Maharaja Suraj Mal was a great builder and according to Wendel, spent not lakhs but crores on his magnificent edifices, such as, the truly royal and superb palace of Deeg and gorgeous fort of Bharatpur, both incomparable in Hindustan. He is credited with building several tanks, arbours and temples in Govardhan, Mathura, Vrindavan and other religious places. Besides, he spent lakhs of rupees in charitable deeds. Numerous religious deeds were performed by them at different places in Brij. Giriraj Govardhan’s importance increased under them and several artistic chhatris were built there along with other buildings.

On the one hand, he carried choicest pieces of the Mughal grandeur from Agra to adorn his court and on the other his wealth and will galvanized the un-provided for architects of the impoverished Court of Delhi to the new home of art. Besides, on his forts Maharaja Suraj Mal spent crores of rupees embellishing Deeg, Bharatpur, Wair and Kumher with enchanting buildings, ponds and gardens. The author of Imad tells us that some of the buildings were so magnificent that the kind of these could not be found anywhere-not even in Delhi and Agra. Crowning all these was architecturally sumptuous and superb palace of Deeg, which had been planned and constructed by Maharaja Suraj Mal on such a gorgeous scale that the work on it did not end even by 1768. A widely traveled eye witness testifies:

“It is difficult to realize the expanse and magnificence of this palace without seeing it… I have seen none in Hindustan that would surpass it in magnificence, or even would come near to it.”

Born in a martial community, Maharaja Suraj Mal was gifted with a variety of military talents, which vigorously supported his character in his many engagements. No danger wavered his courage and resolutions as no success filled him with presumption or vanity. He was a gallant soldier, an excellent tactician and a great captain, as his great adversary Najib-ud-Daula himself admitted. With signs of boldness visible at the very dawn of his career (early thirties), his military fame spread gradually far and wide and even the greatest in the land sought his powerful support. Along with bravery and courage he combined shrewdness, tact and calculation. He displayed a remarkable sense of realism, both in war and politics. He never acted on sudden impulse and set his hand to a task only after great deliberation.

At the time of death, the standing army under him consisted of 15000 cavalry, 25000 infantry and 300 pieces of cannons. He also possessed 60 elephants and 5000 horses in his stables. Apart from it, considering the number of his forts, the garrison posted in them must not have been less than 25000 soldiers, equipped with long and short range cannons and munition.
The author of Siyar says, Maharaja Suraj Mal had in his stable twelve thousand horses, mounted by so many picked man, amongst whom on horseback and then wheeling round in order to load under shelter, and these men had by continual and daily practice become so expeditious and so dangerous marksmen, and withal so expert in their evolutions, that there were no troops in India and could pretend to face them in the field. Nor was it thought possible to wage war against such a prince with any prospect of advantage.

The Jat King had a vision to appreciate the innate susceptibilities of his Jat brethren. He presumably knew that it was difficult, if not impossible, for them to shed abruptly or wholly their deep-rooted democratic instinct and sentiments of individual and tribal independence. Therefore he wisely refrained from an abrupt recourse to a despotic system of the Mughal type. Qanungo rightly points out that the Jat government as it stood at Maharaja Suraj Mal’s death still corresponded to a feudal confederacy with the Jat King as the supreme head.

Several changes were effected in the land administration obtaining under Akbar. The pargana of Sahar was split into four parts – Sahar, Shergarh, Kosi and Shahpur. Mangotala was divided into Sonkh and Sonsa. Frah and possibly Mursan, Sahpau and Mant were made parganas about this time. Similar changes were made in several other districts of the kingdom.
Full details of the administrative set-up of Maharaja Suraj Mal are not available. Below the King, who was the fountain head was probably the most powerful grandee, Balram Singh (his brother-in-law), who held the post of Chief Minister. Jiwa Ram held the office of Diwan. Somnath was the Danadhyaksha (the head of the charity department).

The management of the army seems to have been entrusted to several officers, each heading a sub-department. We know the names of two officers, Balram and Mohan Ram, who headed the cavalry and the artillery respectively. Balram Singh was also the faujdar of the capital. This leads us to believe that there were other faujdars as well. This apart, the posts of Mantri, Bakshi, Kotwal and Qiladar referred to in Sujan Charitra must have continued during the reign of Maharaja Suraj Mal as well.

Apart from the strongest band of troops, a network of fairly strong (three of them being impregnable) forts studded with beautiful buildings, richest treasures and a political system commensurate with the Jat instincts and traditions, the “Jat Plato” Maharaja Suraj Mal handed down a Kingdom “well cultivated, peaceful and out of danger of being suddenly attacked…”

Endowed with a cool calculating vision, a profound sense of foresight and an exemplary shrewdness, Maharaja Suraj Mal’s genius shone forth in the field of diplomacy. Prof. Hari Ram Gupta calls him “the shrewdest diplomat of the time.” He displayed great adroitness in handling men and matters. Amidst the moments of greatest trial, he exhibited a commendable presence of mind and endurance. In an atmosphere of intrigue and unscrupulous diplomacy, he equally baffled the dissembling Mughal and cunning Marathas, as also the crafty Abdali and subtle Rajputs. His was a most precarious position indeed for he stood between the two most formidable and hostile powers, the Abdali on the north and the encroaching Marathas on the south. His fabulous treasure was the perennial object of their greed, while his expansionist course and independent existence in the neighbourhood justly annoyed both the Mughals and the Rajputs. In addition, the influential forces of Islamic renaissance were also deadly opposed to him. More than once had the Abdali and Marathas endeavoured to ruin him. Even normally, a potential threat from their side always stared Maharaja Suraj Mal in his face.

In such circumstances, the survival of the Jat kingdom itself was a Herculean task. But Maharaja Suraj Mal mainly by his marvelous diplomatic suppleness; ‘peculiar’ wisdom and heroic fortitude, not only succeeded in thwarting all his enemies but also in increasing his fortunes in face of successive crises. Wendel says that Maharaja Suraj Mal had the guts to save himself from the Maratha-Durrani exactions when others were being squeezed, to protect his territory against the redoubled Abdali while a number of powerful grandees could not help draining out their own resources by joining him (the Abdali), to ensure peace amidst the prevailing trouble which had engulfed his neighbours, to strengthen his power while others were losing to disentangle himself from the Marathas whose discomfiture he had clearly foreseen, to turn Abdali without a recourse and in a word to become more powerful amidst the common decay. The Jesuit father aptly concludes,

“I do not know anyone else in Hindustan who could do the same.”

That was Maharaja Suraj Mal, the master diplomat of the period. No doubt, Najib-ud-Daula also possessed great diplomatic tact and political sagacity. [Ibid, 67] But main difference between the two lies in the fact that Najib had the powerful patronage of his deliverer, Ahmad Shah Abdali, whereas Maharaja Suraj Mal solely on his own outwitted both Abdali and the Marathas at one and the same time. In addition, Maharaja Suraj Mal guaranteed to his kingdom a progress which Najib could not.

Maharaja Suraj Mal was an ambitious and powerful man; but his ambition was tempered with caution and self control. Gifted with an instinctive sagacity and strong sense of realism, Maharaja Suraj Mal fully gasped the realities of the situation and then set his heart upon what was attainable in the field of war and administration. He could perceive the hazards of undue entanglement in far flung areas; so he scrupulously confined his activities to the nearby ethnic Jat areas only. Keeping an eye on the instincts and traditions of his people and combining persuasion with force, he proceeded cautiously to make them acquiesce in the institution of Kingship. Matrimonial relations with important families, grant of appanages to members of the royal family and lands to the other Jat grandees, and the suppression of recalcitrant chiefs, may be appreciated in this light. These Jagirdars remitted revenue to the State Treasury and helped the Raja in the defence of the realm. The stormy situation in northern India, which engrossed Maharaja Suraj Mal’s attention and his untimely death interrupted the process initiated by him.

Raja Maharaja Suraj Mal was endowed with all the qualities of a good ruler …. And succeeded by his government in vastly increasing his tenantry and treasure. [Tawarikh-i-hunud (Pers. Ms.) 20a-20b] This was predominantly the result of the patient toil of that Raja. By the time of his death, the Jat State had grown to 200 miles in length (east-west0 and 140 miles in breadth (nort-south), covering a part of the suba of Delhi and three fourths of that of Agra. The Jat Kingdom consisted of the districts of Agra, Mathura, Dholpur, Aligarh, Bulandshahar, parts of Mainpuri, Meerut and Rohtak, Gurgaon and Rewari, besides the original principality of Bharatpur

In consequence of his prudence, skill and administrative ability and the measure of protection guaranteed by him, “peaceful” conditions returned to region under his control after a long period of chaos and anarchy. He attended “so admirably … to the job of zamindar , in increasing the value of the country he had subdued, that his expenses so well that for several years he used to save at least half the annual yield of his dominions, despite the big amounts spent on forts, palaces and markets.

As regards the finance of the state, Father Wendel says, “opinions differ on the subject of the treasure and property which he (Maharaja Suraj Mal) left to his successor. Some estimate it as nine crores, others less. [K.R. Qanungo, History of the Jats, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, Delhi, 2003, p. 96] This does not include jewels and other valuables worth a handsome amount. However, according to popular belief the cash in hand with him ranged between 15 to 20 crores.

The trade and commerce also thrived owing to the direct and indirect encouragement offered by the administration, Maharaja Suraj Mal remitted transit duties through his Kingdom. As a result grain became exceedingly cheap. Similar must have been the case with other commodities. If Maharaja Suraj Mal constructed royal edifices, he did not forget to order the building of markets. If Imad is to be believed, in Deeg and other places, he built thousands of shops to facilitate the traders Such steps and the peace guaranteed by his benign rule amidst prevailing anarchy attracted the merchants from the outside to the Jat kingdom. Wendel hardly exaggerates in saying:

“ I admit willingly that the Jats are rich, that if even today there is any treasure in Hindustan, after all damages caused by Nadir Shah, the Abdali and the Marathas, it is amongst the Jats.”