The administration of his kingdom was done by Shivaji according to the ancient Kshatriya states. Ashta-Pradhan was appointed to conduct the state business. All the work of the state was divided among these eight princes
(1.) Peshwa:The head administrator of the state was called Peshwa. Shivaji appointed Moropant Pinghale to this post.
(2.) Majimdar:This minister was responsible for checking the state's economy and income and expenditure etc. On this voice Sondev was appointed.
(3.) Surnis:This minister was responsible for the management of state correspondence and treaties. Annaji Datto was appointed on this.
(4.) Vaknis:This minister was responsible for protecting the accounts, records etc. of the state.
(5.) Sarnavat:A separate Sarnavat was appointed for infantry and cavalry in the state. Yashji Kank was appointed as the Sarnavat of the infantry and Prataprao Gujar was appointed as the Sarnavat of the cavalry.
(6.) Durbar or Foreign Minister:This minister had the responsibility of befriending and dealing with the kings, ministers and officials of other states etc. Somnath Pant was given this responsibility.
(7.) Judge:This minister was responsible for resolving the disputes and disputes of the people of the state. On this Neeraji Rao and Gomaji Nayak were appointed.
(8.) Jurisprudence:This officer was responsible for the judicial system of the state. Simbha was first appointed to this post and later Raghunath Pant was appointed.
Management of Districts and Departments
Eight officers were appointed for the administration of each district and each department-
(1.) Karwari Diwan or Muttaliq
(2.) Majimdar (Accountant)
(3.) Furnis or Farnavis (Assistant Accounts Officer)
(4.) Savnis (Clerk)
(5.) Karkanis (Inspector of food stores)
(6.) Chitnis (letter writer)
(7.) Jamadar (Paying Cashier)
(8.) Potneez (cashier who collects cash)
Shivaji appointed a member of the Punde family of Chamargunda as his treasurer. Its paternal grandfather Maloji had accumulated the God-given property of Shahaji before the marriage of Shivaji's father Shahaji.
Arrangement of Forts
Arrangements were made to punish the criminals according to their crime. Grants were arranged by the state for temples, poor, widows and destitute people. In the governance system, great emphasis was laid on discipline. It was mandatory for every subordinate employee to obey the orders of his superior. In each fort, a fort, a scribe, a storekeeper, an inspector and a servant were appointed. Brahmins were often appointed on the post of head scribe.
Land revenue i.e. rent
Shivaji took many steps for the advancement of agriculture in his kingdom and made certain rules for village panchayats. There was no vassal between the peasants and the king. They used to pay rent directly to the state servants. The rent system was fixed at the time of Dada Kondev. Government rent was 40 per cent of the total produce. Deshmukh, Deshpande, Patel, Khot and Kulkarni were appointed for the protection of the farmers. Shivaji himself kept a close watch on these officers so that they would not harass the farmers.
State Intelligence System
Detectives were a major contributor to Shivaji's military successes. Therefore Shivaji paid full attention to the intelligence system of the state. Beharji, Shivaji's personal spy, was proficient in collecting secret information. Army officers also had spies who used to collect secret information to make the military operation successful.
Shivaji's Army
There were two types of soldiers in Shivaji's army – foot and cavalry. Most of the foot soldiers came from the Ghatmatha region and from the Konkan region. The soldiers of Ghatmatha were called Mavli and the soldiers of Konkan were called Hathkuri. These soldiers brought swords, shields and arrows with them. They were given ammunition, ammunition and guns from the state. There was one hero for every 10 soldiers. Every 5 Nayaks had a Hawaldar. There was a Jumaldar for every two Hawaldars. Every 10 Jumaldars were called Hazaris. Except the commander, no officer was above five-thousand. Shivaji's army consisted of two generals - one for the cavalry and the other for the infantry. Below the commander was a soldier from five thousand to the lowest.
The Jumla, that is, from the officer of a group of 100 soldiers to the commander and the subedar, there was essentially a news writer, an insider and a secret informer. The soldiers used to wear tight pyjamas, briefs, turban and a cloth around the waist. These clothes were tight and made of cotton shavings.
Rules for army and soldiers
There was a complete ban on plundering and persecuting women, cows, farmers, children and poor Muslims during the plundering in the war campaigns carried out by Shivaji's army. There was a rule to deposit the loot material in the state treasury. If a soldier used to keep the loot, then strict action was taken against him. Shivaji implemented the system of paying salaries to the army on time and made rules for promotion and rewards. The festival of Dussehra started being organized with enthusiasm and pomp in the state. On this occasion the army and horses were inspected. Good soldiers were given agricultural land without tax.
Salary to soldiers
Shivaji made rules regarding salary for the army. Mavli soldiers used to join the army only to get food, but in general, infantrymen got 1 to 3 pagodas, Wargir soldiers got 2 to 5 pagodas and Seldar soldiers got 6 to 12 pagodas. The value of a pagoda was equal to one rupee. 7 pagodas were given to the Jumaldar of the infantry and about 20 pagodas to the Jumaldars of the cavalry, 50 pagodas to the Subedar of the riders and 200 pagodas to Panch Hazari, a palanquin and Khidmatdar.
Establishment of Marine Fleet
Shivaji built a strong maritime fleet and formed a powerful navy to protect his ports in Konkan. He equipped five hundred ships with weapons and soldiers and appointed two chiefs of the Navy named Dayasagar and Mayanak Bhandari. Shivaji kept his navy in a port called Kulba. Also kept some ships in Suvarna Durg and Vijay Durg. Shivaji benefited from this army on many fronts. On the strength of this army, he controlled the naval armies of the French, British, Portuguese and Abyssinians. During this period, even the Mughals did not have such a large navy as Shivaji had. Spices, grains, cotton, sandalwood etc. were traded from the ports owned by Shivaji to distant countries, which earned Shivaji a good income. The Portuguese made a treaty with Shivaji, according to which Shivaji was never to plunder the Portuguese territory. In return, the Portuguese provided artillery and gunpowder to Shivaji's navy.