History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c49.s8.9

v3.c49.s8.9

But now the lord of Udaipur had to choose between rebellion and the loss of whatever is dearest to man. The Mughal annexation of Marwar turned his left flank and exposed his country to invasion through the Aravali passes on its western side, while the eastern half of his State, being comparatively level, lay as open to a foe as before. The mountain fastness of Kamalmir, which had sheltered Pratap during the dark days of Akbar's invasion, would now cease to be an impregnable refuge to his successor. The annexation of Marwar was but the preliminary to an easy conquest of Mewar. Besides, Aurangzib's campaign of temple destruction was not likely to stop within the imperial dominions. He had demolished and wantonly desecrated the holiest Hindu shrines at Benares, Mathura and Somnath. In Rajputana itself, even before the death of Jaswant gave him any pretext for interference, he had pulled down the great temples of Khandela and Sanula and "all other temples" there, while after Jaswant's death, the Mughal occupation of his capital had been signalized by the wanton demolition of its temples and the public desecration of their idols. [M.A. 173.] On the revival of the jaziya tax, a demand for its enforcement throughout his State had been sent to the Maharana. [K. K. ii. 261.] If the Sisodias did not stand by the Rathors now, the two clans would be crushed piecemeal, and the whole of Rajasthan would lie helpless under the tyrant's feet. So thought Maharana Raj Singh, and so thought his clansmen, many of whom had already fraternized with the Rathor refugees in the Godwar district and opposed the Mughals under Tahawwur Khan. [Ishwardas, 77b.] The mother of Ajit Singh was a Mewar princess, and Raj Singh could not, either as a kinsman or as a knight, reject her appeal to defend the orphan's rights.