History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v1.c19.28

v1.c19.28

On 18th October he learnt from a letter of his agent at Delhi that Shah Jahan had become helpless; on the 21st came another letter, saying that the Emperor's illness was decreasing. A third letter, received on the 22nd, brought news of an opposite tenour: Dara had become supreme at Court and was daily strengthening his position. A secret message from the Collector of Agra, evidently professing devotion, reached Aurangzib at this time. It only confirmed his worst suspicions: the very fact of such a letter being written meant that a demise of royalty had taken place or was very imminent; "one of these two alternatives must have happened,—Shah Jahan is either dead or a helpless invalid."[†]