New History of the Marathas v1.c9.61

v1.c9.61

The fort of Pratāpgad perched on an inaccessible narrow hill-top, was not at all suited for an open fight such as the Khan could offer, nor was it possible for him to move his large army in mass to the vicinity of that fort. Shivaji remained entirely on the defensive securely seated on the hill-top like an eagle watching for an opportunity to fall upon its prey. The Khan, on the other hand, was devising methods to draw out Shivaji from his perch for a personal meeting, with the object of getting his enemy under his clutches without recourse to an open fight. Thus a personal meeting became an inevitable objective for both of them. As Shivaji could not avoid it, how to make such a personal meeting successful became the serious thought both to Shivaji and the Khan each day that passed. In vain might the Khan keep his large army under harness for any length of time and produce no result, nor could Shivaji endure an interminable strain. Shivaji’s ingenious brain alone could dissolve the situation; no outside means was available.