In answering my own questions, I'll assume the term Maratha and Mahratta were simply spelling variations pending any possible input
It seems I once read that the Maratha term applied to the language rather than the people. Source unfortunately cannot recollect.
As for Rajput use of the pata, I can only presume that it would have found such use, there seem to have been Mughal examples, and in Egerton one is shown with Punjab provenance. I just thought it would be interesting if anyone had specific knowledge.
I do hope the material I compiled and wrote in my post might be of assistance to any readers who might be interested in these distinctly recognizable weapons of the Indian armoury, and wrote with this in mind.
Best regards,
Jim