History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c60.s16: § 23. Mughal policy during Shivaji's confinement at Agra.
History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c60.s16
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§ 23. Mughal policy during Shivaji's confinement at Agra.
v4.c60.s16.1
We now turn to the policy of the imperial Government and the action of Jai Singh during this interval. Aurangzib had intended to present Shivaji with an elephant, a robe of honour, and some jewels at the end of his first audience. But Shivaji's violation of Court etiquette made him change his mind, and as a mark of displeasure he withheld these gifts, at least for the time. The Maratha chief, on his part, complained that the promises made to him on behalf of the Mughal Government had not been kept. Aurangzib, therefore, wrote to Jai Singh asking him to report fully and exactly what promises he had made. The Rajah replied by repeating and explaining the clauses of the Treaty of Purandar, and solemnly asserting that nothing beyond them had been promised.
v4.c60.s16.2
Jai Singh was placed in a dilemma by this unexpected result of Shivaji's visit to the Court. True, he had sent Shivaji away to Northern India "by a thousand devices" in order to get him out of the Deccan when the military situation there turned against the Mughals; but he had also pledged his honour for the safe return of his ally. He, therefore, tried to persuade the Emperor that he would gain nothing by imprisoning or killing Shivaji, as the Maratha chief's wise arrangements had made his Government independent of his personality; on the contrary the imperial interests in that quarter would be best promoted by turning Shivaji into a friend, at the same time that such a course would convince the public of the sacredness of the imperial officers' words. All the while Jai Singh continued to write to his Court agent, Ram Singh, to see to it that Shivaji's life was safe and the solemn assurances of the Rajput father and son remained inviolate.