New History of the Marathas v1.c17.31

v1.c17.31

2. Akbar’s flight to Sambhaji.—The wanton war which the Emperor Aurangzeb started against the princes of Rājputānā in 1679, and which Shivaji had denounced in a vigorous open letter of remonstrance, now brought serious consequences to Sambhājī in a curious manner. Aurangzeb’s son Akbar, who had been conducting the operations under his father’s supervision, vainly struggled against the powerful Rajput combination. Of the several sons of Aurangzeb this Shahzada Akbar was the most dearly loved one; because by reason of his having lost his mother in infancy, he was personally brought up by the father with tender care and affection. He grew to be the most clever and competent of his brothers and was frequently employed by his father in state affairs requiring firm and delicate handling. When Aurangzeb wanted to suppress the Rāthod rising, he entrusted the command of his armies to Akbar and gave him personal instructions how to conduct the operations. The war proved disastrous, spread like a contagion, and united the states of Rājputānā in a common desperate opposition. Akbar spent a year vainly struggling against heavy odds, and suffering terrible losses in the wild and rugged country in which the operations had to be conducted. He, therefore, entered into peace talks with the Rajputs, and proposed to his father that the war should be closed on honourable terms which the Rajputs were ready to accept. He held private consultations with the valiant Rāthod leader Durgā- dās, who made pathetic appeals to Akbar’s generosity in the following terms.