New History of the Marathas v1.c6.83

v1.c6.83

But the task of Shahji was by no means easy. He soon found himself very hard-pressed in all directions. Some time before this, the Mughals, according to one tradition, succeeded in capturing Shahji's wife Jija Bai, but she cleverly managed to save the young Shivaji from capture by concealing him in an out of the way place when she received a secret warning that Mahaldar Khan the Mughal guardian of fort Trimbak, was on her track. This Khan was formerly an intimate friend of Shahji and his family, but now a servant of the Mughals. Jija Bai is said to have fallen into Mahaldar Khan's hands and remained confined for a time at the fort of Kondhana (Sinhgad) and was later released on payment of a ransom by her uncle. The details of this incident are nowhere fully recorded, but have been referred to by Grant Duff on the authority of an authentic paper which he had secured but which is now missing. This must have taken place before 1636.