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Ashta Pradhan (literally, 'Council of Eight') was thecabinet of theMaratha Confederacy.^[1] The council is credited with having implementedgood governance practices in theMaratha heartland, as well as for the success of the military campaigns against theMughal Empire.

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The coronation of Shivaji was held in 1674, at the fort ofRaigad in present-dayIndian state ofMaharashtra. On that occasion, Shivaji formalized the institution of a council of eight ministers to guide the administration of his nascent state. This council came to be known as theAshta Pradhan. Each of the ministers was placed in charge of an administrative department; thus, the council heralded the birth of a bureaucracy.

The formalization of an administrative mechanism was of a piece with other measures, indicative of the formalization of a sovereign state, which were implemented on the occasion of Shivaji's coronation: coinage bearing his insignia (the copperShivrai and the goldhon) were issued, and a new era, theRajyabhishek era, was proclaimed on the occasion.

TheAshta 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 theSanskrit language; the eight ministerial roles were as follows:

• Pantpradhan orPeshwa -Prime Minister, general administration of the Empire.Moropant Trimbak Pingle was the firstPeshwa appointed by Shivaji.
• Amatya orMujumdar -Finance Minister, managing accounts of the Empire.^[2] In 1662 Nilo Sondeo was appointed as Mujumdar. In 1674, at the Coronation ceremony, the post Mujumdar was renamed as Amatya and the title was solely bestowedRamchandra Pant Amatya.
• Shurunavis/Sacheev -Secretary, preparing royal edicts. In 1662Annaji Datto was appointed as Shurnavis/Sacheev.
• Waqia-Navis -Interior Minister, managing internal affairs especially intelligence and espionage.
• Sar-i-Naubat or Senapati -Commander-in-Chief, managing the forces and defence of the Empire. Netaji Palkar was appointed as the first Senapati. Most famousSenapati in that era wasHambirrao Mohite.
• Sumant/Dabir -Foreign Minister, to manage relationships with other sovereigns. First Dubeer was Sonopant Vishwanath Dubeer who was sent by Shahaji to help Shivaji I and Jijabai in Pune region. After Sonopant, his son Traymbak Sono Dubeer was appointed as Dubeer and after him, his son Ramchandra Tyambak Dubeer was appointed as Dubeer in Maharaj's Asth Pradhan Mandal. When Shivaji donated the gold equal to his mother Jijabai's weight, he also donated the gold equal to Sonopant Dubeer's weight at Mahabaleshawar. Sonopant Vishwanath Dubeer is the only member to have control over two departments i.e., Dubeer and Shurunavis, once upon a time.
• Nyayadhish -Chief Justice, dispensing justice on civil and criminal matters. The post of Nyayadish or Chief Justice was bestowed on Niraji Ravaji, father ofPralhad Niraji.
• Panditrao -High Priest, managing internal religious matters. The duties of the Panditrao were to promote learning and in the Ashta Pradhan, known as Senapat or Sarnobat, he was to watch over the interests of his officers. Raghunath Panditrao was given the postPanditrao.

Continued conflict with theMughal Empire meant that military matters remained exceedingly important to the affairs of the nascent state. Hence, with the notable exception of the priestlyPanditrao and the judicialNyayadisha, the otherpradhans held full-time military commands, and their deputies performed their civil duties in their stead. In the later era of the Maratha Empire, these deputies and their staff constituted the core of thePeshwa's bureaucracy.

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Shivaji sonSambhaji, (ruled 1680–89) reduced the powers of the council. Over time, council positions became hereditary, ceremonial positions at court with nominal powers, if any. Beginning 1714 AD, a prime minister appointed by Shivaji's grandsonShahu gradually arrogated power. Within a short period,de facto control of the Maratha state passed to his family. This family of hereditary prime ministers retained the title ofPeshwa. However, theAshta Pradhan council was never revived to fill the functions it discharged for the last decade of Shivaji reign.

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• Chitnis

Also See:Khando Ballal Chitnis

• Guptahere

Also see:Bahirji Naik

• Phadnavis
• Also see:Nana Fadnavis

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• The Ashta Pradhan is somewhat similar to the court arrangements of other famous emperors such as theNavaratnas of the courts of bothVikramaditya andAkbar, as also of theAstadiggajas ofKrishna Deva Raya's court.
• Lakshman Sen the ruler of theSena Empire hadPancharatnas .
• The Ashta Pradhan can be construed as an initiative to develop a second line of leadership in the state akin to theKhalsa byGuru Gobind Singh.^{[citation needed]}

• Ashta Pradhan. (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 18, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service:[1]

• Maratha Empire
• 1674 establishments in India

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