The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c20.76

v4.c20.76

In 1702 Durgā Dās was driven into rebellion a second time. Both he and Ajīt Singh had continued to distrust the Mughul government and kept themselves at a safe distance from the court, while the emperor regarded both with suspicious watchfulness. In 1702 he tried to get Durgā Dās arrested or killed by the governor of Gujarāt. The Rāthor hero immediately fled to Mārwār and there raised the standard of rebellion, in which he was joined by Ajīt Singh. But they could effect nothing, as the economic exhaustion of Mārwār was complete and war-weariness had seized the Rāthor clansmen. Disagreement also broke out between Ajīt Singh and Durgā Dās; the youthful raja was impatient of advice, imperious in temper and jealous of Durgā Dās’s deserved influence in the royal council and the country. In 1704, Aurangzīb, at last admitting his growing helplessness against a sea of enemies, made peace with Ajīt Singh by giving him Merta as *jāgīr*, and next year Durgā Dās also made his submission to the emperor and was restored to his old rank and post in Gujarāt.