New History of the Marathas v1.c8.61

v1.c8.61

Although he was suspected, he was then too young to be separately noticed. In fact Shivaji's name begins to appear officially after Dādāji's death, or a year or so before that, in that famous letter of Shivaji to Dādāji Naras Prabhu about the oaths they had exchanged before Raireshvar in the summer of 1645. This position also leads one to conclude that Dādāji wholeheartedly supported the new movement of revolt against Muslim domination, and in every way encouraged Shivaji as the fittest instrument to lead the movement to success. It is also clear that the first fort captured by the rebels was Sinhagad and not Torna, which came into Shivaji's hands a year or two later. Nor did Torna possess the strategic importance of Sinhagad. Shivaji discovered hidden treasures at Torna, on which account it received prominence, as a divine dispensation of the goddess Bhavāni to help Shivaji's cause. For security of person and property, Sinhagad was long a necessary adjunct of Poona, which city being on a plain was ever vulnerable.