Council of eight principal ministers is the defensible answer to this advanced Medieval History question. The Ashtapradhan was Shivaji's council of eight principal officers, though their authority remained subject to the ruler and offices were not uniformly autonomous. Maratha state formation joined forts, mobile warfare, ministerial offices and fiscal claims over territories inside and outside the core kingdom. The distractors need separate rejection: Eight hereditary forts belongs to a different institution, context or chronology; Eight revenue provinces does not perform the function described in the stem; and Body of Mughal mansabdars fails the required association. The wording of “In Shivaji's administration, the Ashtapradhan was what?” is deliberately specific, so the candidate should isolate its operative clue before recalling names. — Council of eight principal ministers”, but also remember the factual reason stated above.