Letter of Bajirao Ballal to Tejkaran Mandloi of district Indore about the delivery of government monies

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invocation (top): Marathi

authorisation (left margin): Marathi

main text: Marathi

Notes

1. The standalone 'द' is known as a दकार, or dakar, in the Marathi epistolographic tradition. Molesworth states that it stands for the salutation दंडवत, or dandavat, which an inferior would use when writing to a superior, for example if a non-Brahman writes to a Brahman. However, it has also been observed that a shloka attributed to the Yadava minister Hemadripant recommends this salutation when writing to anyone for whom one feels affection, which may be a more appropriate reading in this case. For further discussion with respect to a late-eighteenth century letter from Peshwa Madhavrao Narayan to the Dutch VOC, see Bellarykar, "Two Marathi Letters," p. 26-7. [BACK]

2. The honorific मश्रूल अनाम, or mashrul anam, is a Marathi vernacularization of the Arabic مشهور الانام, or mashhur al-anam, referring to a known or celebrated person. It was commonly used in government documents when addressing district-level dignitaries and officials. For uses of the Arabic phrase in two Persian Qutb Shahi orders, see Khan, "Farmans and Sanads of the Deccan Sultans," pp. 38-40. [BACK]

3. The remainder of the document is likely on the verso. Unfortunately, no image is available. [BACK]