Final answer:
The decline of the Mughal Empire cannot be attributed to the spread of Maratha power alone, as internal decline and other external pressures also played significant roles.
Step-by-step explanation:
I disagree that the spread of Maratha power was the main reason for the decline of the Mughal Empire. While the rise of the Marathas certainly contributed to the weakening of the Mughals, internal decline and other external factors played crucial roles as well. The Mughal Empire suffered from weak leadership following the reign of Aurangzeb, financial strains due to continuous wars and the opulence of the court, fragmentation due to religious intolerance, and administrative inefficiencies. Further exacerbating the decline were the invasions by Ahmad Shah Durrani and increasing pressure from European colonial powers, particularly the British. It can be argued that it was the combination of these internal vulnerabilities and external pressures that ultimately facilitated the fall of the Mughal Empire, not solely the rise of the Maratha.