The Deccan wars against the Sultans of Bijapur, Golkonda and Ahmednagar had exhausted the Mughal treasury.

Kanhoji Angre was the most powerful naval chief on the western coast.
During the civil war Kanhoji had supported Tarabai

The Saraswati Mahal library, built by the Nayak rulers and enriched by Serfoji II contains a record of the day-to-day proceedings of the Maratha court - as Modi documents, French-Maratha correspondence of the 18th century.
Modi was the script used to write the Marathi language.
It is a treasure house of rare manuscripts and books in many languages.

The treaty of Basse in was signed in 1802.
According to the treaty the territory to be ceaded should fetch an income of Rs.26 Lakhs
The leading Maratha States regarded the treaty as humiliating and hence decided to defy it

Tara Bai was wife of Rajaram.After his death she acting on behalf of his infant son, she despatched an army of 50,000 horsemen and infantry to Hyderabad.
The capital was plundered and, as a result, trade in Masulipatnam, the major port of the region, remained disrupted for years.

Afzal Khan was sent with a huge army.
He boasted that he would bring the "mountain-rat" in chains. But, he found fighting in the mountainous country extremely difficult.
So, he planned to trick Shivaji but he was outwitted.

A second innovation was the introduction of navavidya ('modem' or 'new' learning) in the state-run schools
According to an 1823 report produced for Governor Munro's census of education, 21 of the 44 free schools in the wider Thanjavur district were run by Serfoji's government, 19 by the missionaries, one by a temple
There were three schools that were run by teachers themselves free of cost. In the state-run free schools Serfoji made modern education available to all.

Krishna Devaraya, during his reign (1509- 1529), developed the Nayankara system.
Accordingly, the Tamil country was divided into three large Nayankaras: Senji, Thanjavur and Madurai.

The First Anglo Maratha War (1775-1782)
Madhav Rao Narayan was an infant Peshwa under the regency of Nana Fadnavis.
The usurping of power by Ragunath Rao, uncle of the former Peshwa Madhava Rao I, provided the scope for the Company administration to fish in the troubled waters.
The Company administration in Bombay supported Ragunath Rao in return for getting Salsette and Bassein.

Shivaji organized a standing army. Quarters were provided to the soldiers.
The soldiers were given regular salaries.
The army consisted of four divisions: infantry, cavalry, an elephant corps and artillery.

Serfoji's most striking initiative was the founding and management of free elementary and secondary schools for orphans and the poor in Thanjavur city and other adjacent places.
Included were schools for all levels, charity schools, colleges and padashalas for Sanskrit higher learning. The schools catered to the court elites, Vedic scholars, orphans and the poor. I
A second innovation was the introduction of navavidya ('modem' or 'new' learning) in the state-run schools.
In 1822, at the free school in Muktambal Chattiram the king's favourite almshouse established in 1803, 15 teachers taught a total of 464 students of diverse castes, in two classes, in the morning and in the evening.
Serfoji also supported a free school for needy Christians, run by missionaries in the village ofKannandangudi.
Serfoji II established Dhanvantari Mahal, a research institution that produced herbal medicine for humans and animals. Maintaining case-sheets of patients was introduced.
Physicians of modem medicine, Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha schools undertook research on drugs and herbs for medical cure. They produced eighteen volumes of research material.
Serfoji II was a patron of traditional Indian arts like dance and music. He authored Kumarasambhava Champu, Devendra Kuravanji, and Mudra rakshaschaya.
He introduced western musical instruments like clarinet, and violin in Carnatic music.
Serfoji's strategic initiatives in modem education enabled the Thanjavur court elite and subjects to enter and benefit from the emerging colonial social and economic order

Shivaji began his military career at the age of nineteen. In 1646, he captured the fortress of Torna from the Sultan of Bijapur.
The fort of Raigad, located five miles east of Torna, was captured and wholly rebuilt. After the death of Dadaji Kondadev in 1647, Shivaji took over all the jagirs of his father.
Subsequently, the forts of Baramati, Indapura, Purandhar and Kondana came-under his direct control. The Marathas had already captured Kalyan, an important town in that region.
Shivaji's father had been humiliated and imprisoned by the Sultan of Bijapur. He negotiated with Prince Murad, the Mughal Viceroy of the Deccan and expressed his wish to join Mughal service.
The Sultan of Bijapur released Shahji in 1649 on some conditions. So, Shivaji refrained from. his military activities from 1649 to 1655 During this period, he consolidated his power and toned up his administration.
In 1656, Shivaji re-started his military activities. He captured Jav1i in the Satara district and the immense booty that he won made him popular among the Marathas. Many young men joined his army. A new fort, Pratapgarh, was built two miles west of Javli.

A is correct; R is the correct explanation of A.