was not necessary for him to pay compensation to the surviving relatives of the men and women who had perished in his sack of Surat or Karinja. It would be enough if he put money into the pockets of the Brahmans of Konkan and Desh. The price demanded for this 'pardon' was only Rs. 8,000, and Shiva could not have refused to pay this trifle. (Dutch Records, Vol. 34, No. 841.)
§5. Scene of Shivaji's Coronation.
All his disqualifications having been thus removed with gold, the actual coronation was now begun. The 5th of June was the eve of the grand ceremony. It had to be spent in self-restraint and mortification of the flesh, like the night of vigil preceding knighthood in the age of chivalry. Shivaji bathed in water brought from the holy Ganges, and gave Gaga Bhatta 5,000 hun and the other great Brahmans a hundred gold-pieces each. The day was probably spent in fasting.
Next day (6th June, 1674) came the coronation itself. Rising very early in the morning, Shivaji prepared himself by bathing amidst ceremonies intended to avert evil, worshipped his household gods, and adored the feet of his family priest, Gaga Bhatta, and other eminent Brahmans, who all received gifts of ornaments and cloth.
The essential parts of a Hindu king's coronation are washing him (abhishek) and holding the royal umbrella over his head (chhatra-dharan.) Clad in a
