History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c61.s3.18

v4.c61.s3.18

The fort of Bijapur was now in a strong posture of defence. Its walls had been repaired, and large quantities of provisions and material laid in, and its regular garrison strengthened by 30,000 Karnataki infantry,—renowned for their fighting quality. In addition to this, the country round, for a radius of six miles, had been remorselessly laid waste ; the two large tanks of Nauraspur and Shahpur, each of which could have supplied the needs of an entire army, had been drained dry; all the wells in the environs had been filled up with earth; every building had been razed to the ground and every tree cut down, so that "not a green branch or shade-giving wall was left standing" to afford shelter to the invaders. At the same time a picked force under the noted generals Sharza Khan and Siddi Masaud had been sent off to invade the imperial dominions and create a diversion in Jai Singh's rear, while the main Bijapuri army hovered round that general's camp.