New History of the Marathas v1.c9.45

v1.c9.45

As soon as Aurangzeb led an expedition against Bijapur after Muhammad Adil Shah’s death, Shivaji sent his foreign minister Sonopant to Aurangzeb offering to join the Mughals in their war against Bijapur, provided that he was allowed to acquire the territories of the Konkan with all the forts situated therein for his *swarajya*. Sonopant returned with a confirmation of his request and Shivaji at once invaded those lands. He gauged rightly that in the dissolution of Bijapur, the Marathas had a better claim to their homelands than the distant Mughals. Shivaji did not spare even the Mughal possessions of Junnar and Ahmadnagar so contiguous to Poona and so essentially Maratha in character. In 1657 he suddenly fell upon Junnar, his own birth-place, and carried away gold, jewellery and horses. His armies proceeded further on towards Ahmadnagar plundering the intervening country right up to the gate of that old capital. The strong garrison of Ahmadnagar happily saved the town itself. Aurangzeb took prompt measures to prevent fresh molestation on the part of Shivaji. Fearing further chastisement Shivaji sent his ambassador Krishnāji Bhāskar to Aurangzeb in order to explain away the past deeds and urge his claim to the Bijapur districts of north Konkan.