New History of the Marathas v1.c10.60

v1.c10.60

On the day of his arrival Shivaji sent for some local merchants and employed his men to force out funds from them as far as possible by peaceful and persuasive methods. Some of the merchants were detained by him as prisoners. On Thursday 7 January the cowardly Inayat-ulla sent a young man to Shivaji with a pretended offer of peace. After a little conversation the young man approached closer to Shivaji saying that he had to communicate something in private and suddenly rushed forward to stab him with a concealed dagger that he had brought with him. A Maratha bodyguard struck off the assassin's hand, but the fellow hurled himself upon the Rājā. Shivaji's clothes were seen stained with blood. The guards wanted to start a general massacre of the townspeople and of the prisoners that had been assembled; but Shivaji sternly prohibited such a course and only cut off the hands of a few known culprits. If according to his own previous demand upon the Governor and the three principal merchants Haji Saiyad Beg, Bahirji Bohra, and Haji Kasim, they had personally come and negotiated for the amount of ransom in a reasonable mood, all the subsequent miseries could have been avoided. But the foul plot of the Governor to get Shivaji murdered, excited his spirit of revenge and then he ordered a general sack of the houses of the rich and setting fire to various localities. Throughout the 8th and the 9th of January this work of plunder and devastation continued with unabated fury; numerous houses were consumed by fire, and nearly two-thirds of the town destroyed. "The fire turned the night into day as during the day time; the smoke had turned day into night, rising so thick that it darkened the Sun like a great cloud." This description of the English chaplain is closely followed by the poet Bhusan in his poetic fastion.⁷