History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c58.s3.6

v4.c58.s3.6

Shivaji could never for a moment be sure of the Delhi Government's pacific disposition or fidelity to treaty promises. Hence he lost no chance of robbing Mughal territory in the Deccan. With Bijapur his relations were somewhat different. He could raise his head or expand his dominion only at the expense of Bijapur. But when, about 1662, an understanding with him was effected by the Adil-Shahi ministers, he gave up molesting the heart of the Bijapur kingdom. With the Bijapuri nobles whose fiefs lay close to his dominions and across the path of his natural expansion (e.g., Kolhapur, Kanara and Kopal) he could not be at peace, though he did not wish to challenge the central Government of Bijapur. The death of Ali II. in 1672 and the faction-fights at the capital that ensued greatly stimulated his raiding and annexing activities at the expense of Adil Shah, though still along the fringe of that kingdom.