New History of the Marathas v1.c6.91

v1.c6.91

9. Moral of the two figures.—The courage and foresight with which Shahji defied the Mughal power for at least three years, dodging and deluding renowned Mughal generals, became a living example to his son Shivaji, teaching him how the weak could wear out the strong. Day in and day out during that long period, we can imagine, how the stirring incidents must have been narrated from mouth to mouth, how anxiously and breathlessly Jija Bai and the whole household with their numerous devoted followers must have awaited momentary news of every passing occurrence and how deeply they must have thought of their fate. Shahji’s Court poet Jayaram Pandit has rightly hit upon the inner meaning of this great war by comparing Shahji and Shah Jahan together in the following Hindi¹⁵ lines :—