The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c21.63

v4.c21.63

But Bālājī was by no means contented with merely keeping the peace: his ambitions and far-seeing mind had already conceived the plan of freeing his country entirely from foreign domination.² His master was still the vassal of Delhi, and the Peshwā’s dream was to make Shāhū absolute sovereign over Shivājī’s *Swarājya*, that is, all the districts ruled over by Shivājī at the time of his decease.³ The hour was propitious. The once-mighty Mughul empire was fast breaking up. The throne of Delhi was occupied by a series of puppet-rulers, all the real power being concentrated in the hands of the so-called “King-Makers”, the Sayyid brothers. One of these, Husain ‘Alī Khān, became viceroy of the Deccan in 1715. He found, however, that he could make no headway against court-intrigues which went on during his absence, and the depredations of the local Marāthā chiefs. In 1716, he was severely defeated by Khande Rāo Dābhāde, the veteran Marāthā leader, who was levying *chauth* on the Gujarāt border. In desperation, therefore, he opened negotiations with Shāhū, through the good offices of one Shankarājī Malhār. This gave to Bālājī Vishvānāth a long-sought opportunity, and the terms which he proposed to the Sayyid were as follows: