New History of the Marathas v1.c8.24

v1.c8.24

The marital life of Jija Bai can by no means be called happy. We have seen how her wedding itself was a subject of compulsion. The Bhosales and the Jadhavs are not known to have then been on very friendly terms. Indeed their pent up feuds used suddenly to burst into flame on trivial grounds as illustrated in the Khandagle elephant episode.² In the battle of Bhātavḍi, Shahji won the day, and Jija Bai’s father in the opposite camp had to save himself by flight. The Jadhavs certainly claimed a higher descent from the royal house of Deogiri; while the Bhosles were not admitted to possess any such royal blood. Both Jija Bai and the child Shivaji proved to Shahji rather an encumbrance than a help, while the elder Sambhāji to some extent certainly was his father’s useful lieutenant.