In the Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

 Period ( 1630-1818 ); especially King Shivaji's period, Shiledar is a term used to indicate the Soldier's position.

The word "Shiledar" means "a Soldier

Soldier

A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

 who possesses his own sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

 and horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 for taking active part in the Combat/War".

During King Shivaji's Maratha Rule, the Maratha Army possessed many brave Shiledars who mainly came from the royal maratha kshatriya

Kshatriya

*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...

n 96k clans. Due to their prominence they used to play active parts in the war held between Marathas and their enemies.

These Shiledar, according to their deeds identified as Subhedar,Panch Hajari,Havaldar etc. Honours.

In King Shivaji's Ghod Dal i.e. Horse Rider Army 'Shiledar' Shows their extraordinary bravery by killing numerous enemy Troops.