Editing Marathi language (section)

===Maratha Confederacy===
Marathi gained prominence with the rise of the [[Maratha Kingdom]] beginning with the reign of [[Shivaji]]. In his court, Shivaji replaced Persian, the common courtly language in the region, with Marathi. The Marathi language used in administrative documents also became less [[Persianised]]. Whereas in 1630, 80% of the vocabulary was Persian, it dropped to 37% by 1677.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Eaton|first1=Richard M. |title=The new Cambridge history of India|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=0-521-25484-1|page=154|edition=1. publ.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGd2huLXEVYC&q=Afanasy+Nikitin+bahamani&pg=PR12|access-date=25 March 2016}}</ref> His reign stimulated the deployment of Marathi as a tool of systematic description and understanding.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pollock|first=Sheldon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=740AqMUW8WQC&pg=PA50|title=Forms of Knowledge in Early Modern Asia: Explorations in the Intellectual History of India and Tibet, 1500–1800|date=14 March 2011|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-4904-4|pages=50|language=en}}</ref> Shivaji Maharaj commissioned one of his officials, [[Khando Ballal|Balaji Avaji Chitnis]], to make a comprehensive lexicon to replace Persian and [[Arabic]] terms with their Sanskrit equivalents. This led to production of 'Rājavyavahārakośa', the thesaurus of state usage in 1677.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pollock|first=Sheldon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=740AqMUW8WQC&pg=PA50|title=Forms of Knowledge in Early Modern Asia: Explorations in the Intellectual History of India and Tibet, 1500–1800|date=14 March 2011|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-4904-4|pages=50, 60|language=en}}</ref>

Subsequent Maratha rulers extended the confederacy. These excursions by the Marathas helped to spread Marathi over broader geographical regions. This period also saw the use of Marathi in transactions involving land and other business. Documents from this period, therefore, give a better picture of the life of common people. There are a number of [[Bakhar]]s (journals or narratives of historical events) written in Marathi and Modi script from this period. 
[[File:Ancient scriptures on the walls in Big Temple, Thanjavur - 2.JPG|right|thumb|Marathi inscription inside [[Brihadisvara temple]] complex, Thanjavur]]
In the 18th century during Peshwa rule, some well-known works such as Yatharthadeepika by [[Vaman Pandit]], Naladamayanti Swayamvara by [[Raghunath Pandit]], Pandava Pratap, Harivijay, Ramvijay by Shridhar Pandit and Mahabharata by [[Moropant]] were produced. Krishnadayarnava and Sridhar were poets during the [[Peshwa]] period. New literary forms were successfully experimented with during the period and classical styles were revived, especially the Mahakavya and Prabandha forms. The most important hagiographies of Varkari Bhakti saints were written by [[Mahipati]] in the 18th century.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Callewaert|first1=Winand M.|last2=Snell|first2=Rupert|last3=Tulpule|first3=S G|title=According to Tradition: Hagiographical Writing in India|date=1994|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|location=Wiesbaden, Germany|isbn=3-447-03524-2|page=166|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GrMwdEqHLzEC&q=mahipati+&pg=PA159|access-date=9 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Greenwood Press"/>
Other well known literary scholars of the 17th century were [[Mukteshwar]] and [[Shridhar]].<ref name="auto">{{cite book|editor-last1=Kosambi|editor-first1=Meera|last=Ranade|first=Ashok D.|title=Intersections : socio-cultural trends in Maharashtra|date=2000|publisher=Sangam|location=London|isbn=978-0863118241|pages=194–210|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XU8dmAiaZSgC&q=anant+phandi&pg=PA194}}</ref> Mukteshwar was the grandson of [[Eknath]] and is the most distinguished poet in the ''Ovi'' meter. He is most known for translating the [[Mahabharata]] and the [[Ramayana]] in Marathi but only a part of the Mahabharata translation is available and the entire Ramayana translation is lost. Shridhar Kulkarni came from the [[Pandharpur]] area and his works are said to have superseded the Sanskrit epics to a certain extent. This period also saw the development of Powada (ballads sung in honour of warriors), and [[Lavani]] (romantic songs presented with dance and instruments like tabla). Major poet composers of [[Powada]] and [[Lavani]] songs of the 17th and the 18th century were Anant Phandi, Ram Joshi and [[Honaji Bala]].<ref name="auto"/>