History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c51.s6.1

v3.c51.s6.1

Meantime, Aurangzib had written a false letter to Akbar. In it the prince was praised for the success he had hitherto gained in carrying out his father's stratagem of luring all the Rajput fighters into a snare and bringing them within easy reach of the Emperor; and he was now instructed to crown his achievement by placing them in his Van in next morning's battle, so that they might be crushed when attacked by Aurangzib from the front and Akbar from the rear. As contrived by Aurangzib, the letter fell into Durgadas's hands,† who read it and went to Akbar's tent for an explanation. It was a little after midnight; the prince was asleep and his eunuchs had strict orders not to wake him. Durgadas returned in anxious uncertainty to his own tent and sent men to call Tahawwur Khan. Then the Rajputs discovered that the soul of the whole enterprise had stolen away to the imperial camp some hours ago. Akbar's sleep was at once taken to be a politic pretence; the intercepted letter was believed to have been verified by facts. No time was to be lost if the Rajputs were to escape from the treacherous plot they had discovered by good luck. Three hours before dawn they took horse, robbed what they could of Akbar's property, and galloped off to Marwar. Profiting by this chance, the imperial troopers whom Akbar had forced to march under his banners and the loyal captains whom he had placed under arrest, escaped towards the camp of Aurangzib. In fact, the flight of Tahawwur Khan was the ruin of Akbar's cause. He had been the connecting link between the Rajputs and Akbar; he had been the new Emperor's Commander-in-Chief and prime minister in one, and his absence dissolved the confederacy.*