavalry
was the Sarnobat. Netoji Palkar, Prataprao
Gujar, Hambirrao Mohite were some of
the famous Sarnobats of the cavalry.
Obtain information about the
Armed Forces of India.
State the names of the three Armed
Forces.
What is the designation of the head
of each Force ?
Who is the Head of all the three
Forces ?
Intelligence Department : It was
necessary to protect the Swaraj from its
enemies. For this, it was necessary to get
precise and timely information about the
movements of the enemy. It was the job
of the intelligence department to obtain
information about the movements of the
enemies and submit it to Maharaj. The
intelligence service of Maharaj was very
efficient. Bahirji Naik was the Head of
the intelligence department. He was
extremely skilled in his job. He collected
accurate and detailed information about
Surat before the raid on Surat.
Forts : Forts were of great importance
in the medieval age. Possession of a fort
made it possible to keep an eye on the
surrounding area. In case of foreign
invasion it was possible to protect the
people taking shelter in the fort. It was
le to stock the fort with foodgrains,
war materials, ammunition and military
garrison. The importance of forts in the
foundation of Swaraj is well stated in
the Ajnyapatra : ‘This kingdom was
created by the late revered and exalted
Majesty forts alone.’
There were about 300 forts in the
Swaraj. Maharaj spent a considerable
amount of money on the building and
repairs of these forts. He built hill forts
like Pratapgad, Pavangad and Rajgad.
There was a Killedar, a Sabnis and a
Karkhanis on every fort. The Karkhanis
looked after the storage of foodgrains and
the maintenance of war material on the
fort.
Sea forts : Maharaj knew the
importance of sea forts, too. One of the
sea forts that he built was Sindhudurga
at Malwan. It is an excellent sea fort. To
give strength to the construction of the
fort, five khandis of lead was poured into
its foundation. A sea fort called
Padmadurga was built in front of Rajapuri
in order to counter the Siddi power. About
this fort, Maharaj has said in a letter that
by constructing Padmadurga, he had set
up ‘another Rajapuri to overshadow the
Rajapuri of the Siddi.’
Navy : Enemies on the west coast of
India, the Portuguese of Goa, the Siddi
of Janjira and the British factors of Surat
and Rajapur, created obstacles in the
work of expanding the Swaraj. It was
necessary to curb their activities and to
protect the west coast. For this purpose,
Maharaj raised a navy. He realised that
the one who has a navy, controls the sea
Maharaj had great foresight.There were four hundred ships of
various kinds in his navy. They included
battle ships like the gurab, galbat and
pal. Ships were built in the creek of
Kalyan Bhivandi, Vijaydurga and Malvan
Maynak Bhandari and Daulatkhan were
the chief naval Commanders.
Concern for the welfare of his
subjects : Maharaj did not work only
with the limited ambition of conquering
enemy territories and establishing
dominance like other things. His main objective was to make his subjects
independent. He was aware that if his
subjects were to really get the joy of
freedom, it was necessary to have a
disciplined administration, take
comprehensive care of people’s welfare
and protect the conquered territories.
Maharaj was not merely a ruler, he
was a watchful administrator who cared
for his people’s welfare. This is clearly
seen in his administration of the State.
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