Ashta Pradhan Mandal of Maratha Kingdom

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a great administrator. He looked after the welfare of the people. Shivaji Maharaja formalized the institution of a council of 8 ministers called Ashta Pradhan Mandal.

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The Ashta Pradhan was designed to encompass all the primary administrative functions of the state, with each minister being given charge of one role in the administration. Ministerial designations were drawn from the Sanskrit language; the eight ministerial roles were as follows:

Peshwa - Prime Minister of the Empire. Moropant Trimbak Pingle was first Peshwa appointed by Shivaji.

Amatya - Finance Minister, managing accounts of the Empire. In 1674, the post Mujumdar was renamed as Amatya and the title was solely bestowed Ramchandra Pant Amatya.

Sacheev - Secretary, In 1662 Annaji Datto was appointed as Sacheev

Navis - Internal affairs minister, managing internal affairs especially intelligence and espionage.

Senapati - Commander-in-Chief, managing the forces and defense of the Empire.

Netaji Palkar was appointed as the first Senapati.

Sumant - Foreign Minister, to manage relationships with other sovereigns. First sumant was Sonopant Vishwanath. After Sonopant, his son Traymbak Sono was appointed as Sumant.

Nyayadhish - Chief Justice, dispensing justice on civil and criminal matters. The post of Nyayadish was bestowed on Niraji Ravaji.

Panditrao - Highest Priest, managing internal religious matters. Looks after to religous bodies. Raghunath Panditrao was given this post.

These posts were awarded to people who were handpicked on the basis of their capabilities, loyalty to empire.

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