The main features of the Maratha administration:
Maratha administration was divided into central, provincial and local administrations.
1. Central Administration:
(i) The king was at the centre of the administration. The administration was divided into eight departments each headed by ministers. These ministers were sometimes called Ashta pradhan.
(ii) Ashta pradhan comprised: (a) Peshwa who looked after the finances and general administration. (b) Sar-i-Naubat who was the Senapati. (c) Majumdar looked after the accounts. (d) Waqia navis looked after the intelligence, post and household affairs (e) Surnavis or Chitnis looked after official correspondence (f) Dabir looked after foreign affairs (g) Nyayadhish looked after justice and (h) Pandit Rao looked after ecclesiastical affairs.
(iii) Except Pandit Rao and Nyayadhish all the members of the ashta pradhan were asked to lead military campaigns. These offices were neither hereditary nor permanent. They held the office at the pleasure of the king.
(iv) Each of the ashta pradhan was assisted by eight assistants-Diwan, Majumdar, Fadnis, Sabuis, Karkhanis, Chitnis, Jamadar and Potnis.
(v) Chitnis dealt with all diplomatic correspondences and wrote all royal letters. The Fadnis used to respond to the letters of commanders of the forts. The Potnis looked after the income and expenditure of the royal treasury.
2. Provincial and Local Administrations:
(i) All the provincial units were already existing under the Deccani rulers. Shivaji reorganised and in certain cases renamed them. The provinces were known as Prants. The Prants were under the charge of subedar. Over a number of Subedar there were Sarsubedar to control and supervise the work of subedar.
(ii) Smaller than parent were tarfs which were headed by a havaldar. Then there were Mauzas or villages which were the lowest unit of administration.
(iii) At the village level, Kulkarni used to keep accounts and maintain records while Patil had legal and policing power. At the level of Pargana, Deshpande used to keep account and maintain records while Deshmuksh had legal and policing powers.
(iv) The police officer in the rural area was called Faujdar and in the urban area was called Kotwal.
(v) The Maratha polity did not have a unified civilian-cum-military rank. Under the Marathas, performance based Brahmin elites manned the central bureaucracy and the local administration. In this capacity they were called Kamvishdar who enjoyed wide powers of tax assessment and collection. They adjudicated cases, provided information about local conditions and kept records.
