chauth cannot, therefore, be rightly called spheres of influence.
The territory, old and new, under Shivaji contained 240 forts, out of which 79 were situated in Mysore and Madras. (Sabh. 98-101; Chit. 152-157 names 280 forts.)
§2. His revenue and hoarded treasure.
His revenue is put by his courtier Sabhasad (p. 102) at the round figure of one krore of hun*[1] while the chauth when collected in full brought in another 80 lakhs. (T. S. 35a.) If these statements are cor- rect, Shivaji's theoretical income at its highest was nine krores of Rupees. The sum actually realised was considerably less than this paper-estimate, — probably sometimes falling as low as one-tenth of it.
The treasure and other valuable things left behind by Shivaji are enumerated in great detail by Sabhasad (95-96) and the 7 'arikh-i-Shivaji (42-44.) But we can-not be sure that all the figures have been correctly copied in the MSS. of these two works that have come down to us. Moreover, the gold and silver coins were of such an immense variety of denominations countries and ages, — a faithful index to the wide range and thorough character of Shivaji's looting campaigns, — that it is impossible to reduce the total value of his hoard to any modern currency with even
- ↑ * Chit., 157, speaks of 10 krores of khazinah; but it is not clear whether he means Rupees or huns, nor whether he is speaking of the annual income or the hoarded treasure.
