New History of the Marathas v1.c12.33

v1.c12.33

An illustration of this national change was now furnished by the fort of Kanhergad near Chāndwad, where Shivaji had appointed one Rāmāji Pangera as the keeper. The small fort was suddenly attacked by Dilir Khan with a very large force, when Rāmāji with a small but select band of 600 men faced terrible odds fighting with all their might, until nearly all the defenders were wounded and disabled but they succeeded in turning the enemy back with discomfiture. Such a spirit of service and sacrifice quickly permeated the whole Maratha nation at the magic lead of Shivaji. The terrible rout and the consequent debacle of the Mughal forces before Salher drove Aurangzeb to an extreme measure of reproach. He thus vented his wrath in bitterest terms in a letter to Dilir Khan and others.