New History of the Marathas v1.c17.41

v1.c17.41

4. Bloody beginning of Sambhaji's reign.—In order to understand Sambhājī's present situation the reports sent by the English and the French merchants prove extremely valuable; and a few points are here extracted from this source. Sambhājī made a good start after having got possession of Raigad without much effort. A report of 20 August 1680 says, “Sambhājī Rajah intends to give Bahadur Khan, the Mughal Subhedar, battle in the open field and has sent him word as such.” 10 November 1680. “We are alarmed of Maratha forces being abroad. A party of horse and foot is reported to be marching towards Surat, another against Burhanpur and a third to keep Bahadur Khan in play.”³